Jesus Rose From the Tomb Victorious

The narrative begins with Mary and Mary Magdalene approaching the tomb of Jesus in the cool of the morning, perhaps weeping the whole way for him.

Suddenly, an angel appears in a terrifying flash. Battle-hardened guards trembled before the power displayed. Though they faced execution if they allowed the tomb to be unsealed, they can do nothing to stop it.

Both Marys are astonished. Notice: the angel did not roll aside the stone so Jesus could leave the tomb, but so they could go in. So we could “come, see the place where he lay.”

The tomb was empty!

“So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples . . . behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him” (v. 9).

Revelation leads to obedience, which leads to an encounter with Jesus, which leads to worship.

Here’s what we know: on Easter Sunday, Jesus’ tomb was empty, with no natural explanation. The grave was left clutching the clothes which had enshrouded his dead corpse because he is alive.

At the empty tomb, Satan lost. John’s gospel tells us that the devil inspired Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus (John 13:27). At the cross, Satan and his minions must have been rejoicing. They were certain that they had executed the Son of God and quashed his movement on earth. But on Easter Sunday, at the empty tomb, they lost and Jesus won.

What great victory!

Reflect on the humanness of Jesus, his dirty experience on earth with broken people, and countless difficulties. After feeling the weight of sin lifted off of your shoulders from his death, consider now his power to raise from the dead.

Reflect on what you’ve learned about Jesus this week.

Now, take a moment to thank Jesus that you will get to meet him face to face!

Let that sink in: this wonderful human, Jesus of Nazareth, who has the power to bring back to life, will meet you soon after death.

If you believe that, how can you change your life and let everyone know about Jesus?

You and I will never measure up to him, but his grace is always there to meet us in failure.

So now that you are empowered by his death and resurrection, go live like he did!

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