Key Passage: Luke 24: 2-6

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!"

The grave has no good news for man. The message of the grave has always been of loss, grief, woe and doom. It has always meant for man an end of life, dreams, visions and aspiration. In the grave, destiny is buried, strength is defeated and hope is dashed. The pain of the grave is very sharp, because the grave is final, and those that go to it depart to return no more.

That was the woe of Eden where paradise was lost. Paradise is a place of comfort and rest, where one goes after he has triumphantly finished his journey. But in Eden, rest was destroyed because of sin, and Satan, the conqueror of man opened to him the path of eternal restlessness.

Death was the tragedy of the fall in Eden. It brought a tale of woe to all of mankind whose life story always ended with, "… and he died" (Gen 5:5,8,11,14,17,20,27,31). A perpetual silence followed after each death, and the verdict was final.

But at the fullness of time, God sent His Son, born as the seed of the woman (Compare Gen 3:15 with Gal 4:4-5). Jesus lived in victory over Satan, sin and the world. At the end of his earthly ministry, he offered himself as a sacrifice for man’s salvation. An interlude ensued after his death and burial. But on the third day, the silence was broken. Jesus the Son of God arose, destroying the sting of death and the power of the grave.

The story of Jesus is truly a story fully told, "He was born, …he lived, …he died, …he arose, …and he lives and reigns forevermore." When he lived, he went around doing good healing all that were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). And men marveled at him saying, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" (Matt 8:27). When he died, he destroyed Satan who had the power of death (Heb 2:14). He disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them (Col 2:15). When he arose, he made the victory he acquired in Calvary permanent and irreversible. "Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God" (Rom 6:9-10).

Pray, Lord, grant me the grace to walk in the victory of the risen Christ now and always.

Written by – Evangelist Oguazi Onyemobi