Bible Verses for Easter: 7 Powerful Passages

9 hours ago
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Easter is the story that everything else in Scripture points toward. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation. These seven bible verses for Easter walk through the full account, from the women arriving at the tomb before sunrise to Paul's argument for why the resurrection changes everything.

And if you want to spend the weeks leading up to Easter doing the same, our free 40 Days of Lent Guide is a good place to start.

John 11:25

"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die."

Jesus says this before he has even gone to the cross,standing outside a tomb, about to raise a dead man. It's not a comfort offered after the fact. It's a declaration of who he is before any of it happens.

John 20:16

"Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!'"

Mary Magdalene is standing at the tomb weeping, mistaking Jesus for the gardener, until he says her name. One word, and she knows. The risen Jesus is not an abstract presence. He's personal.

Luke 23:34

"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'"

This is spoken from the cross, in the middle of the crucifixion, over the people carrying it out. If Easter is about forgiveness, this is where it starts, not at the empty tomb, but here.

Romans 6:4

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Paul is making the case that the resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus, it's something that happens to everyone who belongs to him. The same power that raised him is at work in us.

Isaiah 53:5

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him."

This was written by the prophet Isaiah roughly 700 years before the crucifixion. The specificity of it is hard to dismiss, a suffering servant, pierced, crushed, carrying punishment that wasn't his.

Acts 2:24

"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

Peter is preaching this to a crowd in Jerusalem just weeks after the crucifixion, to people who were there, who knew what had happened. Impossible for death to keep its hold on him is not a poetic flourish. It's a claim being made to eyewitnesses.

John 20:27

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.'"

Thomas had said he wouldn't believe unless he could touch the wounds himself. Jesus shows up and invites him to do exactly that. The resurrection wasn't asking anyone to look past the evidence, it was offering it directly.

If You Want to Arrive at Easter Ready

These passages hold up on their own. But Lent exists for a reason, the 40 days before Easter are designed to be a season of slowing down, paying attention, and preparing for what's coming rather than just showing up on Sunday.

We've created a free 40 Days of Lent Guide with daily Scripture-based prayers, fasting ideas, and ways to practice generosity throughout the season. It's practical, not prescriptive — something to actually use rather than download and forget.