5 Easter Bible Verses and What They Mean to Me

The celebration of Easter is a celebration of life in Christ. His death on the cross and resurrection 3 days later is the foundation of the Christian faith. Here are some Easter Bible verses that I find personally meaningful:

John 11: 25-26:"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (NIV)

This verse simply states the Christian faith in a nutshell. Sometimes as Christians, we make the salvation message so complicated. We fill it up with our own ideas and insecurities. When this happens to me, I always go back to this verse.

Romans 6: 8-11: " Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (NIV)

In this verse, the path of Christ is stated to be offered to us. If we die with Christ, we will live with Christ. What a beautiful promise! This verse also points out that our lives can be dead to sin if we live with Christ because he covered those sins for us with his death. This verse is meaningful to me because it is easy for me to get bogged down in my sin. The more I try to be good, it seems the more my sins are highlighted in front of my eyes. This verse reminds me of the gift that Jesus gave, and reminds me that my sins are forgiven and already paid for.

John 20: 24-29: " Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Pease be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger there; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (NIV)

I love this verse about doubting Thomas. It shows me the love and compassion of Jesus. It also helps me to see the humanity of Thomas, one of Jesus beloved disciples. Here was a man who walked with Jesus, saw him perform miracles, and still he doubted. Jesus statement "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" always helps me in my faith journey.

Matthew 27:50-53: "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many hold people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people." (NIV)

This verse resonated with me because it speaks of just how miraculous this event was. It truly shook the heavens and the earth. I try and imagine what it must have been like to actually witness something like this. What were the people thinking? Did they think they were witnessing a mere event of nature, or did they realize that they were witnessing the miraculous?

Matthew 28: 8-10: "So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." (NIV)

It is difficult for me to imagine the incredible joy that these women must have felt when Jesus appeared to them. Imagine how you would feel if someone you deeply loved had just been laid to rest, and then suddenly that person appeared to you, spoke to you! It boggles my mind to even imagine it. God could have picked an infinite number of ways to let the world know that Jesus was still alive, but he chose this intimate way to relay the message. This helps me to realize that Jesus wants to know each and every one of us on a very personal level. It wants to reveal himself to us just as he did to these women.