“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:5-6)
These words, spoken in the early morning of Easter, are full of confusing contradictions. The Living One was dead, but has been raised again. He was buried in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea, but He is no longer there. He has left death and the grave behind Him.
That was the message of two men in radiant clothing to a group of women who came to visit Jesus’ tomb. But Jesus Himself was not there. No wonder the women were at a loss. How were they supposed to respond to these words? Could it really be true that their Master had come back to life—just when the reality of His death was beginning to sink in and all their hope had faded away?
Yes! However unbelievable it seemed to these first witnesses, Jesus truly has risen. This puts His suffering and crucifixion in an entirely new light. Jesus truly is the Living One, precisely because He has conquered death. As He later tells John: “I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Revelation 1:18).
Jesus is no longer to be found in the tomb. How and where do you seek Him? What does it mean for you that Jesus is the Living One?