Death is not the end of the story for Jesus of Nazareth. As the firstborn of new creation (Col. 1:15, 18) and the heir of all things (Heb.1:2), he is showing humanity that death is not the end of our story either. It’s a brutal and mysterious part of our story, but in the light of Christ, we can believe that our life does not end in earthly death. God’s love carries us through, and death loses its sting in the face of Jesus’ resurrection promise. This is the indestructible life we celebrate on Easter Sunday, the life of Jesus!
Three days after Jesus’ execution, two women from among Jesus’ disciples find out that the tomb’s stone has been moved—the seal is broken, and Jesus’ body is gone. An angelic man says Jesus has risen, and he urges the women to tell the other disciples. Jesus is alive and heading north, and he plans to meet his disciples in Galilee.
Jesus meets with his followers, showing them his wounds and letting them touch his resurrected body. According to Luke’s version of the story, when Jesus first sees the disciples, he asks them if they have any leftovers to share. They give him some fish, and he chats with them over a meal (Luke 24:41–43). Jesus passed through death and returned to life as a walking, talking, living human being who was hungry for some leftovers—he is the firstborn of humanity in the new creation. And he tells his disciples that he’s going to give them the same divine power that sustains him, so they can go out and share the good news of resurrection and the unending love of God’s Kingdom with people throughout the world.
Jesus sends the disciples out to all families of the Earth with this good news. Everyone can join Jesus’ Kingdom by turning away from their fear of death and turning toward his love and following his way of life. On Easter Sunday, followers of Jesus celebrate with joy! Jesus has risen, and his new creation has begun. Happy Easter!
In today’s video, watch the story of Jesus’ resurrection unfold.
Prayer for Easter Sunday: Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may, by your life-giving Spirit, be delivered from sin and raised from death; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
*All prayers in this reading plan are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019).
Scripture:
• Matthew 28
• Luke 24:13-49
• John 20:11-29
We would like to thank BibleProject for providing this plan. For more information, please visit bibleproject.com.