We hope these short pieces written by ABTS faculty encourage you this season.

George Sleiman

Go and take word to My brethren. Matthew 28:10

The movie industry is filled with cliché post-credits scenes where the protagonist who died in the movie theatrically appears alive at the end. This cliffhanger of a reveal induces the audience to imagine scenarios and brings money to producers who release a much-anticipated sequel. Unlike Hollywood’s fascination with imagined reanimations, Jesus’ resurrection is something entirely different—it is true, and it is powerful! His coming to life was not a mere dramatic reveal; it was personal and purposeful. He did not appear to His disciples and more than five hundred brothers and sisters only to prove that He is risen—He encountered them in their grief, doubts, and shattered hopes. He encountered them to restore, strengthen, and send.

For Mary Magdalene, the encounter reinstated her hope and showed Jesus’ heart towards personal relationships. When she was lost in sorrow at the empty tomb, not recognizing Him, He called her by name. As for the other women, He met them while they were running. They fell at His feet in fear and adoration, and He gave them a mission and a renewed purpose: “Go and take word to My brethren” (Matt 28:10).

He encountered two disciples on the road to Emmaus, explaining Scriptures and being in communion with His beloved ones. In the Upper Room, He greeted with His peace all those present, opened their hearts for the Holy Spirit, and gave them the authority to proclaim forgiveness. Thomas doubted until he saw and touched Jesus. Jesus appeared to Him to strengthen His weary faith and teach that it should not depend on sight.

By the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’ encounter with His disciples provided provision and restoration. A miraculous catch of fish fed their hungry bodies, and His conversation with Peter, where He asked him three times if he loved Him, restored Peter’s broken soul.

Jesus’ final post-resurrection encounter was not a farewell; it was a commissioning with the promise that His presence would never leave them. He called them to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching and baptizing. Even in the presence of the risen Christ, the disciples still had questions. In one of His last moments with them before ascending, He reshaped their expectations—the kingdom would come through the Spirit-empowered witness of His people. He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit, and then go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. His resurrection broke the bondage of their hiding into the liberty of proclaiming His word.

Each encounter encouraged, taught, and prepared His followers for their calling and to join in the abundance of life with Him.

 Chelsea Hurlburt

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” 1 Peter 1:3-4

I’ve been thinking about resurrection a lot lately. Not just because of Easter, but because I’m a little jealous of this “living hope” Scripture speaks of. After six years in Lebanon, I more often anticipate disaster rather than hope. Another explosion? Another fuel crisis? Another war? History has not made it easy to hold on to hope here.

So in order to not completely succumb to pessimism, I’ve been ruminating on resurrection. 1 Peter 1:3 says we have living hope because of Christ’s resurrection. On a cosmic level I understand that: through Christ’s death we have the hope of eternal life. But on a daily, practical level… I get a bit distracted and lost.

The problem is that even while I put my hope in Christ’s promise and His victory over death, even as I believe that my own resurrection from death to eternal life is possible because of Him – that truth can feel a little too distant some days. Eternal life feels a little far into the future to remember on a daily basis. Present-day pressures make it easy to forget the promise of resurrection.

So I’ve been coming back to the simplest definition of resurrection. Resurrection is life after death. Resurrection turns our normal understanding of the natural world upside down. Instead of life preceding death, resurrection shows us that death must precede life. And if that’s the case, then the only path to daily experiencing a “living hope” is through choosing to daily die to sin.

Colossians 3 says that only by putting to death earthly things can we experience renewal. These include “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness” (v.5), but I would add a few other parts of our human nature that we have a hard time letting go. These include fear, anxiety, and holding on to the hurts of the past. The more I walk in faith, the more I realize how these things have become invisible burdens, holding me back from living.

The glorious wonder of resurrected living doesn’t happen only via a single choice to be reborn in Christ, but by daily choosing to put to death whatever is keeping a hold on us so we can embrace new life. As we celebrate the Resurrection, let us not just think of it as a day, but as a lifestyle. Let us choose today to put to death whatever it is weighing us down, to offer it to Christ as a sacrifice. Let us not only remember the Resurrection but live it.

Grace Al-Zoughbi

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11

Two events gave a fresh and powerful impetus to the disciples of Jesus after their master had died on the cross. The first was God raising Jesus from the dead (Luke 24:1-12) and making him Lord (Acts 2:36). The second was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the crowd of disciples at Pentecost, as described in Acts 2. The sending of the Holy Spirit and His indwelling those who follow and belong to Christ instantaneously became the central and distinctive feature of the first Christian communities.

The significance of these two events, Jesus’ resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, had implications not only for Christ’s disciples but also for the broader context of the Middle East.

Pentecost took place in Jerusalem, a city at the heart of Jewish religious life, and the disciples’ proclamation of the resurrection occurred amid a diverse and multilingual crowd. This event marked the beginning of Christianity’s spread beyond its original roots, reaching across the cultural and religious divides of the region. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling in believers empowered them to transcend the ethnic and religious barriers that characterized the ancient Middle East, offering a new path of unity and identity in Christ.

As the apostles and early Christians began to spread the Gospel throughout the surrounding regions of Judea, Samaria, and beyond, this message of resurrection and spiritual renewal gradually took root, influencing not only Jewish communities but also Gentile populations in cities across the Roman Empire, including many in the Middle East. Thus, the early church’s emergence was intrinsically linked to the political, cultural, and religious landscape of the region, marking the beginning of a movement that would transform the Middle East and the world. And the legacy of faith continues through God’s Spirit.

Risen Lord, we thank You for the power of Your resurrection and the outpouring of Your Spirit. Just as You breathed courage and clarity into Your first disciples, breathe life into us today. Fill us anew with Your Spirit so that we may bear witness to Your truth in word and deed. Help us, especially in the Middle East, to be instruments of peace and unity, crossing divides with the love and hope found in You. May Your Spirit continue to transform lives and renew our world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.