"It's Friday, but Sunday's Coming"

Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery

At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.

A Ghost Doesn't Have Muscle and Bone

They didn't waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, talking away: "It's really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!"

Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you." They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, "Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.

He asked, "Do you have any food here?" They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.

From The Message, Luke 24

To hear Tony Campolo’s classic message about the Resurrection, click here.

This is what Easter means to me; a collage of verses.

David, the prophet king, writes of the Messiah: “you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” – Psalm 16:11

Isaiah, the prophet, predicted Jesus’ death and resurrection: “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”—Isaiah 53:11

The apostle Paul celebrates: “…he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” – Colossians 1:18

“He forgave us all our sins... And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” – Colossians 2:13-15

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”—I Corinthians 15:17

Peter, on the day of Pentecost, has the audacity to proclaim: “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact… God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." – Acts 2: 32, 36-39

I couldn’t have said it better myself.