The Good News
Scripture Reading — Matthew 28:1-9; Mark 8:31-34; 9:30-32; 10:32-34
“They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”
—Mark 9:31
On three occasions Jesus predicted his suffering at the hands of the Jewish rulers and his death by the Roman authorities. But he didn’t stop there. Each time he also said he would rise from the grave. The resurrection turns the upside-down world of Jesus’ suffering right side up. And yet his followers paid little or no attention to this teaching.
As the women approached the tomb early on Easter morning, they must have been reviewing the terrible events of the past few days. Their hero was dead. Their vision was cloudy. Their purpose in life was confused. The morning was dark.
But as they left the tomb, they were good-news bearers. They had come expecting nothing, but they left anticipating every-thing. They came in the dark; they left in the light.
There are a lot of bad-news bearers in our world today. People say, “The world is headed for hell.” “The church is going down the tubes.” “Our young people are lost.” Naysayers harp on what’s wrong with society and the church. They focus on problems and negative statistics.
Yet we are called to spread the good news. Because of Easter we can no longer be pessimists. We can light up the darkness with the good news of Christ’s resurrection. Thank God—we have good news to share with the world!
Good news is sweet to the soul, and your resurrection, Lord Jesus, is the sweetest news of all. Thank you, Jesus, for res-urrection hope. In your name, Amen.
About the author — Dean Deppe
Dean Deppe has been a pastor in inner-city, suburban, and rural churches. Currently he teaches New Testament theology at Calvin Theological Seminary. His courses include one on the parables of Jesus. He and his wife have four grown children.
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