Won't Be Held Down

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April 15
Acts 2:22–24

“God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ”

Illustration by Gustave Doré

For Jesus’s disciples and his followers, the Saturday after his death was a dark day. Their hope, Jesus, had died, and now his corpse laid in a tomb. But they had no idea of what would await them the next morning. They had no idea that on Sunday morning, Jesus would not be there. In the power of God, Jesus had resurrected from the grave, defeating sin, death, and hell. Looking back, Peter says this on the day of Pentecost: “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pang s of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:23–24). Death was not able to hold him! Unbelievable.

Tomorrow is Easter, a day that has been celebrated for nearly 2000 years. The day death was defeated. The day Jesus resurrected from the grave. The day sin was defeated. The day when Satan lost the war waging since the Fall in the garden. What a glorious day! Death could not hold Jesus down. We have so much to celebrate and be thankful for. Had Jesus never come, had he stayed dead, we would have no hope. But because Jesus rose from the grave, we have the greatest hope. Our God is not dead. He is alive. And because is alive, we too shall be alive. The sin we struggle with has been defeated. The physical death we will experience one day will be reversed. And we will live with our God forever. Tomorrow is Easter. Don’t forget that. Prepare your heart for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a day to thank the Lord for his goodness. While he died, he is now alive. While we were dead, we are alive. While we will die, we will rise from the grave. Amen and amen.

Reflection

  1. Why is the resurrection such a hopeful event for us?
  2. What do you need to do today to prepare your heart for tomorrow? Think about ways you can prepare your heart to say thank you to Jesus for his resurrection.
  3. Who in your life needs to be at the church gathering tomorrow? Don’t wait. Call, text, or message them and invite them to Easter.