It was a gloomy Sunday for Laszlo Javor. The woman he loved had passed away. Javor was a Hungarian poet who lived in the 1930s. He was so depressed and wrote a melancholic melody that was later known as ‘Gloomy Sunday'. The song’s melody was incredibly catchy and crafted to evoke a sense of despair in many who listened to it. It became notoriously famous since it had been linked to over one hundred suicides in Hungary. This piece of music was later nicknamed the "Hungarian suicide song". Many versions of this song came later due to its popularity. In the early 1940s, the BBC banned the song from being played, deeming it "upsetting" for the public.
It was a gloomy Sunday morning for Mary Magdalene too, as she hurried to the tomb of Jesus Christ, around two thousand years ago in Palestine. She had been one of His most devoted followers. The Roman government had sentenced Him to death and executed Him on a cross, as that was the method of capital punishment in those days in the Roman Empire. She was carrying spices to anoint the dead body according to Jewish custom. To her surprise, she saw that the large stone that was kept at the door of the tomb had been rolled away, and the tomb was empty! As she stood outside the grave on that cold and dark morning, wondering who had taken away her beloved Teacher’s dead body, she wept. Then she heard a dear, familiar voice calling out to her: "Mary".
As she looked up in recognition, she saw Christ Jesus standing next to her. He had risen from the grave. He had resurrected, as He had said. Now everything Christ had taught took on a new meaning for Mary. His death and resurrection were according to the scriptures. The Scriptures state that all are sinners in the eyes of God. God cannot overlook sin. God is loving, merciful and kind, but He is also holy and righteous. Christ died to pay the price for our sins. He took our place and died the death we ultimately deserved. As Christ laid down His life voluntarily for our sins, He paid the full penalty for our sin. God has made a way for us to come to Him and find forgiveness through the gift of His Son, Jesus.
He was raised from the dead also according to the Scriptures. The resurrection of Jesus confirmed that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice for sin on the cross and gave us access to a right relationship with God. It also shows that Jesus defeated death. Death is the enemy of mankind and the just punishment for our sin. Christ rose from the dead because death could no longer hold Him. We no longer have to fear death because Christ has triumphed over it.
That’s what led the apostle Paul to write:
"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" - Bible
For Mary, that was a Sunday when darkness had passed and the sun had broken through the clouds into a new dawn. Not only for Mary, but for every person who repents of their sins and believes in Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Yes, Christ has risen, and He lives today for you and me.
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