The Garden and the Tomb: The Power of Christ’s Resurrection
A 5-Day Devotional | Bridge Fellowship Church
Based on Matthew 28:1–10 | Pastor Douglas Humphrey
Day 1: God Is Already at Work
Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:1–4 (CSB)
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.
Commentary
The two Marys came to the tomb expecting to finish a burial. What they found instead was a scene already complete — the earthquake had already shaken the ground, the angel had already descended, the stone was already rolled away. They did not arrive to a resurrection in progress. They arrived after God had already moved. That timing is not incidental. God never waited for human presence, human faith, or human awareness before He acted. He did not need anyone to show up before He opened that tomb. He was already done.
This is the word for everyone in a Saturday season — that long, quiet stretch between Friday’s crisis and Sunday’s breakthrough. The disciples went to sleep Saturday night in grief, convinced it was over. But God was already preparing Sunday while they were drowning in doubt. The tomb that looked sealed from the outside was being opened from the inside, and nobody saw it coming. God’s activity is never contingent on your awareness of it. He works through your Saturdays to bring you to your Sunday.
Reflection Questions
- What Saturday season are you currently walking through — a stretch of silence, waiting, or unanswered prayer where God feels absent?
- Can you recall a time when you later discovered God had been working behind the scenes during a season that felt hopeless? What did that reveal about His character?
- What is the difference between trusting God because you see Him moving and trusting God even when you cannot?
- How does the fact that God moved before the women arrived challenge any belief that your faith or readiness is a prerequisite for His action?
Thought of the Day
God is not waiting on your circumstances to settle before He moves. He is already at work in the middle of them.
Song
“It Is Well with My Soul” — Horatio Spafford / Philip Bliss (traditional hymn)
Sermon Quote
“God didn’t wait for their faith to recover before He moved. He was already preparing Sunday while they grieved and doubted through Saturday.”
Sit with that for a few minutes. Whatever Saturday you are carrying — bring it before the Lord. He has not gone quiet. He is already preparing your Sunday.
Daily Challenge
Write down one specific area where you have been waiting on God. Beside it, write three ways He may have already been working — even if you have not given Him credit. End by verbally telling God you trust Him in the waiting.
Prayer Focus
Lord, forgive me for confusing Your silence with Your absence. Help me believe that You are at work right now — in the waiting, in the silence, in what looks like nothing is happening. I trust You with my Saturday. Do in me what only You can do. Amen.
Day 2: He Keeps Every Promise He Makes
Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:5–6 (CSB) | Genesis 3:15 (CSB) | Galatians 4:4–5 (CSB)
The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:5–6)
I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4–5)
Commentary
Four words carry the full weight of the resurrection announcement: just as He said. But to hear them properly you cannot start at the tomb — you have to go back to a garden where everything first went wrong. In Genesis 3:15, right in the middle of judgment, God turned to the serpent and made a promise: someone is coming, born of a woman, who will crush your head. The incarnation was the first fulfillment. The empty tomb was the second. Every generation between Eden and Bethlehem lived with the promise but not the fulfillment. They waited, they hoped, and many died still looking forward. The resurrection is God closing the loop on a commitment thousands of years in the making.
What this means for you is not small. You are not being asked to trust a fragile or untested God. You are being asked to trust the God who kept Genesis 3:15 — across centuries, through doubt, through a crucifixion that looked like the end of everything. But before you declare promises over your life, stop and ask an honest question: is what you are standing on actually something God has promised — or is it something you want Him to promise? A conviction rooted in Scripture, consistent with His glory, affirmed by wise community, and persistent over time — that is solid ground. The empty tomb gives you every reason to stand on it.
Reflection Questions
- What does it mean to you that God kept a promise that took thousands of years to fulfill? What does that say about His faithfulness?
- Is there a promise from God’s Word you have been holding onto? How has your confidence in that promise grown or wavered over time?
- How do you distinguish between a God-given conviction and a personal preference dressed up in the language of faith?
- What does it look like practically to stand on a promise — not passively waiting, but actively trusting?
Thought of the Day
The God who kept Genesis 3:15 across thousands of years has not forgotten a single word He has spoken to you.
Song
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” — Thomas Chisholm / William Runyan (traditional hymn)
Sermon Quote
“He kept Genesis 3:15. And He will keep what He said to you. Just as He said.”
