For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. - Acts 4:27-28

Who put Jesus to death on that cross on Good Friday? Was it Herod? Pilate? The jealous Pharisees?

Not long after Good Friday, Peter’s answer to that question may surprise you. But first, let’s review Peter’s initial response to Jesus’ death. He went into stealth mode out of abject fear of Herod, Pilate and the Pharisees. He “knew” one thing for sure: if he was out of control – everything was out of control.

Yet Jesus’ resurrection transformed Peter’s thinking between Good Friday and the time of his prayer in Acts 4. It was God who had “gathered together” the rulers to do what He had purposed and predetermined to occur. God didn’t violate the free will of these rulers, He simply utilized it. Isaiah foretold this sovereign planning of God, “But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering” (53:10). The Father sacrificed His Son as an offering for sin, so that He could be just by punishing sin, yet merciful to those who receive Jesus’ offering for their sin (Romans 3:26). More here.

Far from a tragic defeat, the crucifixion was part of God’s perfect plan.

So what is the lesson for those in crisis and battling cancer? Could suffering, even death, be a part of God’s sovereign and perfect plan? When I battled Stage IV metastatic melanoma and they gave me days to live in May of 2003, this is exactly what I concluded: my suffering and even my possible death, would all be part of God’s perfect plan.

Honestly, my resolve on this stance was shaky at times. Yet, during those moments when I surrendered to His sovereignty, I was filled with serenity.

We may feel out of control, but that does not mean He is. The lesson of Easter is that He trumps apparent tragedies. Will you trust Him?

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Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:2

I recently read of a person fighting late stage cancer who said he was in a “win-win” position. “If God heals me, I’ll be so happy. If He doesn’t, I’ll go to heaven, which is even better.” Even at 14 years of age, this young man has a firm grasp on the amazing power of Almighty God. The Lord can certainly heal any disease, and He can raise anyone from the dead. So we can trust Him either way. This is the abiding message of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus set the example for this win-win approach to life… and death. Hebrews 12:2 tells us He endured the cross because He knew the joy which awaited Him in heaven. This is why Hebrews tells us “to fix our eyes on Jesus.” He not only models the attitude we hope to have in the face of death, He gives supernatural strength to help us develop that attitude.

Yet how can anyone be certain they will go to heaven? The Bible says we enter this win-win state the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. He promises to give the free gift of heaven to those who do this one thing – believe. Does this sound too good to be true? For more on how to get to heaven – click here.

A win-win resurrection perspective frees us from destructive feelings and thoughts. Fear and anxiety loosen their hold when we entrust our very lives into the gentle hands of God. One thing is for certain, we will eventually be healed! Have a blessed Resurrection Day!

Sometimes in action movies, the lead character experiences such pain and obstacles, you wonder how he could possibly survive. Yet, you know he will, because he is the lead character. The movie, Deep Blue Sea, about killer sharks, is unusual, as story lines go. Just as Samuel Jackson’s character was giving “the speech”, providing everyone hope against incredible odds, he was swallowed by a shark. Granted, Samuel was not the movie’s only key character, but to me, the scene is one of the most shocking movie moments.

On Friday of that first Holy Week, I imagine Jesus’ followers felt similarly shocked, stunned and hopeless. By Sunday, history’s lead character had overcome His own death in the ultimate plot twist. In the great drama of God coming to earth, you didn’t think death would prevail, did you? Fortunately for us, a central reason He died and rose was to extend the Resurrection benefit to those who follow Him. This is some really great news and cause for great rejoicing on Easter and every day.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 – For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.*

No matter how bleak things get, and even if the ultimate bad break occurs, remember the drama is not over until the credits roll on that final Resurrection Day. Then we will receive sickness free bodies, and be reunited with our loves ones and our Lord. The sequel is all about wonderful bliss, eternal bliss. So Happy Resurrection Day!

*Scripture quotation taken from the NASB(c).