Risen

Early Sunday morning in the midst of Passover, as the Hebrew people celebrated their deliverance from slavery by the mighty hand of God, some of Jesus’ dejected followers made their solemn way to His tomb. With spices in hand, they were preparing to anoint the Teacher’s gravesite and say a final farewell. Their Messiah was dead; and with Him, all their hopes and dreams were buried.

This man Jesus showed them a Kingdom that turned the world on its head. Slaves and children were crowned as princes in God’s court. The lost and lonely found their place in the Savior’s arms. At the sound of Christ’s voice, demons, dangers, and death itself slithered meekly away. But in the end, He couldn’t save Himself. He gave the gift of life, but death was His reward. How could His disciples go without mourning?

Once they passed through Jerusalem’s gate in the darkness before dawn, grief gave way to shock. The tomb was empty when the disciples got there. The seal was broken, the stone rolled away. When they looked for grave robbers, they were astonished to find the glowing faces of angels instead. And these Heavenly messengers bore amazing news: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said...” (Matthew 28:6 NIV®)

In a moment, joy dawned. New hope was raised with the risen Christ. Later, when they saw their Lord alive, they fell at His feet, clinging to Him with tear- filled eyes. They shared meals with Him and cherished every moment. They heard the welcome sound of His voice. Jesus was alive! And with Him, all the hope of the universe lives forever on.

DEATH UNDONE

At Easter, we celebrate the culmination of history. After millennia of groaning in sin, after centuries of anticipating a Savior, after years of constant controversy and heated opposition, after the sorrow of the cross on Friday, after the silence of the tomb on Saturday, Easter Sunday bursts forth with a shout of final vindication. Jesus is exactly who He said He is! All the promises of God are true! Broken, sin-sick people are reconciled to God through their righteous Redeemer. And the glory of God’s name is fully and forever upheld.

When Jesus walked out of His own tomb, He took away the bitter sting of death and trampled the schemes of Satan underfoot, rendering all His enemies powerless to destroy. On the cross, the dying cries of incarnate God resounded across the universe; in the empty tomb, the risen Christ clothed us with life everlasting , filling our mouths with the triumphant cheer of Psalm 30:11-12 (NIV®):

You turned my wailing into dancing; 

You removed my sackcloth

    and clothed me with joy,

That my heart may sing your praises

and not be silent. LORD my God,

    I will praise you forever.

The resurrection is a done deal. Even now, we look forward to the day when we will stand bodily before our King, bending ever-youthful knees before the God of matchless glory and lifting dulcet voices to Him whose voice brings the dead to life and sings galaxies into existence. Before the throne of grace, our song of triumph will forever be, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV®)

PARADISE FOUND

In this way, Easter is a foretaste of Heaven, awakening us to all that is good and beautiful and valuable. As the redeemed people of Jesus Christ, the source of our joy and the root of our hope is not found ultimately in what God gives to us, good and perfect as all His gifts are, but what God is to us. We give thanks to Christ for forgiving our sins, saving us from corruption and death, and wiping away the tears of a broken world—but most importantly by far, we praise the name of Jesus because He has brought us up to God.

This is our indomitable hope. This is why we celebrate with otherworldly exultation. In Jesus, we have access—perfect, unending, unlimited access— to God!

That reality takes some getting used to. When He first brings us into newness of life, we can’t help but feel like strangers in this place. But as God casts the scales from our earthly eyes, pulling back the curtain to His radiant wonders, the truth sets us free: every thirst and longing of our heart finds ultimate satisfaction in Him. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another...” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)

Awash in the cleansing blood of Jesus, we’re swept off our feet by His oceanic love, the waves of God’s grace driving us deeper into unspeakable joy. Along the shores of this eternal sea, all we have to do—truly, all we can do—is rest our hope wholly in Him, trusting the rising tide to carry us into glory. In the presence of Christ’s tender mercies, we’re never more helpless, never more secure, and altogether enraptured by the beauty and majestic perfections of God Himself. There’s no other place we could possibly belong. He is our everything; we were made to treasure Him.

THE WORLD AWAITS

This hope is too good for us to keep it to ourselves. We were dead and He made us alive. We were spared from destruction by God’s unrelenting , undefeatable love. He has carried us home and showed us His face, and we will spend time unending in the ecstasy of His presence.

Let us tremble over the salvation we could never deserve—and let that drive us to become His faithful messengers! We were snatched like brands out of the fire; let’s burn and glow with delight for the King who conquered our death for the glory of His name! Armed with the hope of Easter, take up the news of eternal life and carry it into a world that’s passing swiftly away. This living hope should leave us restless, unable and unwilling to hold it in.

So dream boldly. Go into your home and let the whole house shake with the joy of Heaven’s glory. Break through the ordinary dullness of neighborly greetings and carry the hope of new life into the street where you’ve been planted with a purpose. Let the cities in our midst be flooded with the Gospel: God put death to death—Jesus is alive! He lifts the dead up to everlasting life and never-ending delight! Hell itself is trampled in the dust—who can stop us from obeying our Master’s call?

The ends of the earth await. Our hope was secured at the cross and vindicated in the tomb, and it resounds in Heaven as a call to press valiantly on. Every person on earth needs to know this uncontainable hope. Every victory belongs to Jesus, and there’s a whole wide world waiting to be conquered. So go forth and do the very thing you were made for, taking the news of Easter into every corner of your life. Paradise is open wide. Join in the celestial choir: “He has risen, just as He said!”