The Matthew 28:19 Project

Growing up, I looked forward to Easter every single year. It meant spring was finally on the way. It meant either spring break was coming or had just passed. It meant going shopping with Mom for a brand-new Easter dress, decorating eggs in my favorite colors, and running through Grandma Loretta’s yard hunting eggs with my cousins. It was baskets full of candy, chocolate bunnies, pastel colors, and pictures with the Easter Bunny. I loved every part of it. However, over the last couple of years, as I’ve returned to God and my walk with Jesus has deepened and become more real, what I love about Easter has completely changed. Now, when I think about Easter, I don’t picture pastel eggs or baskets of candy. I picture three nails, a rugged cross, and an empty tomb.

The devil certainly doesn’t mind Easter traditions like bunnies, eggs, baskets full of candy, and pictures with the Easter Bunny, but he absolutely hates the empty tomb. Why? Because the empty tomb declares his defeat. It proclaims victory over my sin and my death. It secures my salvation. Without the cross, there is no empty tomb. And without the empty tomb, I cannot have salvation. Without the cross and the empty tomb, Satan wins, which is exactly why he has spent centuries trying to deceive and distort the truth. I mean, it worked with me because I spent most of my life focusing on the eggs, the cute outfits, and the chocolate bunnies instead of the wooden cross, three nails, and an empty tomb.

This week, while I was driving to work, I listened to one of Dr. David Jeremiah’s Easter sermons, and something he said really stayed with me. All over the world, people visit tombs because of who is buried there: pharaohs, prophets, saints, celebrities, and political heroes. Last July, I even visited the Biltmore when they had an exhibit on Egypt’s Pharaoh Tutankhamen. But there is one tomb that millions visit for the exact opposite reason. People do not go because of who is in it; they go because of who isn’t. It’s empty. “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6). There is no greater truth than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the angel declared, “He is not here. For He is risen.” That is the truth Satan has tried to hide, but can’t overcome. Jesus is alive. He arose. He is our LIVING Savior.

And none of this was accidental. It was foretold long before it ever happened.

If you have read many of my blogs, you know how much I love it when Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled by New Testament scriptures. The scriptures are just woven together so perfectly. For example, the prophet Hosea, referring to God raising Jesus up, declared, “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up” (Hosea 6:2). David wrote that God would not allow His Holy One to decay (Psalm 16:10). The Psalmist later proclaimed, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave” (Psalm 49:15). Isaiah described the crucifixion in stunning detail: “He was pierced for our transgressions… and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Moses even wrote about it all the way back in Genesis! “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). From the very beginning, the victory was already written.

I love exploring when Old Testament prophets mention Jesus’ death and resurrection. I always fall down the rabbit hole when I do. You should try it someday! You can follow a path from the Old Testament to the New Testament, seeing each fulfilled prophecy. For example, Jesus pointed to Jonah in Matthew 12:40, revealing the pattern of three days before His resurrection. He also referenced Moses in John 3:14 and connected the bronze serpent to the cross: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Matthew records that Jesus predicted His death and resurrection: “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Matthew 16:21). Luke recounts Jesus telling His disciples to go back to the scriptures, where they can see Him. All of His suffering and resurrection were written long before they happened: “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). From prophecy to fulfillment, the message is clear: Easter is about more than just hunting eggs, new dresses, or chocolate bunnies. It centers on one cross, three nails, and an empty tomb. Satan’s fate is forever sealed