When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. (Luke 24:9)
The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad,
The Passover of gladness,
The Passover of God.
From death to life eternal,
From this world to the sky,
Our Christ has brought us over
With hymns of victory. (CW 166:1)
This world has never heard news greater than that of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. News of war outbreak, peace treaties, and scientific discoveries all pale in comparison to the headline that would have been in a Jerusalem newspaper: “Crucified man lives again!”
It’s difficult to squash that news. Unbelief, hatred, and indifference stand in the way of advancing the news of Jesus’ resurrection. The women on Easter Sunday had none of those attitudes. They had faith in Christ, and once they understood the angels’ explanation of the empty tomb, they set out sharing that news with others.
After all, it was “the day of resurrection,” as today’s hymn writer put it. It was the day death met its match. It was the day death took a backseat to life. Those women possessed the greatest news in the history of the world, and they were not about to be selfish with that.
That’s the way God wants it. Jesus told people about the day of resurrection when he lived on earth. He raised the dead. He spoke of his own resurrection. He pointed people ahead to the resurrection of all the dead on the Last Day.
God has given you the news of the day of resurrection for your own good and for the good of others. God wants all people to know and believe that Jesus Christ lived and died for their sins. God wants all people to know about Jesus’ day of resurrection and to look to him in faith as their risen Savior. God wants all people to be confident about the day of their own resurrection to eternal life through faith in Christ.
Like the women, tell someone else about the day of resurrection. Tell someone who is sick; tell someone who is dying; tell someone who is healthy. “Tell it out abroad,” in the words of the hymn writer, that the day of resurrection, judgment day, may be a day of blessing for as many people as possible.
Lord God, thank you for the Passover of gladness. Use me and bless my efforts to tell abroad the news of your Son’s resurrection. Amen.
Devotion taken from Easter Triumph, Easter Joy: Devotions for the Easter Season, compiled and edited by Curtis A. Jahn. ©2017 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Image above by Samuriah
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