From outside the Old City of Jerusalem and the Garden Tomb, Franklin Graham shares a powerful Easter message on the turning point of all history: Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and victorious resurrection. Featuring special music from Michael W. Smith, including his new song, “Crimson Dust,” we invite you to watch this special program from Israel and discover the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.
(Voice-over) Welcome to
a special Easter celebration
from Israel
with Franklin Graham.
(Graham)
I’m in the place
where Jesus walked and
talked and healed.
The first Easter message
was preached right here.
(Voice-over)
And Michael W. Smith
with brand-new music.
(Graham) We see grief
and sorrow all over the world.
Are you searching for hope?
Does God care?
Can Jesus make a difference
in your life?
Hello, I’m Franklin Graham.
A blessed Easter to
each and every one;
He is risen,
and He’s risen indeed,
and I’m coming to you today
from Israel,
and Michael W. Smith is
joining me here
in just a few moments.
Today, we celebrate
that two thousand years ago
after the brutal death of
Jesus Christ on the cross,
imagine the overwhelming
despair and darkness
that faced the followers
of Jesus Christ.
It must’ve felt like
all hope was lost.
And maybe you say, “Franklin,
I don’t have much hope.
“There’s no hope for my life.
“It’s a mess, and I don’t
know what to do.
“I don’t know where to go,”
but in a moment
I want to explain to you
the true meaning of Easter
and the hope that we have
in Jesus Christ,
but before we get there
let’s hear from
Michael W. Smith.
Michael?
(Smith)
Thank you, Franklin.
Awesome to be with you doing
this Easter special in Jerusalem
and to share these songs
with the world,
and a very special song that
reminds me of this land
that I would like to sing now,
Baruch Hashem Adonai.
♪
♪ Who am I to be part
of your people ♪
♪ The ones that are called
by your name? ♪
♪
♪ Could I be chosen
as one of Your own? ♪
♪ Could it be that our blood
is the same? ♪
♪
♪ How can a stranger,
a remnant of nations ♪
♪ Belong to the royal line? ♪
♪
♪ You showed Your grace when
the branches were broken ♪
♪ And I grafted into the vine. ♪
♪
♪ Baruch Hashem Adonai,
Baruch Hashem Adonai ♪
♪ Blessed be
the name of the Lord ♪
♪ Baruch Hashem Adonai ♪
♪
♪ How could You show me
such bountiful mercy ♪
♪ By taking
the life of the Lamb? ♪
♪
♪ Your love is greater
than I can imagine ♪
♪ I bless You with all
that I am ♪
♪
♪ Praise to You, Jesus,
the veil has been parted ♪
♪ What once was secret is
known ♪
♪
♪ Now I can cry to You,
“Abba, my Father” ♪
♪ And praise You
as one of Your own ♪
♪
♪ Baruch Hashem Adonai,
Baruch Hashem Adonai ♪
♪ Blessed be
the name of the Lord ♪
♪ Baruch Hashem Adonai ♪
♪
♪♪
(Graham) Thank you, Michael.
Seventy-five years ago
on May 14, 1948,
the Nation of Israel was reborn
after two thousand years,
and it was reborn in adversity.
The day that the United Nations
declared Israel a state
it was immediately attacked
by its Arab neighbors,
and since 1948
Israel has fought numerous wars
to protect their land,
their people, and this is
the land that God gave them;
promised Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob.
(explosion)
But on October 7, 2023,
it was different.
Israel experienced a surprise
attack by Hamas.
It was the largest massacre of
Jewish people
since the Second World War.
Some 1,200 people—
men, women, children—
were murdered, butchered.
Two hundred and forty people
were taken hostage.
Many people have been
asking in their hearts,
“Who can we trust?
What can we do?”
David, in the Scripture,
I think he had kind of lost hope
at one point
when he was fighting
the Ammonites and the Syrians.
He said, “Some put their faith
and trust in chariots
“and horses, but we trust in
the name of the Lord our God.”
It’s my prayer that there’ll be
many people here in Israel today
and around the world that will
put their faith and trust
in the living God.
I came to Israel
just a few weeks
after the slaughter
of October 7th.
At that point, close to
a half a million people
were living in hotels.
They had to be moved away
from the borders.
I’m so sorry.
We began to see what
we could do to help them;
food vouchers, food boxes;
even at Christmas
we brought in 24,000
shoebox gifts for children.
