The Son Rises

Easter Sunday: April 5

This week, we have sat with Jesus in the garden, processing through the pain and anguish that came because of the sacrifice on the cross. We reflected on His life and ministry, even as we watched Him suffering under the weight of what was to come.

Through sweat and tears, He prepared Himself to be betrayed, accused, arrested, mocked, slandered, beaten, convicted, and sentenced to death on a cross–all for crimes He never committed.

Paul will tell us in his letters that it was for the joy before Him that Jesus endured the cross, and here in this moment, we see the first glimpses of that joy.

It is only fitting that His resurrection is announced in a garden.

It was in a garden that sin first entered the world as man rejected the one God to become his own god. It was also in a garden that Jesus spent the night praying and preparing Himself for the sacrifice that would be necessary to redeem mankind from their rebellion.

It is here again in a garden where these women meet the resurrected King and are stunned, confused, and filled with joy as in His great kindness, Jesus meets with them and assures them that this is all real. He is risen, and the Kingdom is really at hand.

In the midst of all of the celebrations and joys that come with Easter, it is good to sit, reflect, and remember the joy that comes in the morning. Easter reminds us that the darkness never wins, that evil never triumphs, and that Jesus is always the victor.

Father, thank you for providing Jesus to not only be our sacrifice, but also our sovereign Lord. Thank you that because of His work we can receive redemption. Thank you that through Him we have new life and new life that is abundant.

Today help me to walk in celebration. Help me to center my heart not on the hopelessness that is around me, but rather on the victory that you can provide. Make me an instrument of joy, celebration, and peace to everyone I meet today, and allow them to see within me the joy of salvation.

Thank you for the cross, and thank you for Jesus.

Written by Faculty Members of the Gary Cook School of Leadership at Dallas Baptist University.