Easter Sunday: HE LIVES!!

This is the final post of an eight-day devotional designed to help you praise Christ each day of Easter week. Thanks for joining in!

Friday had been a day filled with grief. Saturday, a day of despair and apparent hopelessness. But if there’s one thing we should know about God’s vocabulary, it’s that “hopelessness” isn’t in it!

Sunday morning brought news that changed everything for all people for all time—news that will be forever linked with hope. No matter what life throws at us, we have hope in Him:

Hope of forgiveness.
Hope of answered prayer.
Hope of healing.
Hope of salvation.
Hope of life everlasting!

The women who approached the tomb at Sunday’s dawn found no corpse in need of embalming. They found a stone rolled away, an empty tomb, and an angelic greeting. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” the angel asked. “He is not here. He is risen, just as He said.”

We have record of at least two times when Jesus had clearly told His disciples what was going to take place. Mark 9:31 quotes Him, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.”

Later He was even more explicit: “We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mk. 10:33-34) His prophecies should have given them hope in the midst of their despair. But when the time came they failed to remember what He’d said. (The ironic thing is, His enemies remembered; they requested a guard at His grave because He’d said, “After three days I will rise again.” See Matthew 27:62-66.)

Under pressure, the disciples forgot His promises and lost hope. The last four words of the angel’s message embody our problem, capture how hopelessness overtakes us. We let circumstances cloud our view and we too forget what He’s said, what He’s promised.

This Easter Sunday, let the joy of Christ’s resurrection restore your hope in His promises—past and future. Raise your praise to Him with the words of this great hymn. Happy Easter! Alleluia!

Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, ‘Alleluia!’
Raise your joys and triumphs high. Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply: Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King! Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Dying once He all doth save; Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise. Alleluia!
Christ has opened Paradise! Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours, the cross, the grave, the skies! Alleluia!

© Diane McLoud 2015

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today by Charles Wesley, public domain.