Some of the teachers
in the school said,
“This is the first time we’ve
seen them laugh since October,”
and then, of course, we heard
that fourteen ambulances
were destroyed, and when they
lost that many ambulances
I thought to myself,
“Let’s just replace those,”
and with God’s help
we’ve been able to do that.
Father, we thank
You that love us,
that You care for us.
(Graham)
Here in Israel there is a lot
of grief and a lot of sorrow,
but it’s not just in Israel.
We see this all over the world,
and many people are wondering,
“Is there any hope?
“Does God see?
“Does God care?
“What’s the answer?”
(Smith)
We watched the world
become extremely dark.
I think people are desperate.
I think when people get
desperate and things get dark
then I think that’s
when people go,
“Maybe there really is a God.”
That’s my prayer
for this special
is that in the midst
of all the craziness going on
that people will turn
towards the source.
They’ve tried to fill the void
with all kinds of stuff.
There’s nothing that fills it
other than Jesus,
and He’s the answer.
I still believe it with
every fiber of my being.
I kept thinking,
“Do I write a song for this?”
I called my friend,
Tony Wood.
He sends me this lyric called
“Crimson Dust.”
The bridge was 13 attempts,
and the verses were
a seventh attempt,
but once I kind of came up
on the chorus,
I felt like, “We got a shot at
making this happen.”
The lyric grows on you
and the significance
of what this thing is saying,
“What gain, what loss,
crimson dust beneath the cross.”
It’s just very descriptive.
Kind of takes your breath away.
♪
♪ Morning rush,
rising heat ♪
♪ Crowded road,
shuffling feet ♪
♪ Suddenly there’s a chill ♪
♪ Hammerings from a hill ♪
♪
♪ Violent scene,
angry words ♪
♪ He gets what
He deserves ♪
♪ Crushed and marred,
middle man ♪
♪ Mercy flows from His hands ♪
♪
♪ Mercy flows from His hands. ♪
♪
♪ I see Heaven
touching Earth ♪
♪ Every drop
of matchless worth ♪
♪ Redeeming love,
what gain, what loss ♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ Day so dark and
pain so real ♪
♪ Tender flesh
torn by steel ♪
♪
♪ History turns around ♪
♪ Holy blood falling down ♪
♪
♪ Holy blood falling down ♪
♪
♪ I see Heaven
touching Earth ♪
♪ Every drop
of matchless worth ♪
♪ Redeeming love,
what gain, what loss ♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ Holy, Holy, Holy ♪
♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪
♪
♪ You are Holy, Holy Holy ♪
♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪
♪ You are Holy, Holy, Holy ♪
♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪
♪ You are Holy, Holy, Holy ♪
♪ Jesus, Lamb of God ♪
♪
♪ I see Heaven
touching Earth ♪
♪ Every drop
of matchless worth ♪
♪
♪ Redeeming love,
what gain, what loss ♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ I see Heaven
touching Earth ♪
♪ Every drop
of matchless worth ♪
♪
♪ Redeeming love,
what gain, what loss ♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross ♪
♪
♪ Crimson dust
beneath the cross. ♪♪
I want to look at a passage
of Scripture this Easter,
and it’s a prophecy, and it
comes out of Isaiah chapter 53,
a passage that was prophesied
some seven hundred years
before the birth
of Jesus Christ.
It’s a Messianic passage
through which God is revealing
why He is sending
a Savior, a Messiah,
and so I want to read this:
“Who has believed our report?
“And to whom has the arm
of the Lord been revealed?
“For He shall grow up
before Him as a tender plant,
“and as a root out of dry ground
“for He has no form or
comeliness,
“and when we see Him
there is no beauty
“that we should desire Him.
“He is despised
and rejected by men,
“a Man of sorrows
acquainted with grief,
“and we hid, as it were,
our faces from Him;
“He was despised, and
we did not esteem Him.”
This prophecy
reveals some things
that we don’t see
anywhere else in Scripture—
a little bit about
His appearance.
He wasn’t like King Saul
who was head and shoulders
above every man.
He wasn’t like David
who was ruddy.
There was nothing
about His appearance
that we would desire Him,
and He came to this Earth
for a reason, for a purpose.
And seven hundred years
before the birth of Christ,
Jesus Christ was announced
by the prophet Isaiah.
