Happy Easter!

May I depart from the usual format for this post?

A friend recently wrote that Jesus’s life was bookended by two possibilities: a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb.

Today we celebrate the empty tomb.

Some may say Jesus didn’t really die. He only swooned and revived in the cool of the tomb. Do you remember what the soldier did right after Jesus gave up His life? The soldier pierced His side with a spear. Blood and water flowed out showing the sac around His heart had broken,  something that only happens at death.

Some may say that Jesus’s followers stole His body and falsely claimed He arose.  How would the disciples have gotten past the soldiers guarding the door? Neglect of duty would cost them their lives. If the disciples had stolen Jesus’s body, what gave them the courage to proclaim the resurrection so boldly knowing it wasn’t true?

Why did the veil in the temple tear in two from top to bottom? The veil symbolized that humanity’s sin prevented access to God. The weight of the veil could have caused it to tear some from the bottom up  but it didn’t tear that way. The way it tore, you could say God Himself tore it from top to bottom to say that now, through Jesus’s death,  humanity can have direct access to God.

Why did Jesus die so much faster than usual? Jesus died about 3:00 which was the time the Passover  lamb was killed. As the final Passover lamb,  He had to die at the same time as the lamb.

Why death by crucifixion? I love to point out to the children in my Sunday school class the reason for this. Back in Egypt,  the Israelites were instructed to kill a lamb and put the blood on the top of the door and on the door posts. Now do something you haven’t done since childhood and connect the dots.  What do you get? A cross. How did the Israelites roast the Passover lamb? Their roasting method had the lamb connected to something resembling a cross.

So what? Maybe this is all familiar to you. Maybe you have heard this for years. Maybe you ask what this has to do with us 2,000 years later.

Go back to the veil.  All this was done to make a way for humanity to once again be in a right relationship with God.

Think about it.  We had rejected God and went our own way which leads to destruction.  But God loves us, loves you, personally,  so much that He took our place,  your place, on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin, for your sin, once and for all. Then, upon His death,  God Himself tears the veil from top to bottom,  opening the way to Himself once again.

Ok, fine. What’s the resurrection got to do with this? It was proof that God accepted Jesus’s death as payment for the sin of humanity.

Fine, but what does this have to do with us 2,000 years later?

When someone offers you a gift, when do you get the benefit of that gift? When you accept that gift.

Have you accepted Jesus as your substitute? Have you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life He offers?

Believe that Jesus died as your Substitute and rose again and ask Him to forgive you and be your Savior and Lord, the Ruler of your life.

Easter really doesn’t have anything to do with chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks and colored eggs. It’s the celebration of when Jesus conquered death.

Wouldn’t right now be the perfect time to receive the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that God offers?

If you have received Jesus’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life,  would you let me know in the comments below? If you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life after reading this post,  would you let me know in the comments below?

Little One,  Arnold,  Cassie and Precious, if they were real, would love it if you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life today. Accept His gift. Accept it now.