Curious minds want to know. Where was Jesus between the time of His Crucifixion and Easter morning?
One thing seems pretty certain. He was not taking nap in the tomb.
Sunday morning was not when He was resurrected. Sunday morning was just when it was confirmed that He was not in the tomb.
The angel reported,
He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.
Matthew 28:6
So when did He rise?
He rose at the moment He said,
“Into Your Hands, I commit My Spirit.”
Luke 23:46
Where did He go?
He told His Next Door Neighbor on the cross,
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43
Where is Paradise? We get several indications.
God created Paradise in a part of the earth called The Garden of Eden. It was a perfect world created out of the heart of God revealed on earth.
It was not referred to as Paradise then, but The Tree of Life was located there. John saw The Tree of Life again in his Revelation of the new earth. The Tree was identified as being “in The Paradise of God.”
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from The Tree of Life, which is in The Paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
Going back to where Jesus said He would be, He said,
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Matthew 12:40
I believe “the heart of the earth” is Paradise. Remember, Eden was not destroyed. It was only closed to sinful people.
We will never know what process God used to eliminate or transform the old beat up, mangled body of Jesus. We really do not need to know.
What we do know is Jesus took a former sinner Home with Him on the day they vacated their earthly bodies. And Home was described as Paradise.
I like to imagine Jesus and the unnamed saved man picnicking under The Tree of Life before they got ready to appear again on earth.
Note — it was said in the time after Jesus’ Resurrection,
The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
Matthew 27:53
Wouldn’t everyone have been surprised to find one they thought was a crucified thief among them?
And what a testimony he must have had!
And that is the true Message of Easter. Grace greater than all our sins!
For the wages of sin is death, but The Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Romans 6:23
