Christmas gets the songs, but Easter is the hinge of the Christian faith. The first Christians didn't risk their lives to say a good teacher had died. They said he had risen — and they'd seen him.
The empty tomb
Jesus was crucified on Friday and buried in a borrowed tomb, sealed with a stone and guarded by soldiers. On Sunday morning, women who came to tend his body found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. An angel met them with news that has echoed for two thousand years:
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:6
Over the following weeks, the risen Jesus appeared — to the women, to his disciples, once to more than five hundred people at a time. The friends who had scattered in fear became bold witnesses who would rather die than deny what they'd seen. Many of them did.
Why it matters so much
The apostle Paul put it bluntly: if Christ was not raised, the whole faith is empty and we're still lost. But he wasn't writing to raise doubts — he was building to a shout of confidence:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1 Corinthians 15:20
Here is what the resurrection secures:
- The cross worked. The resurrection is God's receipt — proof that Jesus' death truly paid for sin.
- Death is not the end. Jesus is the "firstfruits" — the first of a coming harvest. Those who trust him will be raised too.
- Jesus is alive now. He is not a figure from history to admire, but a living Lord to know.
The invitation of Easter
Easter isn't only something to celebrate; it's something to respond to. The same Jesus who walked out of the tomb offers new life to anyone who will trust him.
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
John 11:25
Risen Lord, you defeated death itself. Thank you that because you live, I can face death — and life — with hope. Be my living Lord, not just a story I celebrate once a year. Amen.