Houdini was, perhaps, the world’s most renowned magician.

He was constantly engineering new ways to surprise the masses. He could slide out of handcuffs, unchain himself from underwater tanks, make giant elephants disappear. But at the age of fifty-two, this athlete got his own surprise. He came down with appendicitis.

A few days into his discomfort, a skeptic surprised him with a punch to the belly. The unexpected blows ruptured Houdini’s appendix. To everyone’s surprise, the great magician died.

Jesus constantly intrigued the masses, too. His speeches were stimulating, His beliefs, revolutionary, the company He chose, startling. He did wonders, unlike anything the crowds had ever seen.

But unlike Houdini, Jesus was never fooled, not even by death. The evening He died, a boulder was rolled in front of the cave where His body lay. Roman soldiers guarded it, sealing Him in.

At the count of three days, Jesus walked away from death like a magician maneuvering out of handcuffs. He slid off the grave clothes that bound Him and tossed aside the boulder that sealed His cave.

He surprised everyone — the sleeping soldiers, the anxious authorities, the mourning women, the hiding disciples.

What a moment God planned! The joy of redemption was a reality — not illusion — and the joy it brings remains to this day!