April 7

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. — Mark 16:2 BSB

The women didn’t find the body of Jesus in the grave. Imagine if they had found it there, still held by death’s power—if Jesus had never risen. What would have been the consequences? It would be like the sun, moon, and stars being blotted out of the sky, never to rise again.

Paul explains the magnitude of this loss in his famous chapter on the resurrection: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; your faith also is in vain. … You are still in your sins!” Paul had preached of a Savior who died for our sins and rose for our justification. But if Christ remained in the grave, His sacrifice for sin would have been ineffective.

If you were imprisoned in a fortress and someone you loved attempted to rescue you but died in the process, you might cherish their valiant effort—but you would still remain a prisoner. Likewise, if Christ had perished in death and not risen, His mission would have failed, and those He came to save would have remained in bondage.