He Is Risen · Stop 5
What happened on Easter morning, and why does it change everything?
Early Sunday morning, three women walked to the tomb with spices, wondering who would move the heavy stone. When they got there, it was already rolled away. Today you'll hear the news they heard, and the words Christians have shouted every Easter since.
Start this stopEaster
The women found the stone rolled back and a young man in white sitting inside. He told them not to be afraid. Jesus had been raised. He wasn't there. Go and tell the others.
Christians believe Jesus really rose from the dead, body and all. It's more than a nice idea about spring. Paul wrote that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is empty. But Christ has been raised, the first of many.
That means death doesn't get the last word. Sin doesn't get the last word. God does, and God's word is life.
In many churches, the word Alleluia is not said or sung during Lent. On Easter it comes back loud. And people greet each other: “Christ is risen!” The answer is: “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Some churches say “Christ is risen indeed!”
Read it in your Bible
- Mark 16:1–8. Early on the first day of the week, three women bring spices to the tomb. The stone is already rolled back. A young man in white tells them Jesus has been raised and is not there. They run out, shaking and amazed, and at first they say nothing to anyone, because they are afraid.
- 1 Corinthians 15:20. Paul says Christ really has been raised from the dead, the first of the harvest. More will follow.
The Apostles' Creed, and Luther's explanation
On the third day he rose again.
…in order that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
Words to know
- Easter. The day, and the fifty-day season, that celebrates Jesus rising from the dead. It's the biggest festival of the church year. One day isn't enough.
- Stone. What the women worried about moving, and found already rolled away. The thing they feared was already taken care of.
- Resurrection. Jesus rising from the dead, body and all. The whole Christian faith stands on it.
- Alleluia. A Hebrew word meaning “praise the Lord,” put away in Lent and shouted at Easter. Saving it makes it sound even better when it comes back.