“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’” (Matthew 28:5-6).

I hope you are en-joy-ing Easter Monday.

The resurrection of Jesus was about… Jesus. But it wasn’t only about Jesus.

Yes, it showed the power of God. And yes, it vindicated everything about him as the Messiah and Son of God. 

But it was also about his people. Not only was it an act of forgiveness and reconciliation between a rebel people and their gracious God, it was a foretaste of what is to come for all of us who follow him.

In Christ, we will all experience resurrection. We will no longer be bound by the painful constraints of flesh and bones. We will not experience fatigue or loneliness or stress. We will not live in a world of injustice, poverty, greed, impurity or selfishness.

Jesus’ resurrection was a foretaste of what is coming for all of us. Bible scholar Tom Wright puts it like this: “Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.”*

I say this to encourage you. The resurrection gives us hope for the future, especially when we are struggling in the present.

Tears will end. 
Anxiety and worry will become extinct.
Illness and suffering will be tossed into a grave.
Sadness, anger and hurt will ride into the sunset.
Despair will commit suicide.
The lights will be turned out on darkness. 

Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee that it will be so.

Do not be afraid. Head up. The nails failed. Follow the voice of the One who is laughing loudly in the face of death. 

He is risen!

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Notes:

–*As quoted in: Stephen Seamands, Give them Christ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2012), 99.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.