Resurrected!

Gandalf the Grey became Gandalf the White

Most of the time when you die, you stay dead.  That's a blunt way of looking at things, I admit.  Even superheroes have to die sometime, right?

Gandalf the Grey in the "Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring" sacrificed himself to fight to the death with a Balrog in the mines of Moria.  He was bitterly grieved by his companions on the journey to send the evil Ring of Power back to its source.  You don't see his fate until the beginning of the second movie, "The Two Towers."  Here you see Gandalf was resurrected into a brilliant white being, much more powerful and focused than he had been as Grey.  He is now Gandalf the White.  That kind of thing only happens in fictional stories, right?

Wrong.  We have evidence in our history that Jesus himself was resurrected following his death on the cross.  Simply read the eyewitness accounts in the books of the Bible by the people who were there.  Here we see a man without sin, who took on our sins, paid our penalty, and then died for us.  If the story ended there, it would still be a pretty awesome account, because it is always a great story when someone dies for someone else.  But that wasn't the greatest part.  Indeed, the greatest part was that three days after his death and burial, he rose again in a new and glorified body.  He became greater and more powerful in his death.  People who saw him in his glorified state didn't always recognize him, but he was still the Jesus they remembered.  He had all the memories of the times they shared prior to his death.

If you want to read great true story about sacrifice, death, and resurrection, read about Jesus.  He was a radical man, who was also the Son of God.  You can find the story in the book of Luke.  The last two chapters (if you like to skip to the end) are specific to the death and resurrection.

"Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.  And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them.  'Peace be with you,' he said.  But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! 'Why are you frightened?' he asked. 'Why are your hearts filled with doubt?  Look at my hands.  Look at my feet.  You can see that it's really me.  Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do.' As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet." (Luke 24:35-40 NLT)