He Has Risen

“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” Matthew 28:6

In the famous Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, there is an unusual group of four stained glass windows in the rear of the sanctuary. Looking at them from the left of the entrance inside, one sees the scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary. On the right, are portrayed the Resurrection and Ascension. By a strange coincidence, which seems a divine providence, an adjacent building is so located that Gethsemane and Calvary are always dark. On the other side, however, the bright afternoon sun shines through the Resurrection and Ascension. This seems a beautiful parable of the fact that while the lights went out at Calvary, they came on again at the empty tomb on Easter morning.

I remember when the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” was released. It was a moving, emotional, and in many ways, a graphic portrayal of the Crucifixion of Christ. I told the congregation that the one thing I would have done when the screen went black, between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, is put up these words, “Then came Sunday morning!”

The lights went out, it seemed on Friday, but praise God victory came on Sunday!

Without a doubt, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest event in the history of the world!