Easter is the beginning of everything that can become new. The resurrection of Christ is the beginning of the new creation, both for the living and the dead.
The earth shook and there was darkness. When Jesus died, even the creation itself reacted. Confronted with the death of its Creator, it seemed to shudder and cry out. The gospel of Matthew describes a violent earthquake and an unnatural darkness over all the land in the middle of the day (Matthew 27: 45, 51).
But these signs were more than supernatural events: they signified a profound change. Similar images can also be found in prophetic announcements about the return of Christ. What happened on the cross did not only affect the salvation of a few human beings, but it was a cosmic event that shook heaven and earth.
The turning point came on the third day. In the garden in which Jesus had been buried, Mary Magdalene encountered the Risen Christ. Only, she mistook Him for the gardener. This is how the gospel of John describes it (John 19: 41; 20: 15). This supposed confusion is theologically significant: the Risen One is the new gardener in a new garden—a reference to the beginning of the new creation.
From rupture to reconciliation
After all, the Bible begins with the Garden of Eden, paradise. The first human beings had direct fellowship with God until they broke with God. The fall into sin separated the first human beings from their Creator; the first creation had been violated.
Here, in the garden of the resurrection, this relationship was being renewed. Just as God spoke to Adam and Eve in paradise, Christ now spoke to Mary. The new Adam had risen (1 Corinthians 15: 45), and with Him a new reality for humanity: one that was characterised by fellowship with God, by grace and hope.
His resurrection was not just a triumph over death, but a step towards the original fellowship willed by God. The garden as a place of separation became a place of reconciliation. “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5: 18)
The new creation begins with Christ
Easter is more than a historical event; it is new day of creation. The resurrection takes place on the first day of the week. The gospel of John specifically emphasises this temporal classification.
The parallel to the creation narrative becomes clear. In the first book of Moses it says, “Let there be light.” And Christ, the light of the world, brings this very light into a darkened world. Easter marks the beginning of a new reality: a world in which death no longer has the last word.
These effects are universal. Our New Apostolic doctrine emphasises that Christ’s resurrection opens the way for salvation not only for the living, but also for the dead. While those who had sinned in Old Testament times were doomed to death, Christ made development possible even for those who had died. What a fundamental change in salvation history.
Blooming where Christ plants us
Those who follow Christ become part of this new creation. Through the rebirth out of water and the Spirit—baptism and sealing—a new life begins in the light of the Risen One. This spiritual rebirth is our first share in the transformation that was completed in the resurrection of Jesus. Christ also revealed a new body: it was no longer limited to the earth, but transfigured, as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15: 20).
The church of Christ, whose planting was revealed at Pentecost, is also rooted in Easter. Jesus’ resurrection is the origin, goal, and source of strength at the same time. All those who turn to this Christ will be transformed. In fact, they themselves can become a place of fertility. In the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58: 11).
A garden of God in a thirsting world.
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