I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
-Revelation 1:18
Israel prayed for a Messiah, but God arrived.
They yearned for freedom from Rome, but He offered them deliverance from themselves.
They looked for a new kingdom, but the King came to claim their hearts.
The man Jesus embodied all the fullness of God. They just didn’t know it. Had His followers known, they would have been more saddened at His suffering, but less devastated by His death. On Golgotha, they witnessed a holy sacrifice. As the perfect Lamb offered Himself for their sins, they grieved, dreams in tatters, thinking they witnessed an execution. All they knew was that the man who they believed would redeem Israel was dead. Death had destroyed their hope. And there was no returning from the dead.
For the three long days Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, they wallowed in the finality of their despair, sure all was lost and they, too, would be killed. Even life without Him would be pointless. The darkness in their hearts was magnified by the emptiness.
The day for which Heaven had long waited finally dawned, and with it came a stunning realization for the disciples. Jesus was alive. He who was dead had risen from the grave. He was not the vanquished, but the conqueror.
The understanding came in waves as doubt melted into shock and joy and worship.
In the strength of that knowledge, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples fearlessly proclaimed what they had seen and heard. They gladly suffered and died for His name, certain, now, that pain and physical death were temporary conditions. They turned the world upside down with the joyous news.
This Easter, the tomb is still empty. He is risen, and He holds the keys to death and the grave. Those who believe in His name have been released from the power of sin and given this same life. We live in the strength of this revelation. He is Lord. He is King. He is the eternal God. He is the Living One.
He is risen, indeed!
