THE PROMISE AND POWER OF EASTER

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the LORD out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put Him!" [John 20:1-2]

On the morning of resurrection Sunday, we pause and remember that Jesus had been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by His disciples, denied by Peter, tried by the Sanhedrin; condemned to death by Pilate, crucified at Calvary and buried and sealed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

His followers were in hiding, grieving the loss of the one they had believed was the Messiah. Everything seemed lost and hopeless, Jesus was dead.

Good Friday is followed by the emptiness of Holy Saturday, a day of waiting, a day of stillness and reflection. In the great stillness of the day all appears silent and God seems absent. This is the day emotions scream louder than faith but heaven has not stopped. Silence doesn't mean absence. The tomb is quiet but the unseen realm is not!

Then we have the message and the excitement of Resurrection Sunday!

At dawn, history shifted forever.

The women approached the tomb with spices in their hands and sorrow in their hearts. They were not expecting a miracle, they were expecting to honour a body. Yet, heaven had decided otherwise! An angel descended, the earth shook, the stone was rolled away, not to release Jesus, but to reveal that He was no longer contained by death.

"The Angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay." (Matthew 28:5-6)

Jesus has risen!

The grave could not hold Him. The cross was not the end of the story, it was the beginning of something new. The resurrection changes everything. It proves that Jesus is who He claimed to be - the Son of God, the Saviour of the world!

As followers of Jesus, isn't this why we celebrate Easter?

As we reflect on the resurrection, we are reminded that God's love and power are stronger than the grave.

Through faith in the risen Christ, death is defeated forever, and all who believe in Him are welcomed into eternal life in the presence of our sovereign God and King!

Jesus accomplished His mission to be the atoning sacrifice, and now, He has a mission for us. Forty days after rising from the grave, He called His disciples to meet Him on a mountain top where He says to them:

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

He leaves His followers empowered by His Spirit to pick up the baton and run the race of speaking, living, and representing to the world the message of the gospel. That Jesus, fully divine and fully human, came to earth and lived a life of sinless perfection; and He willingly went to the cross and died on our behalf so that all who accept Him can be free of sin and the darkness in which we once lived.

So, how is this handover of the baton and the race going for you?

Resurrection does not produce timid believers. It produces bold witnesses. The disciples who had hidden in fear become fearless proclaimers because they had seen the risen LORD.

Easter Sunday is a reminder of the race we said "Yes" to. For us, there will be times when we will run the race poorly but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will pick up the baton, pick up the pace, and resume the race.

We are not defined by Friday's failure or imprisoned by Saturday's silence, we are anchored in Sunday's triumph!

In Christ, we do not fight for victory; we stand in it.

We do not drive for acceptance; we live from approval.

We do not fear the grave; we serve the One who holds its keys.

Because He lives, we live.

Because He conquered, we stand.

Because He rose, we rise.

The empty tomb proclaims that hope is alive, that redemption is complete and that the story of the believer ends not in defeat, but in everlasting victory.

How wonderful is that!