The Easter Story
By
Dave Winstead
| 4/2/2026 – Dave Winstead – What Easter Is: Not bunnies and eggs but Christ On The Cross |
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| What is Passion Week / Holy Week? Is Easter a pagan holiday? Why do we celebrate Easter? What is the meaning of Easter? What does Easter mean? Why did Jesus ride a donkey? The mention of a donkey in Zechariah 9:9-10 fits the description of a king who would be “righteous and having salvation, gentle.” Rather than riding to conquer, this king would enter in peace. In the ancient Middle Eastern world, leaders rode horses if they rode to war, but donkeys if they came in peace. A wild donkey is one of God’s freest and most intractable creatures. One commentary describes the wild donkey as “typically untameable, strong, free, roaming, suspicious, and untrustworthy” MySwordOfTruth.org DaveWinstead.org GotQuestions.org |
| 4/9/2026 – Dave Winstead -The Easter Season |
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| Easter: What is Passion Week and Palm Sunday? Easter: The Days Of Passion Week The seven last words of Jesus Christ on the cross (1) Matthew 27:46 tells us that about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Here, Jesus was expressing His feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the world on Him. As Jesus endured that weight of sin, He, who alone is holy, was “made . . . to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He cried out in agony. This cry from the cross echoed the statement in Psalm 22:1. (2) “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Those who crucified Jesus were not aware of the full scope of what they were doing because they did not recognize Him as the Messiah. While their ignorance of divine truth did not mean they deserved forgiveness, Christ’s prayer in the midst of their mocking Him is an expression of the limitless compassion of divine grace. (3) “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). In this passage, Jesus is assuring one of the criminals on the cross that when he died, he would be with Jesus in heaven. This was granted because even at the hour of his death, the criminal had expressed his faith in Jesus, recognizing Him for who He was (Luke 23:42). (4) “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Here, Jesus is willingly giving up His soul into the Father’s hands, indicating that He was about to die – and that God had accepted His sacrifice. He “offered up Himself unblemished to God” (Hebrews 9:14). (5) “Dear Woman, here is your son!” and “Here is your mother!” When Jesus saw His mother standing near the cross with the Apostle John, whom He loved, He committed His mother’s care into John’s hands. And from that hour John took her unto his own home (John 19:26-27). In this verse Jesus, ever the compassionate Son, is making sure His earthly mother is cared for after His death. (6) “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). Jesus was here fulfilling the Messianic prophecy from Psalm 69:21: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” By saying He was thirsty, He prompted the Roman guards to give Him vinegar, which was customary at a crucifixion, thereby fulfilling the prophecy. (7) “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Jesus’ last words meant that His suffering was over and the whole work His Father had given Him to do, which was to preach the Gospel, work miracles, and obtain eternal salvation for His people, was done, accomplished, fulfilled. The debt of sin was paid. Where was Jesus for the three days between His death and resurrection? Why should I believe in Christ’s resurrection? Six Myths Of Easter Three Legends of Easter MySwordOfTruth.org DaveWinstead.org GotQuestions.org |
| 4/16/2026 – Dave Winstead – The Crucifixion |
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| Easter: The Last Supper Easter: The History Of Crucifixion The crucifixion was not the end of Jesus making the sacrifice. There was still work to do. 1. Take His blood to heaven to offer in The Temple 2. Ministered to The Spirits in prison. 3. Took the old testament saints from Sheol to heaven. He led Captivity captive. What is the difference between Sheol, Hades, Hell, the lake of fire, Paradise, and Abraham’s bosom? Sheol, Hades, and Hell are the place of the dead. This is where Lazarus and The Rich Man were. Sheol is Old Testament Name and Hades is New Testament. Pre-Christians went to Sheol / Hades. Abraham’s Bosom is Heaven. Christians go to Heaven which is also called Paradise by Jesus. The final destination for Christians is The New Heaven & New Earth. The final destination for the unsaved is The Lake Of Fire. How was Jesus’ death a real sacrifice if He knew He would be resurrected? Christ went to death knowingly (Mark 8:31), with full understanding that He would suffer on a cross and that He would be raised from death (Luke 24:46). Since Jesus knew the eventual outcome, some question whether this was a real sacrifice. Was Jesus’ death on the cross truly sacrificial, if Jesus was guaranteed to be raised from death? what happened on the cross involved more than stopping a heartbeat. The sacrifice of Christ also came in His emotional suffering (Isaiah 53) and in an omnipotent, perfect God being tortured and humiliated by His own creations (Philippians 2:6–8). There’s powerful and important symbolism in the physical aspects of Christ’s death and resurrection, as well as a fulfillment of prophecy. Physical restoration does not make prior events any less sacrificial or traumatic. Simply knowing that something good is coming after the bad does not make the bad any less painful. A child knowing he will get ice cream after his tonsillectomy does not make the surgery and its aftermath any less harrowing