He is not here; He has risen!

The world was wowed on the first day of the week after Jesus was crucified. The leaders of the Jews together with the political authorities condemned Jesus to death. He was crucified and buried. The weekend must have been a heavy one for the disciples. Their Lord was gone. Their hope was dead. Their Master had been killed. At the point of grief and mourning, the disciples had not discovered that Jesus had constantly mentioned to them that He will die and resurrect on the third day. In Mark 9:31 (also in Matthew 17: 22-23), Jesus said to His disciples, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” Jesus' condemnation did not come as a surprise to Him. He knew about His death and He knew about His resurrection. Jesus said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"  (Matthew 12:40).

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee (Luke 24:6)

Mark 16: 1 states, "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body." How do you anoint a living person with species meant for the dead? Before the women got to the tomb, the soldiers guarding the tomb encountered the most unlikely event. Matthew documents that, "There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:2‭-‬4). Jesus did not remain dead, He arose from the dead victorious. When the women got to the tomb, the angel said to them, "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay" (Matthew 28:6). Hallelujah!

The angel at the tomb told the women, "Go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you" (Matthew 28:7).

"While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day" (Matthew 28:11‭-‬15). The religious leaders could not cover up the story. The whole world knows that Jesus is risen! Whether you believe in Jesus or not, the evidence about His resurrection is still there. The tomb is empty!

The Lamb of God won the victory over death and the grave. The tomb is empty and the wages of sin declared in Eden's Garden was paid for. Humanity's downhill caused by sin was atoned for. He arose never to die again. Salvation came to humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Hallelujah!