Jesus Dies and Rises
This lesson covers the most important days in history: Jesus’ suffering and death on Good
Friday, His rising on Easter Sunday, and His return to heaven forty days later.
The Passion
78. Q. What did Jesus Christ suffer?
A. Jesus Christ suffered a bloody sweat, a cruel scourging, was crowned with thorns, and
was crucified.
79. Q. On what day did Christ die?
A. Christ died on Good Friday.
80. Q. Why do you call that day “good” on which Christ died so sorrowful a death?
A. We call that day “good” on which Christ died because by His death He showed His
great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing.
81. Q. Where did Christ die?
A. Christ died on Mount Calvary.
82. Q. How did Christ die?
A. Christ was nailed to the Cross and died on it between two thieves.
The Passion means Jesus’ suffering. In the garden the night before He died, He was in such
agony that His sweat became like drops of blood. He was then arrested, whipped (scourged),
mocked with a crown of thorns, and nailed to a cross on the hill of Calvary, outside
Jerusalem.
Why call that terrible day “Good” Friday? Because on that day Jesus showed how much He
loves us, and won for us forgiveness and the hope of heaven. Nothing better has ever
happened to the human race.
Remember: Jesus suffered and died on the cross out of love for us.
Why He Died
83. Q. Why did Christ suffer and die?
A. Christ suffered and died for our sins.
84. Q. What lessons do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ?
A. From the sufferings and death of Christ we learn the great evil of sin, the hatred God
bears to it, and the necessity of satisfying for it.
Jesus died for our sins: not just the sins of people long ago, but yours and mine. No one took
His life from Him against His will. He gave it freely (John 10:18).
Looking at the crucifix teaches us two things at once: how terrible sin is, since it cost the Son
of God His life, and how great God’s love is, since He was willing to pay that price.
Remember: My sins put Jesus on the cross, and His love was greater than my sins.
He Descended to the Dead
85. Q. Where did Christ’s soul go after His death?
A. After Christ’s death His soul descended into hell.
86. Q. Did Christ’s soul descend into the hell of the damned?
A. The hell into which Christ’s soul descended was not the hell of the damned, but a
place or state of rest called Limbo, where the souls of the just were waiting for Him.
87. Q. Why did Christ descend into Limbo?
A. Christ descended into Limbo to preach to the souls who were in prison—that is, to
announce to them the joyful tidings of their redemption.
88. Q. Where was Christ’s body while His soul was in Limbo?
A. While Christ’s soul was in Limbo His body was in the holy sepulchre.
This often confuses people. Before Jesus died, heaven was closed. Good people who died,
like Abraham, Moses, and David, waited in a peaceful place of rest. This place is sometimes
called the Limbo of the Fathers. Today we often say Jesus “descended to the dead.”
While His body lay in the tomb (the sepulchre), Jesus’ soul went to these holy souls to bring
them the good news that heaven was finally open.
Remember: After He died, Jesus went to free the holy souls who had waited for Him.
The Resurrection
89. Q. On what day did Christ rise from the dead?
A. Christ rose from the dead, glorious and immortal, on Easter Sunday, the third day
after His death.
90. Q. How long did Christ stay on earth after His resurrection?
A. Christ stayed on earth forty days after His resurrection to show that He was truly risen
from the dead, and to instruct His Apostles.
On Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead by His own power. He was not a ghost: the
Apostles touched Him and ate with Him. But His body was now glorious and immortal; He
would never die again.
The Resurrection is the proof that Jesus is who He said He is. St. Paul wrote: “If Christ be not
risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). It is
also our hope: because He rose, we will rise too.
Remember: Jesus truly rose from the dead, and one day we will rise too.
Read more: Luke 24; Catechism of the Catholic Church §§638–658.
The Ascension
91. Q. After Christ had remained forty days on earth whither did He go?
A. After forty days Christ ascended into heaven, and the day on which He ascended into
heaven is called Ascension day.
92. Q. Where is Christ in heaven?
A. In heaven Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
93. Q. What do you mean by saying that Christ sits at the right hand of God?
A. When I say that Christ sits at the right hand of God I mean that Christ as God is equal
to His Father in all things, and that as man He is in the highest place in heaven next to
God.
Forty days after Easter, Jesus went up into heaven, body and soul, while the Apostles
watched (Acts 1:9–11). This is the Ascension.
“At the right hand” is a picture, since God has no hands. In the ancient world, the guest of
honor sat at the king’s right hand. It means Jesus has the highest place of honor and power.
He did not leave us behind. He went ahead to prepare a place for us (John 14:2).
Remember: Jesus went to heaven to prepare a place for us, and He reigns there now.
Putting It Into Practice
• Keep a crucifix where you will see it each day, and pause to thank Jesus.
• Pray the Stations of the Cross, especially on Fridays in Lent.
• Treat every Sunday as a little Easter, a weekly celebration of the Resurrection.
Questions to Think About
1. How does it change things to know Jesus died for you personally?
2. How would you live differently if you were completely sure you will rise from the dead?
A Prayer
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee, because by Thy holy cross Thou hast
redeemed the world. Amen.