He told us exactly
what was going to happen.
“Surely He has borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows,
“yet we esteemed Him stricken,
“smitten by God, but He was
wounded for our transgressions,
“He was bruised
for our iniquities;
“and the chastisement for
our peace was upon Him,
“and by His stripes
we’re healed.
“We are like sheep
who have gone astray;
“we have turned,
every one, to His own way,
“and the Lord hath laid upon
Him the iniquity of us all.”
This passage tells us
that the Messiah was coming
and that He was going to be
bruised for our iniquities.
By His stripes we
were going to be healed.
And so Jesus comes for
the purpose of taking our sins,
and the Bible says—we are
reminded throughout the prophecy
that this was part
of God’s plan,
and when Jesus came
700 hundred years
after this prophecy,
700 years later,
God announced it to the world
through a band of angels.
That’s right, an angel band
came from Heaven
and appeared to
a group of shepherds
out tending
their flock by night
just a few miles from here.
“And the angel said,
‘Don’t be afraid.
“‘Behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy
“‘for all the people.
“‘For there is born to you
this day in the city of David
“‘a Savior who is
Christ the Lord.'”
Jesus Christ came to
save us from our sins,
and the prophet Isaiah wrote,
“He was oppressed,
and He was afflicted,
“yet He opened not His mouth.
“He was led as a lamb
to the slaughter,
“and as a sheep before
the shearers is silent
“He opened not His mouth.
“For the transgressions of
My people He was stricken.
“Yet it pleased the Lord to
bruise Him;
“and has put Him to grief.
“By His knowledge My righteous
Servant shall justify many,
“for He shall bear
their iniquities.”
Jesus Christ came to
save us from our sins,
and the Bible said that
it pleased God to bruise
His own Son that we might
have forgiveness of sin.
Now, he was tried,
judged, taken to the cross,
beaten by the Romans to
where His back was flayed open,
and He goes to the cross,
and there on the cross
they nail Him.
They strip Him of His clothes,
naked on the cross,
hanging there;
big crowd jeering,
laughing at Him,
“Oh, He could save others,
“but He can’t save Himself.”
And Jesus went willingly,
and He went to the cross
to be a sacrifice to God
for the sins of men,
and it pleased God to
bruise His own Son.
And that’s hard for us
to understand that,
to accept that.
It’s hard for your mind
to get around it,
but it pleased God to do this
to His Son to save you
and to save me, because all
of us have sinned.
The Bible says,
“We’ve all sinned
“and come short of God’s glory,
“but the gift of God
is eternal life
“through Jesus Christ our Lord,”
and while Jesus was hanging
on the cross
God at that moment
dumped all the sins past,
all the sins present,
all the sins future.
And as His blood flowed down
that cross into the ground
the world was jeering and
laughing,
but at that moment God
put darkness over the Earth
so they could no longer see,
because this was between
God and His Son.
And at that moment in time
Jesus became so ugly
that God the Father could
not even look at Him,
because He had that sin
that was poured on Him.
And Jesus died on the cross,
and they took His body,
and they put Him in a new grave
not far away, a tomb,
and a stone
was rolled in the front.
Now, the Romans
put guards there
so that nobody could
steal the body.
The next day was the Sabbath,
but then Sunday came.
(chuckles)
And early in the morning
an angel came out of Heaven
at daybreak.
The ground shook,
and the angel
rolled the stone away,
and Jesus came
triumphant out of the grave.
And so the first witnesses to
the resurrection was Rome—
the Roman guards saw it.
They were witnesses that Jesus
came up out of the grave alive.
He wasn’t dead.
He was alive, and they went
and reported it.
Jesus Christ is God’s Son.
He took our sins to the cross.
He died and shed His blood
for each and every one of us,
and if you’re willing to repent,
confess your sin,
turn from your sins and
believe on the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ
you can be saved.
That’s right.
You can be saved.
You see, Jesus told Martha,
and this was
at the tomb of Lazarus,
her brother;
when she was
concerned about Lazarus,
and Jesus said, “I am the
resurrection and the life.
“He who believes in Me
though he may die he shall live,
“and whoever lives and believes
in Me shall never die.”
And then He said to Martha,
“Do you believe it?
“‘Do you believe
“this, Martha?”
And that’s the question today,
do you believe it?
