Easter!

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Today we celebrate the wonder of the resurrection. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered and died upon the cross. He was laid in the tomb. His lifeless clay was wrapped up quickly but lovingly as Joseph and Nicodemus laid His body in that new tomb, Joseph's own new tomb. The tomb was sealed. The guards were in place. And  the body lay there.

But Jesus did not remain dead. He rose that Sunday morning. He rose, leaving behind the clothes with which He had been wrapped. Then, after Jesus was risen, the angel came and rolled back the stone. Notice that the Lord did not need the stone rolled away in order to rise. Even if the stone had not been rolled away, He was already risen. He was alive! Out of the tomb. And then the angel rolled back the stone. Why? So that others would see that He had risen. So they could look inside and see the place where His body had been laid and see that it was not there. We needed the stone rolled away, Jesus didn't. We needed to see that He was not there.

The clothes lay there. Folded neatly, the cloth about His head apart from the other cloth. Why? Some say it was a signal that He would be back, looking at the way the master of a table would fold his napkin to show he would be back or wadding it up to show he was done. But wait, Jesus wasn't coming back to the tomb. He was done with the tomb. Death would never again touch Him. He rose, defeated death and showed that He had overcome death and the grave. He was not going to return to that place.

So why? Why neatly folded up? It was to show that this was not a quickly done event, one that had not plans but was done quickly as though there was no thought to it. But wait, folded neatly. He was showing us that this was not an accident. He was showing that when He rose, He was following a carefully thought out plan of the Father. He came alive, unwrapped the clothes, folded them neatly, placed the one at the head, as if to say, I am alive. I rose. It was not an accident. It was on purpose. See where I lay, I am not there. It wasn't like someone throwing back the covers, jumping out of bed and rushing off. No, it was as though He stood up, carefully made His bed, made sure that everything was in place, and then said, I am alive! Never again will I lay in this bed, never again will I be placed in the tomb. I have defeated death and the grave.

Yes, He is alive! And because He is alive, He says to each of us, "Because I live, you will live also. I defeated your last, terrible enemy, death. I overcame the grave. And through faith in Me, you too shall rise. On that great day of the resurrection, every body shall rise from the grave, be made whole, not in haste, but deliberately. It will not be a haphazard resurrection, one of chaos. But it will be a well planned, completely organized, final resurrection. Death will never again touch you. You will live with me forever in eternity." Know that this is my own words and not Jesus' words. But this is what He is saying to us.

As I fed the turtles this morning, I said to them, "Jesus is risen! He rose for you too. Not for the same as for me, but He rose to free you and all creation from the grip of sin. He defeated sin for creation, and you turtles, are a part of that creation." And I gave them their breakfast.

Yes, He is risen. I love this day. It is a grand day. The next grand day for me, was the day of my baptism, the day I died to sin and rose to new life in Christ. I give thanks for both days - this resurrection day and the day of new birth in Christ. What a great day.

Thank You Lord for this new life! Thank You for today!

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!