Scriptures and Quotes to Reflect on This Easter Sunday

As Easter Sunday approaches, we reflect on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, and how His victory over death brings us eternal hope. Below are scriptures, quotes, and prayers for you to read through and meditate on this week. We pray that as you spend time in God’s Word, you experience Jesus’ resurrection power and trust that He is making all things new.

 

 

Scriptures

28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

-Matthew 28:1-10 ESV

16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

-Mark 16:1-8 ESV

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

-Luke 24:1-40 ESV

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'[a] head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

-John 20:1-18 ESV

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

-John 20:24-29 NIV

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 

-Romans 6:4-8 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

- Romans 6:23 ESV

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

-Romans 8:11 NIV

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

-1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” 

-1 Corinthians 15:14 ESV

"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

-1 Corinthians 15:55-57 AMP

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us.[c] Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.[d] 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[e] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

-2 Corinthians 5:14-21 NLT

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. 

-Galatians 2:20 NIV

10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 

-Philippians 3:10 NLT

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

- 1 Peter 1:3-4 ESV

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

-Revelation 21:5 NLT

Quotes 

“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom. . .It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.”

–  N.T. Wright

“Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about.”

-N.T. Wright

“The New Testament writers speak as if Christ's achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the 'first fruits,' the pioneer of life,' He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.” 

–C.S. Lewis 

“The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the 'gospel' or good news which the Christians brought: what we call the 'gospels', the narratives of Our Lord's life and death, were composed later for the benefit of those who had already accepted the gospel. They were in no sense the basis of Christianity: they were written for those already converted. The miracle of the Resurrection, and the theology of that miracle, comes first: the biography comes later as a comment on it. Nothing could be more unhistorical than to pick out selected sayings of Christ from the gospels and to regard those as the datum and the rest of the New Testament as a construction upon it. The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection. If they had died without making anyone else believe this 'gospel' no gospels would ever have been written.”

-C.S. Lewis

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. 

– C.S. Lewis

“Because of the resurrection, everything changes. Death changes. It used to be the end; now it is the beginning. The cemetery changes. People once went there to say good-bye but now they go to say we’ll be together again. Even the coffin changes. It is no longer a box where we hide bodies, but rather a cocoon in which the body is kept until God sets it free to fly. In John 14:3, Jesus says ‘I will come back and take you to be with me!’ And to prove that he was serious about this promise, the stone was rolled away and his body was raised from the dead!”  

-Max Lucado

“The do-it-yourself, self-help culture of North America has so thoroughly permeated our imaginations that we don't give much sustained attention to the biggest thing of all: resurrection. And the reason we don't give much attention to it is because the Resurrection is not something we can use or manipulate or control or improve on. It is interesting that the world has had very little success in commercializing Easter, turning it into a commodity, the way it has Christmas. If we can't, as we say, ‘get a handle on it,’ and use it, we soon lose interest. But resurrection is not available for our use; it is exclusively God's operation.” 

-Eugene H. Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (Eerdmans, 2005), p. 232

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”

-Tim Keller

“The difference between knowing Christ and knowing the power of his resurrection,” says Keller, “is the difference between knowing a person and resembling a person . . . It is not about relationship but about supernatural character growth. When Paul says, “I want to know him,” it means, “I want to be with him,” but when he says, “I want to know the power of his resurrection,” it means, “I want to be just like him.” Look at the deadness in your life. Look at the anger. How is that going to be turned into forgiveness? Look at the insecurity. How is that going to be turned into confidence? Look at the self-centeredness. How is that going to be turned into compassion and generosity? How? The answer is that the dead stuff gets taken over by the Spirit of God . . . The minute you decide to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit comes into your life. It’s the power of the resurrection—the same thing that raised Jesus from the dead.”

-Tim Keller

“The resurrection of Jesus changes the face of death for all His people. Death is no longer a prison, but a passage into God’s presence. Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.”

-Clarence W. Hall

“Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. You can nail it to a cross, wrap it in winding sheets and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise!”

-Clarence W. Hall

“The message of Easter is not that Jesus is alive, it is so much more. The message of Easter is that Jesus has risen!”

-Colin Smith

“The cross is the victory, the resurrection is the triumph...The resurrection is the public display of the victory, the triumph of the crucified one.”

-Leon Morris

“The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.”

-Robert Flatt

“The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.”

-Basil C. Hume

“No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”

-Josh McDowell

“The resurrection of Christ is one of the foundation-stones of Christianity. It was the seal of the great work that He came on earth to do. It was the crowning proof that the ransom He paid for sinners was accepted, the atonement for sin accomplished, the head of him who had the power of death bruised, and the victory won.”