and uncomfortable. What time was Jesus crucified? According to the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus died at the “ninth hour,” which corresponds to roughly 3:00 PM on Friday. He was crucified around 9:00 AM, with darkness covering the land from noon until his death. This time coincides with the evening sacrifice, highlighting the sacrificial nature of his death. What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two wheJesus died? This was no ordinary curtain. God gave specific design instructions to Moses. Bible scholars say the veil was 50 feet wide and 30 feet high, made of fine linen with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. It was so heavy that it took 300 priests (150 to the right and 150 to the left) to pull it back for the high priest to enter through the middle. To raise and lower it, 150 oxen were used to pull it into place. It was comprised of 200 embroidered squares that, when put together, displayed beautiful gold cherubim. What was the Holy of Holies? The room known as the Holy of Holies was the innermost and most sacred area of the ancient tabernacle of Moses and temple of Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies was constructed as a perfect cube. It contained only the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of Israel’s special relationship with God. The Holy of Holies was accessible only to the Israelite high priest. Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest was permitted to enter the small, windowless enclosure to burn incense and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the mercy seat of the Ark. By doing so, the high priest atoned for his own sins and those of the people. The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the tabernacle/temple by the veil, a huge, heavy drape made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn and embroidered with gold cherubim. MySwordOfTruth.org DaveWinstead.org GotQuestions.org |
| 4/23/2026 – Dave Winstead – The Resurrection |
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| Where were all the dead spirits and souls before Jesus was resurrected? The Old Testament believers went to a place of comfort and rest called “paradise” when they died. The Old Testament taught life after death and that everyone who departed from this life went to a place of conscious existence. The general term for this place was Sheol, which could be translated “the grave” or “the realm of the dead.” The wicked were there (Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14), and so were the righteous (Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13; Psalm 6:5; 16:10; 88:3; Isaiah 38:10). The New Testament equivalent of Sheol is Hades. Luke 16:19–31 shows that, prior to Christ’s resurrection, Hades was divided into two realms: a place of comfort where Lazarus was (Abraham’s bosom or Abraham’s side) and a place of torment where the rich man was (hell). Lazarus’s place of comfort is elsewhere called “paradise” (Luke 23:43). The place of torment is called “Gehenna” in the Greek in Mark 9:45. Between paradise and hell (the two districts of Hades) there was “a great chasm” (Luke 16:26). The fact that no one could cross this chasm indicates that, after death, one’s fate is sealed. Today, when an unbeliever dies, he follows the Old Testament unbelievers to the torment side of Hades. At the final judgment, Hades will be emptied before the Great White Throne, where its occupants will be judged prior to entering the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13–15). On the other hand, when a believer dies today, he is “present with the Lord” in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:6–9). There, he joins the Old Testament saints who have been enjoying their reward for thousands of years. A resurrection awaits everyone—either a resurrection to eternal life or a resurrection to “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). The Bible states that New Testament saints who have died will be resurrected at the event we call the rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). The Bible is less clear about when the Old Testament saints will be resurrected. It is our view that Old Testament believers will be joined to their resurrected bodies at the end of the tribulation period when Jesus returns to earth to set up His millennial kingdom (Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14). Easter: How was Jesus’ death a real sacrifice if He knew He would be resurrected? Easter: Where was Jesus for the three days between His death and resurrection? Easter: Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? Why should I believe in Christ’s resurrection? The First Line of Evidence for Christ’s resurrection To begin with, we have demonstrably sincere eyewitness testimony. Early Christian apologists cited hundreds of eyewitnesses, some of whom documented their own alleged experiences. Many of these eyewitnesses willfully and resolutely endured prolonged torture and death rather than repudiate their testimony. The Second Line of Evidence for Christ’s resurrection A second line of evidence concerns the conversion of certain key skeptics, most notably Paul and James. Paul was of his own admission a violent persecutor of the early Church. After what he described as an encounter with the resurrected Christ, Paul underwent an immediate and drastic change from a vicious persecutor of the Church to one of its most prolific and selfless defenders. Like many early Christians, Paul suffered impoverishment, persecution, beatings, imprisonment, and execution for his steadfast commitment to Christ’s resurrection. The Third and Fourth Lines of Evidence for Christ’s resurrection A third line and fourth line of evidence concern