Read that slowly. Then bring before God whatever promise or word you have been holding — or have grown too tired to keep holding. Lay it down before Him and ask Him to rekindle your confidence in His faithfulness.
Daily Challenge
Take an honest inventory. Write down what you are currently standing on and run it through four checks: (1) Is it grounded in Scripture? (2) Is it consistent with God’s glory, not just your comfort? (3) Has it been affirmed by mature believers who love you enough to tell you the truth? (4) Has it been a persistent, growing conviction — not a passing desire? Based on that, decide with fresh intentionality whether to stand or let go.
Prayer Focus
Father, You are the God who keeps every promise. Remind me today of the ones You have already kept in my life. Strengthen my faith for the ones I am still waiting on. Help me to trust You not because I can see the outcome — but because I know Your character. Amen.
Day 3: Sin, Death, and Satan Have No Power Over You
Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:14–15 (CSB) | 1 Corinthians 15:54–57 (CSB)
He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him. (Colossians 2:14–15)
Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:54–57)
Commentary
The cross and the resurrection cannot be separated. The cross is where the debt was paid — where the legal claim against every sinner was canceled and nailed down. The resurrection is where the verdict was declared — where God announced to every power in heaven and earth that the payment was accepted and death had lost. A cross without an empty tomb is an unverified claim. An empty tomb without the cross is a pointless battle. Together they accomplish exactly what God promised in Genesis 3:15: the heel of Jesus was struck at Calvary, and the head of the serpent was crushed at the empty tomb.
This means sin has no legal power over you. Death has no final claim on you. Satan has no rightful authority over your life. Not because of your performance or discipline — but because of what Jesus accomplished and proved. The problem is that many believers understand this doctrinally but do not live it practically. They continue operating under the influence of a defeated enemy — not because he has power, but because they keep returning to places where they surrender what Jesus already took away. The resurrection is not an annual event to celebrate once in April. It is the daily reality you are supposed to be living from.
Reflection Questions
- In what specific area of your life do you find yourself living as though sin, death, or Satan still has real power over you?
- What does it mean practically to “live from the resurrection” on an ordinary Tuesday?
- Why do so many believers understand the freedom Christ purchased while still living in patterns of bondage? What is the gap between knowing and living?
- If you genuinely believed — in your bones, not just in your head — that the enemy is already defeated, how would your daily decisions look different?
Thought of the Day
You are not fighting for victory. In Christ, you are fighting from it.
Song
“Before the Throne of God Above” — Charitie Bancroft / Vikki Cook
Sermon Quote
“Jesus didn’t go through all that He did to make you alive so that you could go on living like a dead person under Satan’s control.”
Let that land. Don’t rush past it. Think about the specific pattern, habit, or fear in your life that this speaks to most directly. Sit with the gap between what Christ purchased and how you are actually living.
Daily Challenge
Identify one area where you have been living beneath the life Jesus purchased — a sin pattern, a persistent fear, a shame you keep carrying, or a door you keep reopening. Make a concrete, specific decision today about how you will live differently. If needed, reach out to a trusted brother or sister and tell them what you are committing to.
Prayer Focus
Jesus, I believe You crushed the enemy at the empty tomb. Forgive me for the ways I have handed back what You took away. I do not want to live beneath the life You purchased. Teach me to live from the resurrection — today, in the specific places I have been losing ground. Amen.
Day 4: Go Quickly and Tell
Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:7–10 (CSB)
Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.” Listen, I have told you.” So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples. Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and they will see me there.”
Commentary
The angel did not say sit here and let this sink in. He said go quickly and tell. When Jesus met the women on the road He did not debrief them or give them time to collect themselves. He sent them again: go and tell. They were commissioned in the middle of their trembling — sent while fear and great joy were still running together in their chests. They did not wait until they had processed the experience, found the right words, or arrived at settled confidence. They ran. Because that is what happens when you have a genuine encounter with the risen Christ. The news is too big to sit on.
What is also remarkable is who God chose. Not the twelve. Not the religious scholars. Grieving women who came with spice jars to finish a burial. God does not wait for the qualified or the composed. He uses whoever is willing, wherever He finds them, and He sends them before they have it all figured out. Their witness was not the result of a carefully constructed argument or a rehearsed testimony — it was the overflow of an encounter they could not keep to themselves. That is the pattern for every born-again believer. You tell because you cannot help it. Not out of obligation. Under compulsion. Because you have been made alive and you want others to experience the same.