-J.C.Ryle

“The atonement, or forgiveness of sin once and for all achieved on the cross, weighs in, and heavily. But the atonement is confirmed, ratified, sealed, and made enduringly good by virtue of Christ's rising from death. Our justification hinges on a risen life, present in us now because Christ is present with us now.”

– Paul F.M. Zahl

We are adopted into God's family through the resurrection of Christ from the dead in which he paid all our obligations to sin, the law, and the devil, in whose family we once lived. Our old status lies in his tomb. A new status is ours through his resurrection.

– Sinclair B. Ferguson

Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.

- Watchman Nee

Jesus Christ did not come into this world to make bad people good; He came into this world to make dead people live.

- Lee Strobel

The great gift of Easter is hope – Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.

– Basil Hume

The truth of the resurrection gives life to every other area of gospel truth. The resurrection is the pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without which none of the other truths would much matter. Without the resurrection, Christianity would be so much wishful thinking, taking its place alongside all other human philosophy and religious speculation.

– John MacArthur

Salvation is the root–the resurrection is the fruit. 

– T.D. Jakes

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf of springtime. 

– Martin Luther

Before the Resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit came upon individuals only on certain occasions for special tasks. But now, after the Resurrection, Christ through the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of every believer to give us supernatural power in living our daily lives. 

– Billy Graham

Two thousand years ago, in the Middle East, an event occurred that permanently changed the world. Because of that event, history was split. Every time you write a date, you’re using the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the focal point. 

– Rick Warren

“God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation.” 

- John C. Broger

“Because of the empty tomb, we have peace. Because of His resurrection, we can have peace during even the most troubling of times because we know He is in control of all that happens in the world.” 

– Paul Chappell

Here at Jesus’ tomb, it’s the women who followed Jesus to Jerusalem that come to anoint Him after His death. We shouldn’t miss this. The people that society would have overlooked as unimportant or valueless were not only the ones to stick with Jesus to the very end, but they were also the first recipients of the best news: Jesus was risen. 

-Francis Chan, The Gospel of Mark Study Guide

We are tempted to believe the kingdoms of men are too much for us — too much for you — God. But, the Resurrection… new life… breath… new bone… new muscle… a new way of being in the world… Resurrection is your promise.

-Lisa Sharon Harper

 

Easter Gratitude Prayer

God, we pause with such gratitude for the gift of your undeserved, unfailing, and unfathomable love. Thank you for walking around on this broken, dusty, and trouble-ridden planet for 33 years so that we might believe and have eternal life.

Thank you for communicating your love for us in a way that is so personal, so extravagant, and so gracious. Thank you for dying and then rising from the dead so we could have hope. Thank you for proving that you are real, you are powerful, and that only you give us the power to live our lives well through your incarnation, death, and resurrection.

Thank you for washing away our sins by offering yourself as the perfect and blameless sacrifice in our place. Thank you, Jesus, for all you have done for us. We offer our lives as a living sacrifice to you in gratitude for amazing grace. Amen.

—Amanda Idleman

 

Easter Table Prayer

Creator God and Lord of Life,

You who call forth from the darkness of death all those who love You, we rejoice, on this Easter Sunday, in the resurrection from the dead of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Visit our home and this table with Your bright blessing of peace and life.

We pause in the midst of this prayer to remember all the holy dead of our family who live now in You and who await the final and glorious resurrection of the dead.

May they and we, because of our faith in You, our God, taste in the victory of life over death.

May the Risen Christ, our Lord and Savior, be our guest as we celebrate His resurrection with this Easter Sunday dinner.

Bless those whose work to prepare this meal has truly been a work of prayer, and bless all of us who shall share it with Easter love and joy.

May You, then, bless this table and this food, and each of us in Your holy name.

Amen.

—Edward Hays, Prayers for the Domestic Church

 

Remembering the Hope of the Cross

Father, we praise You for sending Your Son to abide with us and be with us. Life can feel lonely, but the fact is, we are never alone. That is a truth we can cling to during the ugliest breakdowns. Thank you for giving us the grace to release our failed efforts and bottled-up emotions to You, free of judgment and full of healing love.

Forgive us for walking through life without the joy that Jesus died to fill our hearts with. Help us to find You in the hard moments of life and remember the comfort and truth of Your promises during seasons of suffering.

Jesus, You never leave us, and always guide us. Who we are becoming is no secret to You, You who formed us in our mother’s womb. You came down to earth to save us, love us, and show us how to live. May we chase after You all of our days, and experience the rich and irreplaceable peace that allows us to overcome, to walk victorious, and to hold on to hope. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
—Meg Bucher