For a moment, imagine you are one of Jesus' disciples after the gut-wrenching horror of His crucifixion took place. Here was the greatest person who ever lived, the man who turned your world upside down and poured every ounce of His life out into others, brutally beaten and shamefully murdered in broad daylight. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Instead of breaking bread and washing feet, you are now hiding out, terrified for your own life and for those you love. If the most powerful man in the world, whose very breath commanded the winds, could be snuffed out, what chance would you have against a group bent on erasing His influence? He foretold of this drama, but how could you have ever seriously entertained the thought of the world still spinning after He was gone?

You and I can't relate to seeing Jesus' face to face, but we can relate to the sting of death when a loved one succumbs to their mortality. You peer into the casket looking for a hint of the smile and warmth that used to light up the room and, even though the mortician did his best, your loved one isn't there. You comfort each other saying "they look so peaceful" while staring straight in the face of a world that will go on without them.

We knew this day would come and yet, at the same time, we really didn't. We lived as if it wouldn't, and were unprepared to face it. And as wonderful as our loved ones were, they never displayed the power or commanded the hope that Jesus did. So imagine that piercing grief and despair multiplied by thousands. The disciples bottomed out. Their hearts were torn in two. But rumors of Jesus' appearance interrupted that grief.

If someone told you they saw your supposedly-buried dearly departed at the local coffee shop, it would seem at first to be the cruelest joke of all time. I would be furious, insulted and even perhaps hysterical. They might reassert that it's true and still you are too overwhelmed. But then, what if it's true? What if He's really not dead?

That's the hope that rose up, that began small in hearts that seemed least likely to ever believe in anything again. It entered through the cracks and soon fought the doubts until the culmination – His glorious appearance – erased it all. He really did exactly what He said He would do!

From the moment Jesus set foot outside the tomb, He shook the earth with a hope that even today is as real and relevant as it ever was. Into our post-crucifixion and pre-resurrection lives, He calls to us to bring our fears, our doubts and concerns, so He can show Himself to be everything we ever dreamed of and hoped for.

from my blog - www.dewaynesworld.com