It’s Easter, 2026! First of all, “He is Risen!” This is the traditional greeting between Christians on Easter Day. While we celebrate Easter and speak of the resurrection of Jesus and all that entailed, there is another element that we should stop and consider this special day.
That is, while we stop and remember the empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus to various people and the many things that took place before the ascension, it makes sense to consider the plight of the disciples. After all, they had spent the previous three years in the presence of Jesus and now here they were, without their leader. They had to be concerned, even worried, about what would happen to them in the coming months.
Each year when I re-read the events of the last week of the life of Jesus, it seems that the entire week is filled with highly emotional events. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the washing of feet, the final instructions of Jesus to his disciples, the sale of Jesus by Judas for thirty pieces of silver, the betrayal, the denial by Peter, the trials, the way of the cross, the crucifixion and finally, on what we call Easter, the resurrection. Of course, I could go on and on but this final week in the pre-resurrection life of Jesus was filled with some of the most emotional language in all of Scripture.
After the crucifixion, the disciples must have wondered what would happen to them. Jesus had been trying to tell them that He was going away but they seemed unwilling, or even incapable, of understanding what Jesus was trying to tell them. Jesus even spent days trying to prepare them for a life of service and how the Kingdom of God was to operate. These instructions can be found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Beginning with the Beatitudes and finishing with a sermon on choosing to build a foundation on rock vs. sand, Jesus did everything that could be done to give His disciples all the tools He wished for them to have.
In chapter 10 of Matthew, Jesus actually promotes his disciples to the office of apostle. He gave them authority to heal, cure sicknesses and perform all sorts of miracles through the power and authority of Jesus. He even empowered them to drive out evil spirits. This was their graduation day.
With all these tools at their disposal, these newly commissioned apostles could set the world on fire for the Lord. And then, the RESURRECTION! This is what sets Christianity apart from so many other world religions. Many faiths have founders who die, but Christianity celebrates a Risen Lord, who is ALIVE today, and not just a memory in the back of someone’s mind.
As believers in our Lord and Savior, Jesus, this gives us the ability to live life “at full volume.” We don’t have to sulk around or keep our faith to ourselves. Jesus died for all of us and for those who claim belief in Jesus, we know that we have eternal life, which started on the day that we first believed. That means that we can’t lose. We are forever with Jesus, in heaven, and throughout the entire Kingdom of God.
This day, Easter, is the celebration of the fact that Jesus has defeated death, and with His help, so have we! It took the disciples time to adjust to this fact. Most of them didn’t know what to do after the resurrection. They were confused and went home. Eventually, most of them were martyred for their faith. But we are thousands of years beyond the resurrection and we have had every advantage in learning about Jesus, accepting Him as Lord and Savior; and modeling our lives after His. The end of the story has been revealed to us!
While perfection isn’t possible on earth, some day we will stand perfectly sanctified before the Lord. And that should give us the freedom to live our lives at “full volume” here on earth. This does’t mean that we have the right to be arrogant, or judgmental, but we are to live according to the model of Jesus. We should be proud of our faith, striving to become more like Jesus each year that we live. The goal is to improve as our relationship with Jesus advances throughout the years.
Our trust in the Lord should become unshakeable. We won’t know everything, but we will have spent enough time with Jesus to know that He will never fail us. Another confidence that will allow us to life life at “full volume!”
Our verse for tonight comes from the resurrection of Jesus, the event that separates Christianity from so many other religions. The good Dr. Luke tells us about what happened as women arrived at the tomb. In Luke 24:1-7, we are enlightened, “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
My encouragement this Easter evening is that God wants us to live our lives to the fullest, as He ordained for each of us. God wants us to trust Him and to be our best version of ourselves which is only possible with Jesus at our side. My prayer is that we will each move toward fulfillment of our divine assignment, living our best lives each day of our eternal existence. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace… HAPPY EASTER!