enemy attestation to the empty tomb and the fact that faith in the resurrection took root in Jerusalem. Jesus was publicly executed and buried in Jerusalem. It would have been impossible for faith in His resurrection to take root in Jerusalem while His body was still in the tomb where the Sanhedrin could exhume it, put it on public display, and thereby expose the hoax. Instead, the Sanhedrin accused the disciples of stealing the body, apparently in an effort to explain its disappearance (and therefore an empty tomb). The Fifth Line of Evidence for Christ’s resurrection Finally, a fifth line of evidence concerns a peculiarity of the eyewitness testimony. In all of the major resurrection narratives, women are credited as the first and primary eyewitnesses. This would be an odd invention since in both the ancient Jewish and Roman cultures women were severely disesteemed. Their testimony was regarded as insubstantial and dismissible. Given this fact, it is highly unlikely that any perpetrators of a hoax in first century Judea would elect women to be their primary witnesses. Of all the male disciples who claimed to see Jesus resurrected, if they all were lying and the resurrection was a scam, why did they pick the most ill-perceived, distrusted witnesses they could find? Why is the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ so important? Why didn’t Jesus appear to more people after His resurrection? After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to Mary Magdalene, various other women, two unnamed disciples, Peter, and the rest of the remaining eleven apostles. Scripture says that “after that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:6–8). Some have suggested that a larger body of witnesses would have provided more compelling evidence, thereby swaying more people to believe in Christ. Why did Jesus not appear to more people after His resurrection? Jesus could have shown Himself to many other people after His resurrection, if He had chosen to. But it was God’s plan to limit the post-resurrection appearances to certain groups. The five hundred-plus eyewitnesses to the living Lord were enough. The Bible teaches that salvation is a gift of grace through faith—it is not the product of learning a large enough amount of historical knowledge: “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Having more evidence is not necessary for those with faith. Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ true? Is the resurrection spiritual or physical? The future resurrection is a fundamental belief of Christianity. For the believer, the resurrection is not a continuation of our present lives but a transition into eternity with God in heaven. According to the Bible, the resurrection will be physical. The physical resurrection of believers is mentioned in the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles. A clear affirmation of a physical resurrection is found in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul writes about the future resurrection of the dead, drawing a parallel to the resurrection of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:42–44, he says this: Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. (NLT) Paul explains that believers will be raised from the dead with “spiritual bodies” in contrast to the “natural bodies” that had died. This does not mean that we will have immaterial bodies; rather, our bodies will be imperishable and glorified, unlike our present bodies. What is more important, the death of Christ or His resurrection? When will the Resurrection take place?. Can the various resurrection accounts from the four Gospels be harmonized? MySwordOfTruth.org DaveWinstead.org GotQuestions.org |
| 4/30/2026 – Dave Winstead – The Ascension |
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| Easter: From Resurrection To Ascension The Ascension of Jesus is the Christian belief that Jesus physically departed Earth for heaven 40 days after his resurrection, witnessed by his apostles near Bethany on the Mount of Olives. The Ascension of Jesus Christ is meaningful for several reasons: 1) It signaled the end of His earthly ministry. God the Father had lovingly sent His Son into the world at Bethlehem, and now the Son was returning to the Father. The period of human limitation was at an end. 2) It signified success in His earthly work. All that He had come to do, He had accomplished. 3) It marked the return of His heavenly glory. Jesus’ glory had been veiled during His sojourn on earth, with one brief exception at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). 4) It symbolized His exaltation by the Father (Ephesians 1:20-23). The One with whom the Father is well pleased (Matthew 17:5) was received up in honor and given a name above all names (Philippians 2:9). 5) It allowed Him to prepare a place for us (John 14:2). 6) It indicated the beginning of His new work as High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) and Mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15). 7) It set the pattern for His return. When Jesus comes to set up the Kingdom, He will return just as He left-literally, bodily, and visibly in the clouds (Acts 1:11; Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7). Currently, the Lord Jesus is in heaven. The Scriptures frequently picture Him at the right hand of the Father-a position of honor and authority (Psalm 110:1; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 8:1). Christ is the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18), the giver of spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:7-8), and the One who fills all in all (Ephesians 4:9-10). MySwordOfTruth.org DaveWinstead.org GotQuestions.org |
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