The annual celebration of Resurrection Sunday has again arrived on our calendars.  This holiday is rightfully the highest of the Christian year, as the resurrection of Jesus is the proof and seal that every promise of God for our salvation is “yes and amen” in Him.  

Resurrection Sunday highlights the reality of endless hope poured out through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  As 1 Peter 1.3 so clearly states, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.“

It is indeed good and right for us as Christians to joy in the victory over death, freedom from condemnation, and certainty of forgiveness that is assured by Jesus’ resurrection.  For those of us who have responded to His offer of life through repentance and trusting His provision for our forgiveness and restoration, Romans 5.1-2 is our confidence: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

However, we must never forget that “hoarded hope” is not God’s intent for us.  The hope we have in the resurrected Jesus is meant to be shared with others.

Consider Matthew 28.5-8.  The “two Marys” have come to the tomb of Jesus that first resurrection morning to find an empty tomb and an angel messenger there to provide hope. “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’” (Matthew 28.5-6).

It is difficult to get our hearts around what those women must have been trying to process as they engaged the reality of death overcome, but one thing is certain; however they processed the hope they had now personally experienced, there was still more for them to do.

“Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.’ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples” (Matthew 28.7-8).

From the moment of that very first Resurrection morning experience, the call was not just to go home and revel in the personal joy of Jesus’ victory; instead, the call was to go immediately and share this hope with others.   

The theme echoes again and again throughout the New Testament—the hope provided in Jesus’ resurrection is more than a “personal joy to be hoarded for myself.”  The Great Commission in Matthew 28.19-20, the witness call in Acts 1.8, and our position as ambassadors described in 2 Corinthians 5.18-21 are just a few examples that demonstrate our responsibility to share this hope with others who need to know the reality of life through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  This message of hope must not be kept to ourselves.

So, as we joy in the great Easter Acclamation—“Jesus is risen; He is risen indeed”—let us also ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to those who also need to know this truth, as well as ask for His empowerment to, as I Peter 3.15 instructs, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”