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The Testimony of Easter

 Easter is a very important day on the Christian calendar. It is the culmination of Holy Week. It is the day that remembers the greatest event in history, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I like to refer to Easter as Resurrection Sunday. The resurrection took place on the Feast of First Fruits during the week of Passover. 

         Easter is more than just another day on the calendar. It has a message or a testimony. A testimony is a factual story of what God has done. Diane Lake defines a testimony as “a story which defines, shapes, moves, or propels you.”[I]


         The cross testifies. The suffering of our Savior testifies; the empty tomb testifies. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” There is a Resurrection Day testimony in this passage, “by the blood of the Lamb.” What is the word of our testimony? We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of Calvary.


         Jesus testifies in Revelation 1:17-18, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”


         In August 2021, I was placed on a ventilator with Covid for eight days. God worked a miracle and after sixteen days in the hospital I came home. During a time of prayer while recovering at home I had a vision. I saw myself in the ICU unit on the vent. Behind the bed was a white door. The old saying came to me in the vision, “he was lying at death’s door.” Then the Lord spoke, “Son, you were laying at death’s door, but death could get in the door, because I have the key.” 


         The testimony of Easter is a testimony of the overcoming power of hope. Romans 15:13 says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” On the very first resurrection Sunday the angel came and rolled the stone away and Jesus came out of the tomb. Romans 1:4 says He was, “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” 


         Chuck Colson is quoted, “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned, and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”[ii] The resurrection testifies of a risen Savior who defeated death and made it possible for us to be forgiven and reconciled to the Father.


[i] Lake, Diane, “The Overcoming Power of Testimony,” Generals of Intercession Blog, Retrieved from the internet, 4/19/21, https://www.generals.org/blog/overcoming-power-of-testimony?rq=Testimony.

 

[ii]  Colson, Chuck, Quotable Quote, Retrieved from the internet 4/19/22, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/555921-i-know-the-resurrection-is-a-fact-and-watergate-proved

 

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