With the rays of the morning sun, the agony of Thursday, the pain and grief of Friday, and the separation of Saturday suddenly melted away in the joy of the first Easter. For millennia the term “Easter” has come to be synonymous with resurrection, hope, and the joyful refrain “He is risen!” So significant was the event of that Sunday morning that Christians since have celebrated it as “the Lord’s Day,” and it has become our weekly Sabbath, replacing the Saturday of the Old Testament. As a result, while the week leading up to and including Easter is a wonderful time to commemorate and reflect upon the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is something we celebrate as a church family every week. Indeed, the covenants that we renew each Sunday enjoin us to remember him always.
The accounts of the resurrection in the four gospels serve as the foundation of our understanding of the rise of our Lord from the tomb. They paint for us a dramatic story as the women found an empty tomb and heard the testimony of angels. The story crescendos as Peter and John confirm that the tomb was empty. First Mary, then the other women, and then two disciples converse with Jesus on the way to Emmaus. Finally the ten of the remaining eleven apostles see the Risen Lord. These and subsequent appearances confirm that Jesus in fact rose from the dead “with healing in his wings,” and though he ascended again into heaven, the gospels leave us with the assurance that in a very real way he remains here with us. (From God So Loved the World, 107–108).
Episodes for Personal Study
– Chief Priests React to the Resurrection (Matt 28:11–15)
– The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35; [Mark 16:12–13])
For art, music, suggestions for families, and more discussion, see http://huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com/…/easter-or…