Reflection Questions
- Who in your life — by name — does not yet know Jesus? What has kept you from telling them?
- The women ran before they had fully processed what they had seen. What are you waiting to have figured out before you are willing to share your faith?
- What is the difference between witnessing out of obligation and witnessing out of genuine compulsion? Which one describes your current posture?
- Pastor Douglas said that if no one in your life knows what God has done for you, that may not be a witnessing problem — it may indicate you have never fully left the tomb yourself. How do you respond to that honestly?
Thought of the Day
You don’t need a perfect testimony. You need a real one. That is enough.
Song
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” — Traditional Spiritual / John Wesley Work Jr.
Sermon Quote
“Transformed people cannot stay silent. If Jesus has genuinely changed your life — if the resurrection is real to you — if you have been made alive in Christ — you will have something to say. And you won’t be able to keep from saying it.”
Read that twice. Then ask yourself honestly: Is the resurrection real enough to me that I cannot help but talk about it? Or have I settled into a quiet, private faith that asks nothing of me and invites no one in?
Daily Challenge
Tell someone today. Start with someone you already know. Send a text. Make a call. Have lunch. Tell one person what God has done in your life, what this Easter meant to you, or simply that you would love for them to come to church with you. Do not plan it to death. Just go.
Prayer Focus
Lord, make me someone who cannot keep quiet about You. Give me the boldness of those women who ran before they had it together. Place a name on my heart today — someone who needs to hear what You have done. Open the door, and help me walk through it without waiting until I feel ready. Amen.
Day 5: Put the Spices Down
Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:1–10 (CSB)
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.'” So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples. Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and they will see me there.”
Commentary
The two Marys came to the tomb carrying spices. That detail is not incidental. Spices were for the dead. They represent the grief you carry when hope has expired — when you have stopped believing anything will change and you have come simply to manage what is left of what you once loved. Many people walk through life in exactly that posture, even years into their faith. Something happened — a leader let them down, a prayer went unanswered, the weight of ordinary life eroded the urgency of what they once believed — and now they are carrying spices. Present in the vicinity of Jesus, but expecting nothing from Him.
What the empty tomb announces is that the spices are unnecessary. He is not there. And because He is not there, everything changes — your Saturday is not the end of the story, His promises are still good, the enemy’s power over your life is broken, and you have been made alive to tell others. The tomb was never meant to be a destination. It was meant to be a launching pad. The women saw it, believed it, and ran. They did not linger in the place of grief when the reason for grief had been removed. They left the spices behind and went to do what only living people can do. That is the invitation of this entire week. Put the spices down. He is not in the tomb. And neither should you be.
Reflection Questions
- What spices have you been carrying into your relationship with God — grief, disappointment, unbelief, or a quiet resignation that things will not really change?
- Looking back over this week, which of the four themes hit you most personally — God’s work in your Saturday, His faithfulness to His promises, the crushing of sin and death, or your call to witness? Why?
- What would it look like concretely to leave the tomb — to stop living from a posture of grief and begin living from the reality of resurrection?
- What is one decision, one conversation, or one step of faith this week that would represent you actually living like the tomb is empty?
Thought of the Day
He is not in the tomb. And you were never meant to stay there either.
Song
“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” — Charles Wesley (traditional hymn)
Sermon Quote
“Whatever you carried in here today — you don’t have to leave with it. The tomb is empty. That means God is still working on your Saturday. That means every promise He made is still good. That means sin and death and Satan do not get the final word over your life. That means you have been made alive — and alive people cannot stay silent.”
Sit with that for five full minutes. Name — out loud or in writing — what you have been carrying. Then consciously set it down before God. This is not denial. This is faith. The tomb is empty. He is alive. You are free to run.
Daily Challenge
Write a one-paragraph personal declaration — not a prayer request, a declaration — of what you are choosing to believe and how you are choosing to live in light of the resurrection. Start with the words: “Because the tomb is empty…” Keep it somewhere visible. Read it every morning this week.
Prayer Focus
Father, I came this week carrying things I was never meant to keep. Grief. Doubt. Shame. Fear. Today I lay them down at an empty tomb — because You are not there, and that changes everything. Help me live like it is true — not just this week, but in every ordinary day ahead. Make me a person who runs. Who tells. Who believes. I am Yours. Amen.
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