The Story of Easter
In our chat center, you will often hear our SoulMedics ask the question, “Where do you find your hope?” For us that answer is easy. We know that our hope comes from Jesus Christ. Are you aware of the reason why? This weekend, Christians will be taking part in the celebration of Easter. Are you familiar with the story? Let me tell it to you.
Birth
There are so many details to this story that I cannot express in one blog post, so I recommend that you read through the multiple accounts of this story in the New Testament. Many look to Mark for the retelling of the Easter story because it begins with the baptism of Jesus, unlike the other Gospels which begin with the telling of his birth. What you need to know about his birth is that Jesus Christ is the son of God. He is fully God and fully man and was born to a virgin named Mary.
After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, he was sent to the wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted by Satan. Jesus did not give in to any of these temptations and remains the only man to have never sinned.
Ministry
After this experience, Jesus began his ministry. He proclaimed the good news of God. He called his twelve disciples and began teaching, healing and performing miracles. His ministry went on for a few years and word spread of the miraculous teachings and works. When he entered Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover, the people were so excited for his coming because they thought he would be their deliverance from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. They were shouting “Hosanna, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”, which is a greeting used for a king. However, the people did not understand that Jesus came to be the deliverance for all mankind for all of eternity. This past Sunday is celebrated as Palm Sunday, for the people were laying palm branches on the roads. This is the beginning of what we refer to as Holy Week.
Passover
Now the Passover celebration is celebrated every year by the Jewish people. It is a reminder of the Hebrew’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. You might know the story. Moses instructed the Hebrews to sacrifice a lamb with no faults and use the blood to mark the doors of their houses. For that night the Lord was executing his judgment by striking all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, but when he saw the blood on the doors, he passed over the houses and no plague struck the house.
When Jesus was preparing to take part in this Passover meal, which we now refer to as the last supper he was trying to tell his disciples of his death to come. We use the same words when we take communion to remember Christ's sacrifice for us. We eat bread as a symbol of Christ’s body which was broken for us, and we drink wine or juice as a symbol of the blood that was shed for us, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Trial and Judgement
After the supper, Jesus took his disciples with him to the garden of Gethsemane where he asked them to keep watch while he prayed. At this time Judas, one of the twelve came to betray Jesus and he was handed over and arrested. Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin where he was questioned if he was indeed the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One, to which Jesus responds that He is. This would have been considered blasphemy and so Jesus was condemned to death. When he was handed over to Pilot, Pilot went to the Jewish people to ask if they would rather have Jesus released to them or a prisoner named Barabbas as was the custom at the time of the festival. However, the people responded that they wanted Barabbas released and to crucify Jesus. Now Crucifixion was the most humiliating and painful way the Romans could devise to kill someone. These people who were shouting crucify him were the same jews laying palm branches and shouting Hosanna earlier that week.
His Death
So Jesus was hung on a cross with his hands and feet nailed to a tree. At that moment Jesus became the sacrificial lamb. He also took on the sins of the world, past, present, and future. This blameless, sinless man took on the sins of the world and died for us so that we might have eternal salvation. But the story doesn't end there.
His Resurrection
Jesus was placed in a tomb for three days, but on Sunday, he rose from the dead. This is when we celebrate Easter or as it is often referred to as Resurrection Sunday. Jesus had done the impossible in conquering death, and in so doing made a way through himself that we might also have everlasting life with the Father. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Our Hope
So this is the reason that we have hope. Through all of life's trials and tribulations, we know that our suffering here on this broken earth is only temporary, for those of us who confess and believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus know that we are saved. “For nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.”
Written by Sharla Ball
