By this time, we all know the Easter story. Simply put, Jesus was crucified on a cross and 3 days later He arose from death. We can spend forever discussing all the events that happened leading up to this event and after and what those events mean for us, for there is so much that can be discussed and maybe next year we will take the time to go through all of it. Today I want to look at what does it mean, Jesus died and sacrificed Himself.
Roman 4:25 "who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
Romans 8:34 "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
Jesus was delivered for the sins we did, and was Risen for our Justification.
Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
We are all sinners. We are born into sin from Adam and Eve. From the get-go, we needed a savior for redemption of our sins. In the Old Testament sin had to be taken care of by Sacrifices of animals. God gave Moses all the different sacrifices for the different type of ‘sins” under the law. We may cover those at some time. But all the Old Testament would be pointing to Jesus coming to Earth and being the ultimate last Sacrifice for everyone. Jesus would fulfill the law.
John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
In Jesus own words, there is no greater love than someone to sacrifice themselves for other. We can reflect on all the soldiers in war who willingly faced their enemy and died, for the love of their fellow men, country or ideology. Jesus Sacrificed Himself for everyone, even those who would not believe. There is no Greater love than Jesus Sacrificing Himself for the sinners of all mankind. Easter is recognizing we are all sinners, and because God Loved us so much, the He gave is only Son to be sacrificed for our sins.
John 3:16-17 "(16)For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
In my opinion, Easter is the GREATEST LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME. We should spend time to reflect on just how much we are loved, even in our worst instances. We are all loved equally. God loves me just as much as he loves my neighbor. God does not love those who commit crimes any less than he love you. There are no stages or conditions to God’s love. It is unconditional to everyone. Even While were are sinning, God loves us.
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
God’s love is the meaning of Easter.
COMMENTS
[ posted by wendi, 05/02/2023 02:57 PM ]
Well said Brother.
[ posted by Cindy, 09/10/2023 06:07 PM ]
This is truly God's love story for us.The ultimate sacrifice. Easter is always associated with "He is Risen!" But, Christianity means what without the resurrection? There were no "Christians" before Jesus' death and resurrection. Easter is the guarantee of what awaits us after death. All religions around the world have their 'messiah', but NONE of them were resurrected after death. A physical Jesus being seen walking around, hearing Him talking, and touched by the people to show He was truly alive. He even ate food with them! Without the resurrection, Jesus simply dies. That's it. He has told His disciples that He will die and come back. To show He will have the power over a mortal death to offer you the same after death to be with Him and the Father for eternity. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: 14-15 "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. " It had to be hard for the disciples and people to understand at that time the meanings of all that Jesus was preaching about. No one has said these things before, all that He preached about in that short amount of time before His death. And then to see Jesus beaten and die on that cross. Their Messiah was not what they had envisioned. The one who would come to save them. Not watch Him die like the other two hanging on each side of Him! The message was belief in Gods power of defeating death. Defeating the enemy/evil that has overcome the world. Only God has that power. Romans 4:25 "He was delivered up (to death) for our trespasses and raised for our own justification. " 2 Corinthians 4:14 " He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also. " The promise of Easter is the love and sacrifice for us, and the death and resurrection of Jesus is what awaits us after death. Only in Christ does death lose " its sting" on the thought of it, which will come to us all on earth. We cannot escape it. Jesus' death on that cross was the victory over our mortal death. His resurrection was the validation of the power of God in defeating death. Our relationship with God and Jesus, the Father and Son is established by our faith and belief of what God has done. Romans 10:9 " If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Acts 16:31 " Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." There is no past tense of belief who He WAS, or that He WAS the Lord..... but He is still present! No one is saved without declaring God's power. That He raised Jesus from the dead, that we believe in the words Jesus spoke for us. We believe it and speak it by declaring it out our our mouths. John 3:16 mentioned above declares what God has done for us. Believing in what God has done for us. We have to invite Jesus in, he tells us He knocks at the door. Only we can open it and invite Him in. No one can do it for us. It's our relationship with God and Jesus that will give us victory over death. Rev 6:3:20 Jesus says " I will live with him, and eat with him, and we shall be one." Paul says in Phil 1:23 "My desire is to depart from here and be with Christ. For that is far better." Jesus' disciples suffered greatly after His death. None renounced Him. Even til their deaths, and many had brutal deaths. Suffering is a part of our life here. Jesus says we will suffer. But we are to hold firm in our belief in Him. After the disciples saw their savior in person after the resurrection... they knew what God was going to do for them. That's what we need to realize. It's real. Just a last thought... Christianity is the only religion that is persecuted world wide. Why? I think because the other religions are false gods and that the devil uses those who believe in it to kill Christians and scare people away from it. If its not real, and they don't believe in who Jesus is, and the power of His resurrection from God..why bother? They ignore all the other religions.