Type the phrase “religious Easter quotes” into your computer and you’ll get lots of results. Some of the quotes you’ll find will seem more encouraging than others, but they all speak to just how surprising, beautiful and incredible Easter is. Here is a collection of perspectives on Easter, from old songs to theological reflections.
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Short Religious Easter Quotes
There are all kinds of quotes about Easter worth remembering, but sometimes the most memorable ones are the short ones. Here are a few quotes you can easily learn, memorize, or write down to carry with you:
“The blood of Christ has power to wash the blackest record white.”
—R.A. Torrey, The Holy Spirit: Who He is and What He Does
“In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend.”
—C.S. Lewis, “The Grand Miracle”
“We live and die. Christ died and lived!”
—John Stott, Authentic Christianity
“Within the miracle of Jesus’ deep descent, the grave is forced to cry out, ‘Enough!’ It cannot hold God.”
—Kelly M. Kapic with Justin Borger, The God Who Gives
“Why should you weep? For Jesus rose from the dead; so shall you.”
—Charles Spurgeon, “Look Unto Jesus”
“It is by Christ that we have redemption.”
—Jonathon Edwards, “God Glorified in the Work of Redemption”
“But the rich sacrifice he paid atones for all our sins.”
—Isaac Watts, “Behold the Blest Redeemer Comes”
“In Christ, God confronted the grave on its own turf – and won.”
—R.C. Sproul, What We Believe
“You could speak of Jesus’ rising as the most hopeful—hope-full—thing that has ever happened—and you would be right!”
—J.I. Packer, Growing in Christ
“That’s right, don’t be afraid, no matter what you may see coming. Take courage because Christ was crucified for you.”
—Catherine of Siena, A Little Daily Wisdom
Religious Easter Quotes and Blessings
Sometimes poetry and song make the point better than anything else does. A hymn or a traditional Easter blessing can encourage or help us think about Easter in ways that nothing else can. Here are a few Easter poems or blessings to think about this Easter:
“May Christ, who out of defeat brings new hope and a new future, fill you with his new life.”
—The Anglican Book of Common Worship
“May the glory and the promise of this joyous time of year bring peace and happiness to you and those you hold most dear.
And may Christ, Our Risen Savior, always be there by your side to bless you most abundantly and be your loving guide.”
—Author Unknown
“Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate
Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen
Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing
Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead,
the first of the sleepers,
Glory and power are his forever and ever.”
—St. Hippolytus
“Nor silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption,
Nor riches of earth could have saved my poor soul;
The blood of the cross is my only foundation,
The death of my Savior now maketh me whole.”
—James Greay, “Nor silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption”
“Draw us forth, God of all creation.
Draw us forward and away from limited certainty
into the immense world of your love.
Give us the capacity to even for a moment
taste the richness of the feast you give us.
Give us the peace to live with uncertainty,
with questions,
with doubts.
Help us to experience the resurrection anew
with open wonder and an increasing ability
to see you in the people of Easter.”
—Author Unknown
“I will sing of my Redeemer
and his heavenly love for me;
he from death to life has brought me,
Son of God, with him to be.
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me;
on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.”
—P.P. Bliss, “I Will Sing of My Redeemer”
“Oh for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer's praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
he sets the prisoner free;
his blood can make the foulest clean;
his blood availed for me.”
—Charles Wesley, “O for a Thousand Tongues”
Religious Easter Quotes about What Jesus Did
We know that the Bible says Jesus’ dying and rising again saved us from sin, but he didn’t just do that. The Bible also says that the resurrection was an act that defeated Satan, showed us God’s great mercy, and more. Many quotes from different scholars, writers, and artists help us to see these different aspects of Easter.
Quotes on Jesus Defeating Death and Sin
By coming back from the dead, Jesus literally defeated Satan (Colossians 2:15). Take a look at what some have said about this amazing victory over death:
“Now, as an adult I saw that Easter actually held out the awesome promise of reversibility. Nothing – no, not even death – was final. Even that could be reversed.”
—Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew
“And you that fear death – why fear to die? Jesus died before you, and he passed through the iron gates, and as he passed them before you, he will come and meet you.”
—Charles Spurgeon, “Looking Unto Jesus”
“We are broken, and God came into creation and emptied himself. The power of that emptying, which is dying to self, kills death. Death was killed on the cross.”
—Ellis Potter, 3 Theories of Everything
“Before Jesus came, people lived in great misery about death; but after he rose again, those who believed in him always talked of dying as falling asleep.”
—George MacDonald, Donal Grant
“If God’s body broke, the resurrection stakes this bold claim: lament will have no last word. Brokenness is a middle act, not the final scene.”
—Jen Pollock Michel, Surprised by Paradox
“On the cross we see the great holiness of God’s love, that the light of his pure love will destroy the darkness of sin and evil.”
—Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity
“Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories, like Jesus’ scars.”
—Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew
“Jesus Christ, as the revelation of God’s love, is life risen out of death. His death overcomes all the powers of the world and all deadly forces.”
—Eberhard Arnold, Experiencing God
Quotes on Jesus Bringing New Life
Easter Sunday brought us new life in several ways. Jesus brought new life to us (via salvation), he brought new life to the world (by advancing the kingdom of God), and he brought new life to our understanding of the world (by having his physical body resurrected, showing that God cares about the physical). Think about these quotes as you consider what new life Jesus has brought for you:
“The message of the resurrection is that this world matters! That the injustices and pains of this present world must now be addressed with the news that healing, justice, and love have won.”
—N.T. Wright, For All God’s Worth
“On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and the semblance of the garden God walking again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.”
—G.K. Chesterton, Everlasting Man
“The world and our hearts are broken. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was an infinitely costly rescue operation to restore justice to the oppressed and marginalized, physical wholeness to the diseased and dying, community to the isolated and lonely, and spiritual joy and connection to those alienated from God.”
—Timothy Keller, The Reason for God
“To the women and men who had committed themselves to him, he revealed that his mission had been fulfilled. To those who shared in his ministry, he gave the sacred task to call all people into the new life with him.”
—Henri Nouwen, “The Hidden Resurrection”
“Easter is not about immortality but about resurrection from a death that is a real death with all its frightfulness and horrors, resurrection from a death of the body and the soul, of the whole person, resurrection by the power of God’s mighty act. This is the Easter message.”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is on the Cross
Further Reading
15 Amazing Religious Easter Quotes to Celebrate Christ's Resurrection
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/udra
G. Connor Salter has contributed over 1,400 articles to various publications, including interviews for Christian Communicator and book reviews for The Evangelical Church Library Association. In 2020, he won First Prize for Best Feature Story in a regional contest by the Colorado Press Association Network. In 2024, he was cited as the editor for Leigh Ann Thomas' article "Is Prayer Really That Important?" which won Third Place (Articles Online) at the Selah Awards hosted by the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference.