Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him
Acts 2:21-24
What is Easter anyway?
Last week I was at a local grocery store and I couldn’t help but notice the chasmic difference between modern american culture’s version of Easter and the story that we find in the Word of God. The story that the items on the shelves tell is one of fun with friends and family full of eating chocolate and finding plastic eggs. It is a happy story for sure, but lacking of the true meaning of Easter. If we are not careful Easter can become for us yet another Sunday to go through the motions and attend church, only to go on our way and pay no attention to its spiritual significance in our lives.
What is Easter anyway?
It is so much more than we often make it out to be. It’s more than Easter bunnies, chocolate and finding plastic eggs with your loved ones and family members. It’s more than a special Sunday to attend church in fancier clothes or sadly for some who claim to be followers of Jesus the only Sunday to attend church.
What is Easter anyway?
It is at the very heart of the biblical message of that eternal life that is possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s hard to put the significance of Easter into proper perspective. Easter, along with the Good Friday message of the crucifiction, divide all of human history. Everything before those fateful days looked toward it in hopeful anticipation of the coming redeemer. From that time on the shadow that sin cast over humanity was burned out by the light given off by the glory of the risen savior.
The true significance of Easter is simple, it is the empty tomb and eternal implications that come with it. In light of the resurrection, sin is permanently atoned for, God’s wrath vindicated and the reconciliation of sinful humanity is made possible. A risen Christ defeated sin for all time, demonstrated Jesus to be divine and made eternal life possible for all who put their hope and trust in Jesus alone to save them from their sin. Without the Easter message of the resurrection of Jesus the Christian faith is a purposeless vacuum of hopelessness, no different than any other religious system.
Take heart though, Jesus is alive! The tomb was in fact found to be empty. After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus made several appearances. He appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:14-16), Mary the mother of James (Matt 28:9), Peter (Luke 24:34), Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), the 11 remaining disciples (John 20:19-28, ), James and 500 others (1 Cor 15:7-8).
What is Easter anyway?
I hope that you will take some time this year to reflect on that very question. It’s the celebration of a risen, living savior who brings hope to a hopeless world. Easter should bring us to our knees, and inspire us to engage everyone we know with the truth that Jesus is risen and refocus on hearts and minds on pursuing God with our whole being. It should remind us of the glory and power of the resurrection and encourage us to look to Christ who dealt with our sin and made forgiveness and reconciliation with God possible.
What is Easter anyway?
Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The implication of which is perhaps best stated by the author of Hebrews. Where once priests made sacrifices day after day that could never permanently deal with our sin, Jesus, that first Easter, with one sacrifice for all time took care of sin forever and then assumed his rightful glorified place, at the right hand of God the father.
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 10:11-12
