Easter has become a time of Easter bunnies, Easter eggs, and chocolate; We need not lose sight of the real meaning of Easter,
namely the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Easter is a Christian feast commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is observed on the first Sunday following the full moon occurring on or next after March 21. The word Easter originated from the Saxon word "Eostre", the goddess of the Saxons, in whose name sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover. Easter Day is currently determined as the first Sunday after the full moon on or just after March 21.
The real meaning of Easter is to celebrate the fact that 2,000 years ago Christ was crucified (put to death by nailing his wrists and feet to a cross). He then was laid to rest in a tomb but after three days he was resurrected (rose from the dead) .
Good Friday denotes Jesus' crucifixion and Easter Sunday denotes his resurrection. The tomb in Jerusalem remains empty. Jesus lives, and since he died for your sins, so can you live, eternally!.
Matthew 27:31-51 (New International Version)
31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.
35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads
40and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.
42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.
49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
Matthew 28
The Resurrection
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead
of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
The Guards' Report
11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
13telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'
14If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble."
15So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.The Great Commission
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
In Old Testament times, the priest would bring bulls, goats or a spotless lamb without any blemishes to be sacrificed as a sin offering for himself and for the people. The blood would purify and make atonement (forgive, make amends) for their sins.This was the old order of atonement. When Jesus came, He was a representation of the sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. He was the final sacrifice. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to make atonement for our sins.
Jesus has done this once and for all. It’s His blood that cleanses us from all sin. He was crucified on the cross (the form of execution in those days). The sin of the world was upon Him, yet He was without sin and blameless. He bore it all. This is why Jesus is referred to as the ‘Lamb of God’.He was bodily resurrected (came back to life) on the third day.
He appeared to many – eating and drinking with them. He appeared to them for 40 days, then ascended (went up to) Heaven.
The following is the prophesy of Jesus in the Old Testament book of Isaiah:Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Why did Jesus have to die?A member of the Christianity forum, Jane recently asked, "Why did Jesus have to die? As a Christian I should know the answer to this but I can’t think of any convincing explanation.
No exemplar of any other religion that I can think of ended up getting killed because of his beliefs. Why wouldn't it have been possible for Jesus to spread his message and gain adherents like Mohamed, Moses and Buddha? Does Christianity only make sense by God deciding that Jesus had to be crucified?"
This incredibly important question involves a matter central to Christianity, yet effectively answering it is often difficult for Christians. We will take a careful look at the question and lay out the answers offered in Scripture.
However, before we answer the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" it's also important to understand that Jesus clearly understood his mission on earth involved laying down his life as a sacrifice. In other words, Jesus knew it was His Father's will for him to die.
He proves his foreknowledge and understanding of his death in these passages from Scripture:
Mark 8:31
Then Jesus began to tell them that he, the Son of Man, would suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and three days later he would rise again. (NLT) (See also Mark 9:31)
Mark 10:32-34
Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him in Jerusalem. "When we get to Jerusalem," he told them, "the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, beat him with their whips, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again." (NLT)
Mark 10: 38
But Jesus answered, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?" (NLT)
Mark 10:43-45
Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." (NLT)
Mark 14:22-25
As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it, for this is my body." And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, "This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and his people. I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God." (NLT)
John 10:17-18
"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." (NKJV)
This last verse also explains why it is pointless to blame the Jews or the Romans—or anyone else, for that matter, for "killing" Jesus. Jesus, having the power to "lay it down" or "take it again," freely gave up his life. It truly doesn't matter then, who "killed" Jesus. The ones who nailed the nails only helped carry out the destiny he came to fulfill by laying down his life on the cross.
Now, on to answering the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?"God is Holy
Though God is all merciful, all powerful and all forgiving, God is also holy, righteous and just.
Isaiah 5:16
But the LORD Almighty is exalted by his justice. The holiness of God is displayed by his righteousness. (NLT)
Sin and Holiness are Incompatible
Sin entered the world through one man's disobedience - Adam, and now all of us are born into this "sin nature."
Romans 5:12
When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (NLT)
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. (NLT)
Sin Separates Us from God
Isaiah 35:8
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. (NIV)
Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV)
Sin's Punishment is Eternal Death
God's holiness and justice demand that sin and rebellion be punished. The only penalty or payment for sin is eternal death.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (NASB)
Romans 5:21
So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (NLT)
Atoning Sacrifice
Our death is not sufficient to atone for sin because atonement requires a perfect, spotless sacrifice, offered in just the right way. Jesus, the one perfect God-man, came to offer the pure, complete and everlasting sacrifice to remove, atone, and make eternal payment for our sin.
1 Peter 1:18-19
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (NLT)
Hebrews 2:14-17
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. (NIV)
Only Through Jesus Christ
Only through Jesus Christ can our sins be forgiven, thus restoring our relationship with God and removing the separation caused by sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)
1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (NIV)
The Messiah - Savior
The suffering and the glory of the coming Messiah was foretold in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53. God's people in the Old Testament looked forward to the Messiah that would save them from their sin. Though he did not come in the form they expected, still their faith looking forward to his salvation saved them. Our faith, looking backward to his act of salvation, saves us. When we accept Jesus' payment for our sin, his perfect sacrifice washes away our sin and restores our right standing with God. God's mercy and grace provided a way for our salvation.
Romans 5:10
For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. (NLT)
In Summary, when we are "in Christ Jesus" we are covered by his blood through his sacrificial death, our sins are paid for, and we no longer have to die an eternal death. We receive eternal life though Jesus Christ. And this is why Jesus had to die.
If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me: ck
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