The great plan has been accomplished; Christ has died and risen. Our sins have been paid for, death has been defeated, and eternal life awaits all who are joined to Christ.

Imagine being on that mountain in Galilee. You’re up there waiting, having heard that the resurrected Jesus will meet you there. And then he arrives.

On a mountain you can see for miles all around—it feels as if you’re looking over the whole world. Yet if you look up, you feel tiny and as if you could fall from your perch at any moment. Many ancient people believed that mountains were the place where heaven and earth met. Jesus has chosen the ideal spot to tell his disciples that he has all authority in heaven and on earth. Everything the disciples can see—around and above them—belongs to the Lord and Savior, Jesus.

With the world spread around them, Jesus tells his followers they need to spread the news. They need to make new disciples of Jesus. They need to bring God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—to new believers. And they can do all that because he will always be right there with them.

This story continues every day as we share with the world around us that our sins are paid for, death is defeated, and eternal life awaits us in Christ.