Month: April 2025

Today, as you celebrate the resurrection of Christ, rejoice in the certainty of an eternal home with Him.

1 Corinthians 15:13-23

Many people look at Easter as an occasion for buying new clothes and going to church. But it’s not just a day to celebrate the empty tomb and move on as if nothing has changed. We didn’t witness the risen Christ after His burial, so imagining the first Easter morning is difficult. Not only that, but our familiarity with the story can make it easy to overlook the stunning magnitude of what transpired.

In today’s passage, Paul gives us a glimpse of the resurrection’s importance by describing what would have happened if Jesus hadn’t been raised. Our celebrations would be a lie, and our faith would be worthless. We’d still bear the guilt of our sin—with no hope of forgiveness, salvation, or eternal life. If Jesus hadn’t been raised, His death would have accomplished nothing.

That’s why Easter is an awesome reason for celebration. Jesus died in our place to satisfy the requirement for our atonement—a price too high for us to pay. The resurrection proves that God was satisfied with the Savior’s sacrifice (Romans 3:25) and counted it sufficient for the forgiveness of all our sins (1 Cor. 15:20-23). And because of Christ’s victory over death, we too will be resurrected and receive an imperishable inheritance reserved for us in heaven. This hope enables us to rejoice every day.

If God seems absent, remember the resurrection and know that joy is coming.

John 19:31-42

Just as Christ once rested in the stern of a boat through a raging storm, His lifeless body lay in the tomb as storms raged within His disciples. A day after they saw Jesus die, their minds must have been filled with an endless cycle of fear, doubt, and grief. Memories of life with Him must have played there, too: how it felt to stand upon a rolling sea, to feed thousands with a few loaves and a couple of fish, to see a demon-possessed man restored to himself and his community, and to see Lazarus walk out of his tomb.

The disciples’ feeble faith shouldn’t surprise us because, if we’re honest, we’re at times the same way. Those “of little faith,” as Jesus often called them, failed to believe or recall things the Lord said of Himself—especially that He’d lay down His life and take it up again. Had His followers held these things in their hearts, that Sabbath day might have been a time of joyful anticipation.

At times in our life, God may seem absent, but ultimately we know He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). When we are tempted to rely on our own solutions, we need to recall the wonder-working power of Christ’s resurrection. If we are willing to wait through the darkness of night, we can rest in the knowledge that morning will surely come.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we can live with a sense of hope and anticipation.

Mark 15:42-46

After the crucifixion, a wealthy Jewish leader named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body (Mark 15:43). Not only did Joseph understand the risk of requesting Rome’s permission to bury a criminal convicted of treason; he also knew his reputation and status in the religious community would be jeopardized. Why did he have the courage to come forward while the Lord’s closest friends stepped back in fear? The reason is that Joseph had been living expectantly, on the lookout for God.

Christ’s sacrifice changes everything—it affects both our eternal destination and daily life, allowing us to live with a sense of hope and anticipation. Yet sometimes we don’t recognize God’s presence and fail to live expectantly in “the already but not yet.”

Consider Peter, John, and the women who saw the empty tomb. Though Jesus had told them what to expect, they didn’t anticipate His death. Their shock and disbelief tell us clearly what they had thought would happen. Like them, we must remember that where Jesus appears, how He thinks, and what He says may not always be what we expect.

Without Christ’s sacrifice, there would be no hope. Though it may not be easy to live expectantly between present and future realities, it’s the best approach to the Christian life.

To bring about redemption exactly according to design, God involved many types of people in the unfolding plan.

Mark 15:1-25

With hundreds of prophecies related to the Messiah, it shouldn’t surprise us that God used many people—believers, unbelievers, and even some wicked individuals—to ensure the Savior’s earthly life would unfold according to plan. For example, a census ordered by Caesar Augustus brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, the city of Christ’s birth. (See Micah 5:2; Luke 2:1-4.)

What’s more, God used some of the most powerful men of the day to bring about His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross. Charges by the religious leaders helped turn the crowd against Jesus (Mark 15:9-11). Pilate condemned Him, and the Romans carried out the crucifixion. They even bartered for His clothes and chose not to break His legs, as predicted in Scripture. (See John 19:24; John 19:36.)

During the dark days between Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, the disciples must have believed the messianic plan had been derailed. But God’s goal wasn’t to bring the political revolution some expected. His purpose in sending His Son was to redeem mankind: Jesus paid the death penalty for all our sins.

Many had a hand in the Savior’s story, but the ultimate responsibility was the Father’s. He gave His only Son over to death on behalf of the world that He loves.