The Reality of Easter
Easter is once again upon us. We are forced to deal with Good Friday and look forward to Easter. So often we want to focus on Easter, but we cannot forget what took place first at Calvary. Jesus was not brutally executed because he was a good teacher or because he was a threat to Rome and Caesar. Make no mistake, he was killed because he claimed to be God. This was offensive to the high priests and worthy of mockery by those who did not see who He was. But Jesus knew who he was and acted in perfect submission to the Father. Only Jesus could be the Christ, could be the redemption of mankind. Could save you and I from the treason we have committed against the true King. We have been pardoned because of Good Friday. Without Good Friday, Easter would have no meaning. Christ had to die, for us, in order to conquer death and evil.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Do you understand how big that is? The veil of the temple separating us from the Holy of Holies, the people from Yahweh, us from God, is torn in two. We are no longer apart from God. We no longer have to perform special ceremonies or rituals to talk to Him. We are in his presence because of Christ. What amazing grace! It doesn’t matter who we are, where we are, or what we have done. We are accepted into his presence because of the price He paid. We can all say thank God for that!
I hope everyone has a great and thoughtful Easter. Share this gospel (good news) with others. It is a blessing to the world and people desperately need to hear it! I wrote (a number of time) about Jesus’ last words: Τετέλεσται: Some thoughts on John 19:30 that I found enlightening. Feel free to take a gander. Also, I would recommend a fairly new book by Craig Evans and N. T. Wright based on a few lectures they gave about the historicity of the death by crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus: Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened.
Blessings and Shalom on this Easter’s eve.
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