Easter is the day that we put on some fresh new clothes, and roll into a church building that we haven’t been to since Christmas. After that we have a big meal and the kids hunt for eggs.
Just kidding. It’s the celebration of the biggest event in the course of human history.
Easter is the day that we recognize as the day that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rose from the dead after dying on the cross for our sins. Sure, some may argue that Christmas is a bigger deal, what with the virgin birth, and all the prophecies that were fulfilled in the birth of Christ. But 1 out of 1 people are born. People die with the same consistency. Those are just things that people do. Yes, Christ’s birth and death were special, because he was the Messiah, but Easter, the resurrection, is different.
Jewish and roman historians have confirmed that a man named Jesus walked the earth. They also agree that he was crucified as a heretic, having claimed to be the Son of God. Even further, they agree that his tomb was empty on the 3rd day. Some say the body was stolen, which there is no proof of, and would be highly unlikely considering the tomb was being guarded by Roman soldiers. Others say that he wasn’t really dead, which is most unlikely due to the fact that the Romans were such proficient executioners. As crazy as it sounds, resurrection is the only thing that would hold up in court.
But why is the resurrection so important? 2 Corinthians 5:21 said that Jesus “became sin on the cross, so that we may become righteousness.” His death was the death of our sin. Shouldn’t that be good enough? No one could fault him for not rising from the dead. He had already been beaten, suffered, and died what was possibly the most gruesome death in the history of mankind, the crucifixion. That was enough to defeat sin forever, but he had to rise again to complete our redemption. His resurrection, reversed the effect of death, not just for him, but for us as well.
Because Jesus rose from the grave, we also have power over death. Sure, our body still dies, but because Jesus overcame death, we also have a resurrection. “Life after death,” so to speak. Even though our body is dead, our spirit goes on to spend eternity in Heaven with God. That’s the hope that we have as believers. We have no need to fear death. We saw it with the disciples. The men who walked and talked with the living, breathing, human Jesus. Most of them were killed for their faith. Think they were suckers? All they had to do was renounce their faith in Jesus, but they knew he was the real deal. I can’t think of anyone who would die for a lie. Christians are killed for their faith around the world even to this day. They all go without renouncing their faith because they know their faith in Jesus is real. Because they believe in the power of the resurrection, and the promises of Jesus.
In the death of Jesus, there is enough forgiveness for everyone. There is enough resurrection for everyone. There are enough promises for everyone. Even you, not matter who you are.
Hopefully, that’s what we’ll think about on this day. Hunt eggs if you want, have a good time with family and friends, enjoy a good meal. Just remember that this is the day that we set aside to celebrate victory in Jesus over sin, and death, and Hell. That should be enough to make anyone say, Happy Easter
