The victory of Christ over Satan and his evil powers was secured on the cross and confirmed by the empty tomb. “When Jesus was laid in the grave, Satan triumphed. He dared to hope that the Saviour would not take up His life again. He claimed the Lord’s body, and set his guard about the tomb, seeking to hold Christ a prisoner. He was bitterly angry when his angels fled at the approach of the heavenly messenger. When he saw Christ come forth in triumph, he knew that his kingdom would have an end, and that he must finally die.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 782. And though Christ’s humanity died, His divinity did not die. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.

 Read Matthew 28:1-6; John 10:17, 18; and Romans 8:11. Who was directly involved in the resurrection of Jesus?

 During His ministry in Samaria-Peraea, Jesus stated that He Himself had power to lay down His life and to take it again (John 10:17, 18). To Martha He said, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). Other passages speak of His resurrection as an act of God (Acts 2:24, Rom. 8:11, Gal. 1:1, Heb. 13:20). Even a mighty angel of the Lord was involved in that glorious event (Matt. 28:1, 2).

 Meanwhile, Matthew 28:11-15 reveals the futile and foolish efforts of the leaders to continue fighting against Jesus. The Roman guard told the leaders “all the things that had happened” (Matt. 28:11, NKJV). Implicit in this account is the idea that the guards saw the resurrection. If not, what would their words mean? An angel came down from heaven, moved the stone, sat on it, and the guards fainted? The next thing that they know the tomb is empty? Maybe, while the Romans were unconscious, the angel took away the body of Jesus? Maybe the disciples did? Or someone else stole it? Whatever happened, the body of Jesus was, obviously, gone.

 An angel from heaven coming down, the men fainting from fear, and the tomb being empty would have been disconcerting enough to the religious leaders. But that they “gave a large sum of money to the soldiers” (Matt. 28:12, NKJV) to keep these men quiet implied that whatever the soldiers told them disturbed them deeply. And what they told of, of course, was the resurrection of Jesus.