Jesus was dead and buried. The Pharisees were jubilant. They were celebrating. That was the end of the troublemaker. Jesus was dead and buried. The disciples were despondent. They were mourning. They had lost their great Friend.

Joy and sadness: the joy of the Pharisees and the sadness of the disciples – Soon, it was all going to change. The joy of the Pharisees would be short-lived. The sadness of the disciples would soon turn to gladness. Soon, everything was about to change. Soon, Jesus’ enemies would know that their evil plot had backfired on them. Soon, the disciples would know that this was not a hopeless end. Soon, they would know that this was the beginning of an endless hope.

Think of the endless hope which the resurrection of Christ opened up for His disciples: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). This is our glorious hope: “Death is swallowed up in victory … Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54, 57).

* How does a hopeless end become an endless hope? The answer is found in these wonderful words, which announced Christ’s resurrection – “He is not here. He has risen!” (Luke 24:6).

* Jesus had spoken, prophetically, concerning His crucifixion and resurrection – “Remember how He spoke to you … “(Luke 24:6-7). The Lord’s promise had been fulfilled. Jesus had kept His Word. He had returned from the grave. He had triumphed over the grave. Remembering Jesus Christ, “risen from the dead”, we rejoice that He did not raise false hopes and then leave them dashed. We rejoice that He did what He said He would do. He rose from the dead. As we think about of the words of prophecy, spoken by Jesus and fulfilled by Him in His resurrection from the dead, let us think also of His words of prophecy concerning His Second Coming. Jesus said that He would come again to gather His believing people into His Father’s house: “Do not let your hearts be troubled …” (John 14:1-3). Jesus has fulfilled His prophecy concerning His resurrection. He will fulfil His prophecy concerning our resurrection to eternal life. We look back to His resurrection. We look forward to our resurrection in Him. This is the joy of the resurrection – Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection in Him. It is the joy of fulfilment. It is the joy of the resurrection which has already taken place – Christ’s resurrection. It is the joy of anticipation, the joy of the resurrection which has yet to take place – our resurrection in Christ.

Luke 24:1-8