Jesus not only died on the cross-He rose from the dead! That which had the purpose of punishing and silencing (the death of Jesus on the cross) became our freedom, because the tomb could not hold it. Read John 20: 1-29. He is alive. He is not dead. Does anyone think this crazy? Only a day ago He was dead, wrapped in linen cloths and locked in a grave. This is where Christianity changes from being a set of ideas that come from a good teacher, to a faith that changes lives. If Jesus' life had been about him teaching, loving people and healing the sick, he would simply have been remembered for these things. That did not happen.
The whole world has changed because He did not remain dead. What He said, and what the prophets foretold, was and is true! When Jesus rose from the dead, the curse of sin was eradicated from us! It seems silly, right? If we depend on our own abilities, we may not be able to understand this. Paul exhorts us in 1 Corinthians 2: 5 that our faith "should not depend on human wisdom, but on the power of God." From the human perception, Jesus dying on the cross, rising from the dead and all humanity being redeemed from the weight of sin, clearly, is madness. But God OUR GOD was not any man who died on a cross. It was Jesus-completely God and man. If He had been only a man, then his death on the cross would have simply been the loss of an energetic teacher and defender of the poor and sick.
He was not just a man; He was also completely God-the very son of God! This is what makes Easter mean more than it is culturally.
Jesus died for you, but He was also resurrected for you. He not only paid the penalty for our sins. He came to bring us a new life! This is what Christ has done if we make the decision to believe in the Cross and that empty tomb: This means that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed, the new has arrived" (2). Corinthians 5:17)!
Find a moment today to celebrate, in your own way, what Jesus has done for you!
