Easter is the one holiday whose verses are almost all about death being undone, which makes it the easiest card for a believer and the hardest for a friend who buried someone in March. These verses cover both. The best Easter cards say something true about the empty tomb and something kind about the person’s year.
A verse to start with
For an Easter card
Matthew 28:5-6
The angel answered the women, Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
World English Bible (WEB)
Why this fits
“He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said.” The angel’s announcement at the tomb, and “just like he said” is the part to notice: the resurrection was a promise kept, not a surprise. For a card, it is the whole of Easter in one sentence, and it is short.
Which verse for the card?
Best overallMatthew 28:5-6 — The angel answered the women, Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
ShortMatthew 28:5-6 — The angel answered the women, Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
For someone grievingJohn 11:25-26 — Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
For a believer who loves Easter1 Corinthians 15:55 — “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
What to write with it
One line before the verse is usually enough.
He is risen. Happy Easter to you and your family.
Wishing you a bright Easter morning and a good spring.
For someone grieving: I know this Easter comes hard this year. Thinking of you and of [name]. He is risen; that promise is for them too.
5 verses to choose from
Matthew 28:5-6
The angel answered the women, Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said.” The angel’s announcement at the tomb, and “just like he said” is the part to notice: the resurrection was a promise kept, not a surprise. For a card, it is the whole of Easter in one sentence, and it is short.
Luke 24:5-6
Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee,
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen.” Said to women who came to the tomb with spices, expecting a body. The question is gentle and it is the heart of the day. It also reads well to someone who has recently stood at a grave: the place they went looking is not where the story ends.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus to Martha, at her brother’s tomb, before anything has changed. For an Easter card to someone grieving, this is the verse, because it was said to a grieving person with the loss still fresh and it did not ask her to feel better first.
1 Corinthians 15:55
“Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
“Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” Paul, taunting death, at the end of the longest argument in the Bible about resurrection. Bold, and for a card to a believer who loves Easter, exactly right. Not for the card to someone freshly grieving; they are not ready to taunt anything yet.
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
“Born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Living hope, as opposed to the kind that dies with the person. Peter, who had denied Jesus and been found again, is the right author for a card about second chances.
The one I’d leave out
Romans 8:28. It gets into Easter cards because the season is about things turning out. To someone who buried a spouse this winter it reads as “this was for the best.” John 11:25–26 was said to a grieving sister and it is the Easter verse for that card.
How to use these verses
Matthew 28:6 for most cards. John 11:25–26 for anyone who lost someone this year, with their name in your line. Write the hard card first.
Want more than 5?
These are the ones I’d hand you first. The search covers every verse in the Bible and tells you why each one matched.