Hello, new! What was wounded is tended. What was broken is mended. What appeared to be dead, is alive! This is the miracle and truth of resurrection we honor each Easter. As you celebrate Christ’s consummate gift of reconciliation, may you feel his presence in this collection of Easter Scriptures.
Better than any basket full of goodies, the selected Scriptures offered within this article will satisfy your soul...that love made its claim on the cross and reigns in victory as we await Christ’s return.
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What Is the Main Message of Easter?
The main message of Easter is love. A love so great that the Creator of heaven and earth poured his power into flesh, bled, and died, to reconcile us to him, even with all our imperfections.
In his great love, God gave us the freedom to choose him...revealed in an epic true love story we can pull up close to and witness the miracle of resurrection. All throughout Scripture we see the correlation between Jesus’ burial and our own temporal state.
In a body that will perish, we have a divine spirit, connected to our Creator. A God who so loved us, he gave his only Son to conquer death and give us new life.
Some may say the main message of Easter is joy, or hope, or renewal. And those are indeed all part of the Easter narrative. But the sacrificial events leading up to and through Christ’s resurrection were conceived, foretold, and realized by love.
It is the ultimate picture of the power of love to give and renew life.
Why Is Easter Such an Important Holiday for Christians?
Easter is an important holiday for Christians because we hold in our hearts and hands the story of humanity, redeemed. Yes, there are still humans around the world who serve many gods, gods who are myths, legends, or substitutes. Christians, however, rely on the person of Jesus as the voice of God in his Word.
We see evidence of God all throughout creation, but he speaks in a language we understand through Jesus.
And long before and after Jesus arrives in our midst, we have an entire historical account of kings, prophets, shepherds, and disciples connecting the genesis of everything through the glorious hope of eternal life.
God announces at the end of Revelation that he’s come to live with humanity forever and that He’s making all things new. There will be no more sin, sorrow, or temptation.
Christians hold on to the hope of eternity because of the proof we celebrate on Easter. God promises the impossible and makes it possible. And because of this, we can believe in what we have still yet to see.
As far as I know, the Bible is a historically accurate account. You can read the whole resurrection story in Scripture. And it’s not only a power we read about; we can see it all around us today. Just as dead branches blossom with new life in spring, our God can take anything about our human nature that feels dead and make it new.
Easter is the day Christians say: God can, and He will. Your will be done.
14 Easter Scriptures to Celebrate Resurrection and Anticipate Christ's Return
Below is a collection of Easter Scripture verses celebrating the truth of our salvation, the triumph over death, and an ultimate renewal. Death cannot hold him, or those who follow him, and a glorious new day awaits!
Easter Scriptures about Reconciliation and Redemption
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
...and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Easter Scriptures about Resurrection
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
...they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
...Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’
...”They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 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.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Easter Scriptures about Renewal
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Passages that foretell, recount, or celebrate the Easter miracle are all throughout his love story to us. You can explore more Easter Bible verses here.
Wherever you go in God’s Word, you will find him faithful, not only on the most special of holidays but in every day, he creates, forever.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Javier_Art_Photography
This article is part of our larger Holy Week and Easter resource library centered around the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hope these articles help you understand the meaning and story behind important Christian holidays and dates and encourage you as you take time to reflect on all that God has done for us through his son Jesus Christ!
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