Easter is the holiest holiday, the most awesome and inspiring time of the Christian calendar. This is the time we celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead, defeating death!
At some point in life, we all ask the question, “What is the purpose of life?” In Jerusalem, on the eve of Jesus’s crucifixion, over 2,000 years ago, perhaps this was the burning question of those who walked close to the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
What we know as ‘Palm Sunday’ marked Jesus’s spectacular entrance into Jerusalem as chronicled in Matthew 21:8-10: “A very large crowd spread their robes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Then the crowds who went ahead of Him and those who followed kept shouting: Hosanna to the Son of David! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One! Hosanna in the highest heaven! When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee!” (HCSB).
Notwithstanding this profound event, Jewish leaders were intent on getting rid of Jesus, but killing Him was not easy because crowds constantly surrounded him. With Jesus’s growing recognition, Jewish leaders contemplated the implications of a riot if they made a move on Him. An alternative arrangement was made with Judas, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, to trade the Master for 30 pieces of silver. Little did they know that this action was part of a bigger plan; they had a myopic view.
Looking back, when Jesus came to earth, He was fully God and fully human. The epitome of Jesus’s humanity is recorded in Matthew 26: 37-44, in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus “…began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.” And said, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow…,” and prayed three times to the Father to take back the plan established before the beginning of time (HCSB). Jesus was not afraid to die but was merely consumed by human emotions.
Isaiah 53:11-12 prophesied Jesus’s anguish and death for the sins of many! And Jesus predicted His own death for ‘many’ in Mark 10:45 and Mark 14:24. Jesus’s authentication of Isaiah 53 indicated He understood the nature and purpose of His death. Though He pleaded with the Father to remove the cup of suffering, in childlike submission Jesus surrendered to the will of the Father.
As a human, Jesus fully experienced our pain and suffering. Though occasionally we feel our deep agony eludes Him, Jesus struggled like us and strived to avoid anguish, sin, betrayal, grief, exhaustion and corruption. Yet, Jesus demonstrated what it means to follow, submit and obey, even when faced with severe difficulties and opportunities to be granted instant success – Matthew 4:8-9. He remained steadfast in fulfilling divine purpose “Get up; let’s go! See – My betrayer is near,” He declared in Mark 14:42. Then Jesus proclaimed, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit,” Luke 23:46. What an exemplary display of perfect trust in God! This is the confidence we should all have, that our Father’s hands are strong enough to hold us, even in our most dreadful moments, even when we do not feel worthy of His love, even when we do not feel we are in His presence. Further, on the cross, as He gave up His spirit, Jesus spoke words of hope: “It is finished!” John 19:30. The ransom was paid for man’s sin! It was a tremendous cost, but it was completely paid! Man was redeemed back to God!
Thankfully, Jesus did not just die, but He rose again to complete man’s redemption. Through His resurrection, the Son of God conquered death, hell and the grave. His resurrection is our confidence that God has accepted His sacrifice for sin and flooded us with His healing, life-giving power. He is risen! Hallelujah!
Though we may enjoy cross buns and cheese, or fish and bread, the meaning of Easter extends way beyond these traditional foods. The significance of Easter is to reflect on the death, celebrate the resurrection, and appreciate the redemption of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Long before man recognised he needed a Saviour, God so loved “the world” and “the many” that He sent His only Son to bear our sins, that we no longer have to carry them. As we reflect on this ultimate sacrifice, may we wholeheartedly embrace God’s love and unmerited favour. May we recommit our lives to closely imitate Jesus’s example to fulfil God’s purpose, even in the face of severe adversity. Celebrate Resurrection Sunday!
