It’s Easter Time – The Time of Rejoicing

An empty tomb, a risen Savior, a living Lord

“And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him” (Matthew 28:9).

For many, Easter is a reenactment of the crucifixion, a lifeless form on a rough hewn cross. It is remembrance of the brutal suffering and agonizing death that Jesus endured. The portrayal of the Easter story is replayed in churches throughout the world with children’s stories, dramas, cantatas, and sermons. The eulogy is rehearsed and the sordid sufferings of the passion of Christ are displayed.

While all these events are important in the telling of the gospel story, it should be remembered that the ultimate climax of the crucifixion is not the cross but the tomb. Even then, it is not the burial place but the vacuum that remained in the sepulcher on Sunday morning. The power of the story is not in the dying but the living. Other religious leaders lived and died and their remains are with us today. Other prophets preached and perished and all that remain are manuscripts and mausoleums. But this teacher not only left a written record but a living legacy. None other can testify of immortality, no one else has remained victorious over the grave.

Legends grow with the telling through time. It was known in the first century that the story of the resurrection would be embellished with the telling and eventually dismissed as legend or fable. Therefore it was imperative that many witnesses attest to the truth of this event. Luke wrote that Jesus, “presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Paul added to this a virtual list of witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. “He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, …. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).

The reality of the resurrection was cause for rejoicing. Unimaginable sorrow turned to inexpressible joy. The depth of despair endured just hours before was replaced with cautious euphoria. Can it possibility be true? Jesus lives? Those who did not see Him doubted. Thomas wasn’t the only one that needed proof of His resurrection. But Jesus freely offered His hands and side for inspection by the unbelieving. The healing scars were enough testament for the validity of His vitality.

Don’t let the Easter story end on a cross of suffering. Continue the telling to include the dark days of death but also the light of life shining from the dark tomb of yesterday’s tragedy. Rejoice in the existence of the risen Savior and worship the living Lord!