Why Easter Changes Everything
Why is it that Easter is not talked about as enthusiastically as Christmas among professing Christians? Even in the secular world, Christmas is such a grand time of festivities and going all out, versus Easter where you’d see a few bunny things. A lot of Christians haven’t had the full revelation of their salvation and of just what Jesus did for them on the cross.
Jesus came down to earth and lived a sinless life, was crucified, died, and resurrected on the third day. He took on the penalty of our sin. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NKJV). Therefore all sinful humankind deserves death. And this death is spiritual death as well as physical death. Spiritual death means to be eternally separated from God who is all goodness. If Jesus hadn’t sacrificed Himself for us, we would all be heading to hell—into everlasting torment in the lake of fire. That is what we deserve for sinning against a thrice Holy God. A lot of Christians don’t realize the gravity of sin or the Holiness of God. God abhors sin; it is detestable to Him; it can’t be in His presence. “Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.” (Habakkuk 1:13, NKJV) Sin is what gives birth to all kinds of evil. God, as a righteous Judge, must judge sin. Jesus stepped in out of His great love and devotion to mankind, and took the burden of sin on the cross to save us and reconcile us back to God. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NKJV)
Everyone is born spiritually dead, thus separated from God, until the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit so we can see our sinfulness and recognize our need of a Savior. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1, NKJV) We are walking around spiritually blind until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the reality of our condemnation prior to being in Christ. Hell is not a made-up place people use to instill fear in others. It is a real place of eternal torment, completely separated from God. God is light; He is goodness; He is love; He is joy; He is peace; He is hope. Therefore, since those in hell are separated from God, there is only darkness, evil, harm, misery, chaos, and hopelessness. Jesus spoke about hell during His earthly ministry more so than any other person in the Bible. The Book of Revelation says hell is a place where the worm never dies; it is a place of gnashing of teeth, and it says the smoke of the torment of the people in hell rises up forever and ever. (Revelation14:11) Hell is a place of profound misery and horror unimaginable to the human mind. There are testimonies of hell online, and I believe they’re all God’s warning mercy about this reality. Some believe them to be fake, but they’re very real.
God didn’t have to save mankind after Adam and Eve disobeyed Him in the garden, but out of His merciful, loving heart, He promised to give us a Savior. It was God in the second Person of the Trinity who decided to come live as a mere mortal, suffer excruciatingly, and die to save us from this horrible place called hell. The Bible tells us hell wasn’t created for mankind but for the devil and his angels. “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” (Matthew 25:41, NKJV) However, those who reject the saving power of Jesus till their dying day will end up there. When one meditates on the reality of hell and that we were headed there due to sinning against God, we can then truly appreciate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We can then realize that God’s sacrifice was driven by love for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV) God did not only save us from the horrors of hell, but His resurrection gave us eternal life in His glorious presence. It is one thing to save a homeless man from drowning, but it is another thing to take this person, offer them a warm towel, and invite them into your home to rest.
Jesus’s resurrection on the third day overcame death and the grave! “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, NKJV) He showed that He has power over death and the grave. His resurrection signaled that mankind now had hope to be saved from hell and reconciled back to God. If Jesus had just been born but hadn’t resurrected, then we would all be doomed. “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17, NKJV) Christmas means nothing unless Easter manifested. Jesus’s resurrection signaled that He is truly sovereign over the heavens, the earth, and under the earth. His victory over death now belongs to us born again believers. He came to testify of what we should expect after we die physically. He gave us hope that we too would rise from the dead. The Holy Spirit is the power that resurrected Jesus from the dead, and this same Holy Spirit dwells in all born-again believers in Jesus Christ. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11, NKJV) We have blessed assurance that this same Holy Spirit will raise us up again after we physically die here on earth. We are sons and daughters of the Most High, and Jesus came to be an example as the firstborn Son to rise from the dead.
Jesus’s resurrection shattered the devil’s grip on death and the grave. His resurrection seized the keys of death and hell from the devil! “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:18, NKJV) His resurrection brought on the age of God’s amazing Grace. His resurrection brought everlasting hope. His resurrection took the sting of death away! “‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:55, NKJV) Jesus was victorious over death. Now as born-again believers, we carry this victory. We are to walk in this victory daily. The devil thought he had won in the garden after he successfully deceived Eve, but he couldn’t understand love—a love that would cause an omnipotent, omniscient, sovereign God to stoop so low to mankind’s level and offer Himself up as a sacrifice for those who would believe in Him.
Love confounds the enemy.
This Good Friday, don’t let it be another day that passes you by, but take some time to meditate on Jesus’s crucifixion and death. Let His suffering on the cross for you pierce your heart as you fall face down in worship and gratitude for His sacrifice. Reflect on how He didn’t have to, but he let His soul to experience anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood at the thought of facing the cross. “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44, NKJV) Yet He still went ahead and carried His cross because of the joy that was set before Him after the cross. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.” (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV) That joy was you. He did this because of His great love for you, dear child of God. Allow yourself to feel this love, to know this magnificent love, to experience this kind of love deeply. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13, NKJV) Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, while we were actively rebelling against Him, because He loved us so dearly. He was whipped brutally till His flesh tore so you could be granted entry into His presence; He bled so that you won’t have to face agony in hell; He cried so that you will know just how much He loves you.
Jesus is so worthy to be praised.
He was the Lamb of God slain to atone for our sins. On the cross, He took on our punishment and gave us His righteousness. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV) Only by the Blood of the Lamb are we saved from eternal damnation. Only by the Blood of the Lamb can we enter into the Father’s eternal rest. There was a moment on the cross when Jesus exclaimed to the Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46, NKJV) Imagine His unfathomable pain and anguish in that moment when God turned His face away from Him for the first time. Imagine the weight of the sin of the whole world our Savior carried. Try to feel the deep agony He felt as He cried out to His Father in His most vulnerable state. This was our God bearing all our burdens and all the consequences of the sin of the world. Oh, how heavy His heart must have felt in that instance! This is why only God Himself could be the propitiation for our sins. “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2, NKJV) No one else could bear the sin of the entire world. Jesus knew this weight, and He still chose to endure the cross to give us salvation. He didn’t have to but He did.
Therefore, when Easter morning comes, rejoice with all your heart that Jesus made your salvation possible. Make a joyful noise as you praise the risen King. “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!” (Psalm 100:1, NKJV) May your heart jump for joy at your salvation! May you praise the Lion of Judah with everything you have in you! May you jubilate and dance because Jesus conquered the grave. May you rejoice at the reality that you have been Blood-bought and are now forever saved from hell, sealed by the Holy Spirit and secure in His hands. May gladness envelop you as you hold on to the hope of your salvation. Jesus saves to the uttermost. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him.” (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV) His resurrection was not an offer for salvation; it was salvation in itself.
May your heart always be flooded with immense joy and profound gratitude for what Jesus did for you on the cross of Calvary!
Hallelujah!!!!!
