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Unlike Christmas Easter may not be
of much interest. Yet to Christians, Easter is definitely more
important. So why hasn’t it caught on as much? May be the story of a baby
born in a stable, with animals looking on, is more
appealing than the idea of a man’s crucifixion. A happy
birth seems a better reason to celebrate than a cruel death!
But when we see the chocolate eggs
and Easter bunnies this year, let's not just settle for
that. The real meaning of Easter is to be found in the
Person that Easter is all about— the Lord Jesus Christ.
The day Jesus died, Good Friday,
is so called because Jesus, the Son of God, took the
punishment we deserved for our sins; He did this
voluntarily. The crucifixion many believe took place on a Friday and
hence it became known as "Good Friday". That's good news!
The good news that through His death on the cross He opened
the way for us to be forgiven by God for our sins.
"Our sins"
- what a horrible thought. All those impure thoughts,
unrighteous deeds, unkind and dishonest words. Vast as they
are the Saviour bore them all "
in His own body on the tree".
In His death He took full responsibility for our sins and
perfectly answered to God for them all. The hymn-writer puts
it like this:
"All thy sins were laid upon Him,
Jesus bore them on the tree,
God, who knew them laid them on
Him,
And believing thou art free."
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.
God has long ago decreed that
without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness
of sin, and so Christ died that we might know of sins
forgiven. "Good Friday" is not the end of the message, for
the message continues that Jesus was buried, and three days
later He rose from the dead.
There is not a single sermon
preached, as recorded in the Book of Acts, that does not
mention the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the very
heart of the gospel. Jesus Christ died, He was buried, He
rose again from the dead. These are the historical facts.
Our relationship to a risen Saviour determines our
eternal destiny. He died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and He was raised again for our
justification (Rom 4:25).
He is alive today, and known to
be alive by all who truly believe in Him. Without the
resurrection of Jesus Christ we would be without hope, but
because He lives, those who believe in Him shall live too.
Some who read this may well doubt the resurrection of the
Son of God, but we cannot be a Christian if we don't know
that Jesus is alive, for if He is not risen then our
preaching is vain, our faith is vain, and we have no hope of
rescue from the consequences of our sins.
Do you want to know more? then
drop a line to contact@redcargospelhall.org.uk.
May we today know the presence of
the resurrected Lord in our life.
There is a green hill far away
Outside a city wall
Where the dear Lord was crucified
Who died to save us all.
For God so loved
the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16, (The Bible)
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