Easter can feel like it’s been hijacked by pastel colors, chocolate bunnies, and egg hunts that have nothing to do with what actually happened two thousand years ago. You show up to church services, hear about the resurrection, and wonder if you’re missing something because it feels more like a nice story than a reality that should fundamentally change everything. The gap between Easter as a cultural holiday and Easter as the pivotal moment in human history feels massive, and you’re not sure how to bridge it.
What makes Easter difficult to truly grasp is that resurrection doesn’t fit into your everyday experience. Dead people stay dead. Miracles don’t happen on demand. The idea that Jesus actually, physically came back to life after being brutally executed seems too good to be true or too impossible to believe without serious questions.
Meanwhile, the world carries on as if nothing happened, making it easy to treat Easter as just another Sunday with slightly better music and a bigger crowd rather than as the earthquake that split history in two.
These verses ground Easter in what actually happened, why it matters more than anything else, and what it means for your life right now.
Bible Verses On Easter
1. Luke 24:6-7 – He Is Not Here; He Has Risen
He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’
New International Version (NIV)
2. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – For What I Received I Passed On
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
New King James Version (NKJV)
3. Romans 6:9 – For We Know That Since Christ Was Raised
We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.
New Living Translation (NLT)
4. John 11:25-26 – Jesus Said to Her
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
English Standard Version (ESV)
5. Matthew 28:5-6 – The Angel Said to the Women
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
New King James Version (NKJV)
6. 1 Peter 1:3 – Praise Be to the God and Father
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
New International Version (NIV)
7. Acts 2:24 – But God Raised Him from the Dead
But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.
New Living Translation (NLT)
8. 1 Corinthians 15:20 – But in Fact Christ Has Been Raised
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
English Standard Version (ESV)
9. Romans 8:11 – But If the Spirit of Him
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
New King James Version (NKJV)
10. Mark 16:6 – Don’t Be Alarmed, He Said
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”
New International Version (NIV)
11. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 – For We Believe That Jesus Died
For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
New Living Translation (NLT)
12. Acts 4:33 – With Great Power the Apostles
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
English Standard Version (ESV)
13. John 20:1 – Early on the First Day of the Week
Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
New King James Version (NKJV)
14. Romans 1:4 – And Who Through the Spirit of Holiness
And who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
New International Version (NIV)
15. Luke 24:34 – It Is True! The Lord Has Risen
The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.
New Living Translation (NLT)
16. 1 Corinthians 15:55 – Where, O Death, Is Your Victory?
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
English Standard Version (ESV)
17. Acts 1:3 – After His Suffering
To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
New King James Version (NKJV)
18. Colossians 2:12 – Having Been Buried with Him
For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
New Living Translation (NLT)
19. 2 Timothy 2:8 – Remember Jesus Christ
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.
English Standard Version (ESV)
20. Matthew 28:9 – Suddenly Jesus Met Them
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
New King James Version (NKJV)
21. Romans 4:25 – He Was Delivered Over to Death
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
New International Version (NIV)
22. John 20:19 – On the Evening of That First Day
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
New Living Translation (NLT)
23. 1 Corinthians 15:14 – And If Christ Has Not Been Raised
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
English Standard Version (ESV)
24. Acts 17:31 – Because He Has Appointed a Day
Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.
New King James Version (NKJV)
25. Philippians 3:10 – I Want to Know Christ
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
New International Version (NIV)
26. Luke 24:46-47 – He Told Them
And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.'”
New Living Translation (NLT)
27. 1 Corinthians 6:14 – And God Raised the Lord
And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
English Standard Version (ESV)
28. John 20:20 – After He Said This
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
New King James Version (NKJV)
29. Acts 13:30 – But God Raised Him from the Dead
But God raised him from the dead.
New International Version (NIV)
30. Romans 10:9 – If You Declare with Your Mouth
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
31. 1 Peter 3:21 – Baptism, Which Corresponds to This
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
English Standard Version (ESV)
32. Mark 16:14 – Later He Appeared to the Eleven
Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
New King James Version (NKJV)
33. Ephesians 1:19-20 – And His Incomparably Great Power
And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.
New International Version (NIV)
34. John 21:14 – This Was Now the Third Time
This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
New Living Translation (NLT)
35. 1 Corinthians 15:17 – And If Christ Has Not Been Raised
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Easter
The resurrection isn’t a nice addition to Christianity that makes it feel more hopeful. It’s the foundation everything else stands on. Paul said it directly: if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you’re still in your sins. The resurrection is what validates Jesus’s claims, defeats death’s power, and makes forgiveness and eternal life possible. Without it, Christianity collapses into just another set of moral teachings from a good teacher who died tragically. With it, everything changes because death no longer has the final word.
What’s remarkable about the resurrection accounts is how unexpected they were even to Jesus’s closest followers. The disciples didn’t expect resurrection. The women went to the tomb to anoint a dead body, not to find an empty tomb. When they heard He was alive, they struggled to believe it. These weren’t gullible people primed to accept resurrection stories but skeptics who needed convincing through multiple appearances and physical evidence. Their transformation from terrified deserters to bold witnesses willing to die for their testimony speaks to the reality of what they encountered.
The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power available to you through the Holy Spirit. That’s not abstract theology but practical reality. The same God who conquered death lives in you and offers resurrection life now, not just after you die.
Say This Prayer
Father, help me to grasp the reality of Easter beyond the cultural celebration to the actual event that changed everything. Jesus really died, was really buried, and really rose from the dead on the third day. This isn’t myth or metaphor but history that splits time and defeats death. Help me to believe this not just intellectually but in ways that transform how I live.
Thank You that because Jesus conquered death, I don’t have to fear it. Thank You that His resurrection validates everything He claimed and proves that forgiveness and eternal life are actually available. Thank You that the same power that raised Him from the dead is at work in me right now through Your Spirit, offering resurrection life in the midst of death, hope in the midst of despair, and victory in the midst of defeat.
Help me to live in light of Easter every day, not just once a year. Let the reality of the resurrection shape my perspective on suffering, on loss, on fear, and on the future. Give me boldness to share this truth with others who need the hope that only resurrection can provide. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because the tomb is empty, death has lost its sting.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.