Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said!”
(Matthew 28)
When Jesus was crucified, the disciples lost all hope. He had explained to them before how He must suffer and die, and how he would be raised on the third day, but they did not truly hear what he was saying. It could not sink in because it violated all of their preconceived notions about Him and what they thought He had come to do. Surely, this was just one of His inscrutable sayings, some parable they could not discern the meaning of.
But Christ knew the only way to redemption was through sacrifice. He had been teaching His people this for centuries, from the tenth plague in the land of Egypt where the angel of death passed over each household where the blood of the lamb was found on the door posts, and through the annual Passover meal that was eaten in remembrance of God’s salvation on that occasion up to the last supper He shared with His disciples.
But they still didn’t get it until they saw the power of the resurrection. Now they understood. Not only had Jesus died for them, He had conquered death and reigns victoriously. It was the power of the resurrection that energized this ragged groups of men — dispersed and hiding in fear — to turn the world upside down. The same man who denied Christ three times before the crucifixion would boldly proclaim His name before multitudes, doing miracles in the name of Jesus. The disciples would be beaten and imprisoned repeatedly, but nothing could stop them from talking about the risen Lord. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lived in them, and continues to live in each believer today! (Romans 8, Ephesians 1) The power of the resurrection changes everything.
Christ is risen! It was the greatest news anyone has ever received. For centuries the church has celebrated Pascha (Πασχα), the resurrection, as the most sacred and joyous holiday and on this day we greet one another with echoes of that news, “Christ is risen!” (Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!) and the joyous reply, “He is risen, indeed!” (Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!). May the power of the resurrection transform you, as it did the disciples, and as it has the faithful through the centuries.
