The Essence of Easter

The wood, the thorns, the nails. One man, one cross, one death and that made all the difference in the world. That was the design of Christ death- to destroy the sins of every man, once for all, and that through His one death, our lives could be free from the bondage of sin and the eternal condemnation of sin.

But, hey, that’s not the end of the story. Christ's sin-conquering death was just Friday. There was Sunday too, the Easter morning, the morning of his life-saving resurrection. This is what Easter is all about- a new life.

Have you ever wondered what Christ’s ultimate purpose was for coming to earth? It wasn’t to make bad people good, but to make dead people live. That was His main aim- to give mankind a new start; new life; new nature; new freedom. His death and resurrection opened the possibility for men to be born again, not physically, but spiritually so that through spiritual birth, every man can receive the gift of Life.

Jesus was crucified, along with two other criminals and as they were about to die, one of the criminals turned to Him for forgiveness. That man realized that the only way for him to be free from all the guilt & condemnation of his sins was through Jesus' blood because only His sacrifice is fully satisfactory to the law & justice of God. He asked for mercy and Jesus freely gave; Jesus forgave the man who decided to believe in Him even at the very last moment.

When people come to us with their problems, the best support we can give is perhaps to help them see the goodness of the new life that Christ offers, rather than just rattling a whole long list of what’s right and wrong; telling them what should have been done in the first place and what they should be doing next to make things right again. Deeds do not save us, faith in Christ does.

I believe that redemption precedes righteousness, for only when we have the Life of the Spirit in our soul, can we have the ability to do what is right and justified in the eyes of God. Only in the new life, will we be able to have the desire to honour Him and lead the triumphant life. Never again will death have the last word.

“When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us.” (Romans 6:10)