Jesus told his followers several times that he expected to be killed. But he insisted that this was not just the tragic outcome of a revolutionary life; it was God’s plan.
The final days of Jesus’ life were spent in and around the temple, where he was repeatedly critical of the religious leaders and predicted a crisis in which the temple would be destroyed.
Forty hours after they had witnessed Jesus being crucified, his remaining disciples were gathered, frightened and grief-stricken. A group of agitated women burst in on them with a message that they greeted with incredulity.
Christians have always believed that because Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead, the relationship between God and humans has changed for all time. God and human beings can be peacefully at one.
To follow Jesus requires faith. It is not possible to prove that God exists. But those who make a conscious decision to follow Jesus actively find that their lives are immeasurably improved by going through it in the company of the living God.
