The Gladdest Day
The Gladdest Day
The day started out to be sad. It was still the saddest time in the world for Jesus' friends. Some of them were SO sad that they got up early in the morning and hurried back to the tomb in the garden where they had left him - the tomb with the stone rolled in front of it. They knew it was all over and he was dead. But they had spices and sweet perfumes for him, and they hoped they'd find someone to roll the stone away.
They hurried to the garden, and actually that's all they expected to see. A tomb with a huge stone rolled over the doorway. But when they got there -
The great stone door of the tomb had been rolled away! And Jesus was GONE!
At first they just stood there, STUNNED.
And then they all did different things.
One of them turned on her heels and ran. Her name was Mary Magdalene. And she wasn't just running away. She was running to tell two other special friends.
The rest of them went into the tomb, and -
Surprise of all surprises!
There were two ANGELS inside!
Jesus' friends just stood there, absolutely speechless. They couldn't say a thing.
ANGELS!
And before Jesus' friends could find their voices, the angels said, "He is not dead. He is alive. He is RISEN - just as he told you he would be."
Well, first they just stood there, stunned. And then THEY turned on THEIR heels and ran, just as Mary Magdalene had done.
Then the garden was quiet.
But not for long.
First, the two special friends Mary Magdalene had run to tell, came back. One of them stood and looked in the tomb. The other one went right inside. And sure enough. Everything Mary had told them was true. The cloth Jesus had been wrapped in was there, all neat and in order, and the cloth that had been wrapped around his head was folded neatly. But HE was gone. They went out of the garden, amazed.
Then the garden was quiet again.
But not for long.
For last of all, Mary Magdalene came back. And she stood there by the tomb. And she cried.
"Why are you crying?" asked the angels.
And Mary said, "Because I do not know where Jesus is."
And then -
Suddenly she realized that there was somebody standing just behind her. She turned around. It was a man, but in the early morning half-darkness she did not know him. She thought perhaps he might be the gardener.
"Why are you crying?" he asked. "And who are you looking for?"
"Oh," said Mary, "I'm looking for Jesus. Do YOU know where they have taken him?"
And the stranger said softly - oh so softly and lovingly - "Mary." Just like that.
And the MINUTE he said her name - "Mary" - she knew who he was.
It was JESUS! He was alive! Oh, joy!
"Jesus!" said Mary. It couldn't be true. But it WAS. He was standing right there. He was looking at her. And he SPOKE to her again.
"Go tell my friends that I'm alive," he said "and that I'm going to heaven - just as I said I would."
And she did!
Oh, it was a GLAD day after all! It was a GLAD day! It was the GLADDEST day in the world!
Do you know what?
It was the first EASTER SUNDAY!!

THINK!
Jesus is alive today - the BIBLE tells us so. He is with us, in our hearts. How can we talk to him? How can we listen to him speaking to us? Can you think of some of the many ways he helps you in your own life?
A VERSE TO LEARN
"Jesus said, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Another verse to learn: "I am alive for evermore" (Revelation 1:18).