Do you believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ is God’s Son?
Do you believe that He
came up out of the grave?
Are you willing to trust Him?
If you’re willing to confess,
admit it,
and turn from your sins
and simply believe on the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ
you can be forgiven.
You can be
forgiven today, right now.
All you have to do is
say this prayer with me.
Just say, God, I’m a sinner.
I’m sorry.
Forgive me.
I believe Jesus is Your Son.
I want to trust Him
as my Savior,
and I’m willing to follow Him as
my Lord from this day forward,
forever, and I pray this
in Jesus’ name.
God bless each and
every one of you.
(Voice-over) If you just
prayed with Franklin,
or if you have questions about
a relationship with Jesus Christ
call 855-255-PRAY,
or go to
BillyGraham.org/Easter.
We want to send you resources
to help you grow
closer to Jesus,
and you can chat
with someone
who can help answer
your questions.
Contact us today.
♪
♪ I cast my mind to Calvary ♪
♪ Where Jesus bled and
died for me ♪
♪ I see His wounds,
His hands, His feet ♪
♪ My Savior on
that cursed tree ♪
♪
♪ His body bound
and drenched in tears ♪
♪ They laid Him down
in Joseph’s tomb ♪
♪ The entrance sealed
by heavy stone ♪
♪ Messiah still and all alone ♪
♪
♪ O praise the name
of the Lord our God ♪
♪ O praise His name
forevermore ♪
♪ For endless days
we will sing your praise ♪
♪ O Lord,
O Lord our God ♪
♪
♪ Then on the third
at break of dawn ♪
♪ The Son of Heaven
rose again ♪
♪ O trampled death
where is your sting? ♪
♪ The angels roar
for Christ the King ♪
♪
♪ O praise the name ♪
♪ Of the Lord
our God ♪
♪ O praise His name
forevermore ♪
♪ For endless days ♪
♪ We will sing
your praise ♪
♪ O Lord,
O Lord our God ♪
♪
♪ He shall return
in robes of white ♪
♪ The blazing sun
shall pierce the night ♪
♪ And I will rise
among the saints ♪
♪ My gaze transfixed
on Jesus’ face ♪
♪
♪ O praise the name
of the Lord our God ♪
♪ O praise His name
forevermore ♪
♪ For endless days
we will sing your praise ♪
♪ O Lord,
O Lord our God ♪
♪
♪ O Lord ♪
♪ O Lord our God. ♪♪
(Graham)
Well, I’m standing in front
of an empty tomb known as
The Garden Tomb.
Many people believe
this is the spot
where the body
of our Lord Jesus Christ lay.
But as we celebrate Easter
we celebrate an empty tomb.
We celebrate a risen Savior.
That’s what this is all about,
and we thank God for sending
His Son from Heaven to
this Earth to take our sins,
dying in our place,
but raising His Son to life.
This is the hope that we have.
God bless each and every one.
Thank you for watching,
and a special thank you to
Michael W. Smith
for being a part of this.
God bless you, and
have a blessed Easter.
♪ Holy words ♪
♪ Long preserved ♪
♪ For our walk
in this world ♪
♪ They resound ♪
♪ With God’s own heart ♪
♪ Let the ancient words
impart. ♪
♪
♪ Words of life,
words of hope ♪
♪ Give us strength,
help us cope ♪
♪ In this world,
where e’er we roam ♪
♪ Ancient words will
guide us home. ♪
♪
♪ Ancient words ever true ♪
♪ Changing me,
and changing you ♪
♪ We have come
with open hearts ♪
♪ Oh let the ancient words
impart. ♪
♪
♪ Holy words of our faith ♪
♪ Handed down to this age. ♪
♪ Came to us through sacrifice ♪
♪ Oh heed the faithful
words of Christ. ♪
♪
♪ Holy words long preserved ♪
♪ For our walk in this world. ♪
♪ They resound
with God’s own heart ♪
♪ Oh let the ancient
words impart. ♪
♪
♪ Ancient words
ever true ♪
♪ Changing me,
and changing you. ♪
♪ We have come
with open hearts ♪
♪ Oh let the ancient
words impart. ♪
♪
♪ Ancient words
ever true ♪
♪ Changing me,
and changing you. ♪
♪ We have come
with open hearts ♪
♪ Oh let the ancient
words impart. ♪♪