The Easter story is about Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus and his followers were in Jerusalem preparing for the special Passover celebrations. The chief priests and other Jewish officials were meeting at the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, to discuss ways of capturing Jesus quietly, and killing him. Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, went to the chief priests and asked how much they would pay him if he betrayed Jesus to them. They gave him thirty silver coins. On the first day of the Passover ceremonies, the disciples came to Jesus and asked where they would eat their Passover meal. Jesus replied that they should go into the city and find a man carrying a water jar and tell him that their Master says his time has come, and he will eat the Passover meal with his disciples at his house. That evening as Jesus sat eating the Passover meal with his disciples, He broke the bread, blessed it and said, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body, which I am giving for you.” He then took the cup of wine and gave thanks and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is my blood which is poured out for you.” After finishing the meal, Jesus went with his disciples to a local beauty spot called Gethsemane where he was arrested by Roman soldiers. Three days later he rose from the dead.

On Easter morning, Jesus is no longer in the tomb, he is risen:  Mark 16: 1-14

Yes, Christ is really risen, if that were not the case… our faith would be vain and without hope. The apostle Paul underlines this in his letter to the Corinthians: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ risen. And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain. … and He specifies: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, he is the firstfruits of those who died. 1  Corinthians 15.

Christ is not only risen, but he has promised to be with us always. He invites us to unload ourselves on Him. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest” He is that good Shepherd of whom Psalm 23  speaks about.