This is the devotional that I wrote in April.
~Samantha

The story of Christ's resurrection.
Taken from all four gospels.
By Samantha McIntyre

There was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from Heaven and rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb where Jesus' body had been laid. The angel wore shining white clothes and his face was brilliant. When the men guarding the tomb saw the angel they trembled and fainted.
Early Sunday morning at sunrise Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Joanna, Salome, and other women went to see the tomb where Jesus had been laid three days before. They were going to put spices and oils on Jesus' body. They wondered how they were going to roll the huge stone away from the door. When they reached the tomb they saw that the stone was rolled away. They went into the tomb an saw an angel. They were scared of the angel but he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”
So the women went to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, but most of the men didn't believe them. Peter believed them though, and he ran to the tomb. Another disciple reached the tomb first but he didn't go into the tomb. He looked in and saw the linen cloths laying there. When Peter got to the tomb he went in and saw the strips of linen cloth Jesus had been wrapped in laying there. The handkerchief that had been wrapped around Jesus' head was off to the side by itself folded neatly. Then the other disciple went into the tomb and and believed that Jesus had risen. They were amazed! Jesus had risen from the dead! The didn't know that the Old Testament told them that Jesus would be raised from the dead on the third day, so they were astonished!
After this had happened some of the guards went to the city and told the chief priest what had happened. The chief priests got together with the elders and talked about it. They decided to give the soldiers a lot of money so that they would tell everyone that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body away while they were sleeping. So the soldiers told people that and many Jews believed it.
Two people who knew Jesus were walking to a town called Emmaus. As they walked a man came and walked with them. They didn't who he was. He asked them what they were talking about that made them so sad. The person whose name was Cleopas replied and said, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?”
The man said, “What things?”
So they told him about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the their rulers and the chief priests judged him and crucified him. They told the man that they themselves had been hoping that this mighty Prophet was going to redeem Israel. And also they told him that it had been three days since all this had happened. Early that morning some women they knew had arrived at the tomb and when the women did not find His body they came and told them that they had seen a vision of angels, and the angels had said He was alive. Some people that were with us went to the tomb and found it was just like the women said.
Then the man said to Cleopas and his friend, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
When the three people reached the town called Emmaus the man said he would keep going, but they other two people asked him to spend the night with them. So the man stayed with them. When the man sat down at the table with them he took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened. They realized that this man was Jesus, risen from the dead! Then Jesus vanished from them.
Then they got up right away and went and told the eleven disciples and the people with the disciples that the Lord really had risen! They told them everything that had happened that day with Jesus.
Later the same day at evening the disciples were together in house with the doors locked. They locked the doors because they were afraid of the Jews. While they were there Jesus came and stood in the house with them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were terrified because they thought He was a ghost. He asked them why they were scared and showed them the wounds in His hands and the wound in his side. They were so happy to see Jesus but they still weren't sure He was real, so He asked for some food. They gave Him some broiled fish and some honeycomb. He took it and ate it while they watched so they knew He was not a ghost.
Jesus' Resurrection was miracle, that we all should believe. We weren't there but we have been given four records of it. John 20:29b says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We can believe it happened even if we didn't see it happen. That is called faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” God gives us faith. We are saved by grace and through faith. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” God by His grace has given us faith to believe that Jesus died and rose again on the third day.
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."