He Is Risen

Three days after Jesus died on the cross, something happened that no one was expecting.

Very early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, a woman named Mary Magdalene and some other women went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. They wanted to bring spices and anoint his body — it was a way of showing love and saying goodbye.

But as they came near the tomb, they felt the ground shake beneath their feet. An angel had come down from heaven and rolled away the enormous stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. The angel sat on top of the stone, and the guards who had been standing watch were so terrified they fainted.

The angel spoke to the women: “Don’t be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here — he has risen, just as he said he would! Come and see the place where he lay.”

The women stepped inside. The tomb was empty. Just folded linen cloths where Jesus had been.

They ran away — trembling, astonished, filled with joy and fear all at once.

And then — on the road — Jesus himself met them. “Good morning,” he said, as simply as that.

They fell to their knees and held his feet and worshipped him.

Jesus appeared to many of his friends over the days that followed. He walked with two of them on a dusty road and they didn’t recognize him at first. He cooked breakfast for his disciples by the lake. He came through locked doors to stand among them and said: “Peace be with you.”

Easter is the most joyful day of the year because of what that empty tomb means:

Death is not the end. Jesus is alive. And because he lives, we can live too.