He Is Risen!

“And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here.  See the place where they laid him.’ ” -Mark 16:6 (ESV

The best news possible awaited those who visited Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week after the Sabbath was past.  Each of the four gospels has a slightly different account of the resurrection.  But each rings with the joy of Jesus’ power over death and the grave and the hope His resurrection holds for all believers.

Jesus who was so cruelly crucified on Friday and laid quickly in the new tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea was not in the tomb when the women and some of the disciples went to the tomb early in the morning of the first day of the new week.  Jesus had told them He would rise on the third day following His death.  But they were all surprised when they found the tomb empty.

One of the central truths of the Christian faith is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  He has power over death and lives forevermore at the right hand of God.  To us who follow Him, His own resurrection is promise to us that we, too, will experience life eternal after death.

His appearances to disciples following His resurrection and His commission to them as He was ready to ascend into Heaven helped them and us to know that He left us with very good news to tell and a mission to accomplish.  That commission in Matthew 28:18-20 was for His disciples then and for us now:  “All authority in heaven and in earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Early Christians and many in this present age greet each other with “He is risen!” and respond with “He is risen, indeed!”  Charles Wesley penned the joyous message in these words of a beloved Easter hymn:

“Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply:  Alleluia!”

Sing it, tell it, live it:  He is risen, indeed!  -Ethelene Dyer Jones 04.16.2017