Lyrics
Hell Didn’t Hear Him Coming
Read together: Matthew 27:62–28:7; Colossians 2:13–15; Hebrews 2:14–15; 1 Corinthians 15:20–26, 54–57; Revelation 1:17–18; Revelation 5:5–6
Have you ever had a Friday that felt final? A diagnosis, a phone call, a door that slammed shut—and everything in you said, This is the end. The first followers of Jesus knew that feeling. They watched Him die, saw His body laid in a tomb, and went home with nothing left but grief.
Read Matthew 27:62–66. The religious leaders remembered something the disciples seemed to have forgotten: Jesus had said He would rise after three days. So they went to Pilate, sealed the stone, and posted soldiers at the tomb. Every precaution human power could take was taken. Read Matthew 28:1–7. Then came the earthquake, the angel, and the stone rolled away—not to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in. “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”
What looked like defeat was the very place of victory. Read Colossians 2:13–15 and Hebrews 2:14–15. Paul says that at the Cross God disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in Christ. Hebrews says Jesus shared in our humanity so that by His death He might break the power of the one who holds the power of death, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. The enemy thought the Cross was his victory. It was his undoing.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:20–26 and 15:54–57. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. His resurrection is the guarantee of ours. That is why Paul can taunt death itself: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Read Revelation 1:17–18 and 5:5–6. The risen Jesus tells John not to be afraid: He was dead, and now He is alive forever, and He holds the keys of death and Hades. Later John is told to look at the Lion of the tribe of Judah—and when he looks, he sees a Lamb that had been slain. This song brings those two pictures together, and so does Scripture: the Lamb who died is the Lion who reigns.
If you are living in a Friday right now, Sunday is not just a hope. It is a fact of history and a promise for the future. The tomb is empty. And because Jesus lives, everyone who trusts in Him will live too.
A moment to respond: Read Matthew 28:1–10 aloud this week, slowly, as if you were one of the women at the tomb. Then name the “sealed stone” in your life—the thing that feels final—and bring it to the risen Jesus in prayer. If you have never trusted Him, the angel’s words are for you: He is not here; He has risen. Come to the One who holds the keys of death.
Let's pray: Risen Lord Jesus, thank You that no seal, no soldier, and no grave could hold You. Thank You for triumphing over sin, death, and hell through the Cross and the empty tomb. Where we are afraid, remind us that You hold the keys of death. Where our hope feels buried, raise it again. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that You are Lord—let ours bow to You today. Amen.
Our desire at UnrelentingJesus is that you would face every grave in your life with the confidence of the empty tomb, because Jesus is alive—and He reigns forever.
