He Died so you could Live
I'm pretty sure I skip over this verse every time I read it. Do you ever catch yourself flying through the crucifixion story because you have heard, read, even seen it (Passion) over and over. We know the story. This verse is almost never mentioned. This was God's version of Night of the Living Dead. Dead people walked into the holy city and appeared to people! That's kinda creepy...but I would imagine it was pretty awesome. This is the whole reason Jesus died. He wanted us to live! Instantly we see the affects of Jesus' sacrifice, people were literally raised to new life. In order for them to be raised to new life they had to die. Have you died to yourself so Jesus could raise you from the dead?
