The Resurrection — Why Do We Celebrate?
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth of the Christian faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. It was the fundamental point in the Apostles' teaching and preaching and the subject of every sermon found throughout Acts.
If you have ever searched for artwork for Easter newsletters or functions, no doubt you've seen many crosses with elaborate engravings and beautiful flowers winding around the crosses. But you'll find it difficult, if not impossible, to find an ugly, rugged, splintery, blood-stained cross . . . . and that makes me sad.
Have we come so far from Calvary that we've forgotten that the cross was not a symbol of beauty and love? Yes . . . . because of what our Savior endured there, it has become a symbol of love; but in reality, the cross was a symbol of torture of the cruelest kind! And no matter how many vines of flowers you put around it or pretty cloths you drape over it, it would still be ugly and crude . . . . and something the early Christians would never wear around their necks, place on a T-shirt, or hang on a wall!
Friends, please(!), let's not rush through the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday (Easter*) and forget what it's all about. No matter how you choose to celebrate the day, slow down and consider what our Savior endured three days earlier (Preparation Day for the Passover). We call it "Good Friday" (even though He actually died the day before), and as the day when God purchased my salvation, it is good; but as the day when Y'shua haMashiach died in excruciating, unimaginable physical and emotional pain, there's nothing 'good' about it!
Let's not celebrate the Resurrection until we've spent some time, again, kneeling at the foot of the Cross — not an ornate, flower-covered cross, but a roughly-hewn splintery timber, soaked with the precious blood of Jesus. Kneel there . . . . dare to look up and see His tortured body impaled there . . . . dare even to see the charges against Him: your and my sins(!) . . . . and understand that what held Him there wasn't the nails, but rather His outrageous love for you and for me....
Only after we've cried and mourned on Golgotha, and been covered and cleansed by His precious Blood, can we truly celebrate Resurrection Sunday. Then . . . . "My Redeemer Lives!" will be more than the name of a website or a song in your hymnal. It will be a high-spirited shout, an unrestrained, joyous celebration worthy of the One who conquered death, Hell and the grave . . . . who died but is alive forevermore . . . . whom all of Heaven never ceases to praise . . . . the Lamb of God, Risen Lord, King of kings and Lord of lords....!
Be blessed in Jesus' name, and remember: Christianity isn't about going to church; it's about coming to Christ!
*I know some Christians object to the word "Easter", as do I. This article isn't about which word we use for the commemoration of our Lord's resurrection, but about the event itself. Thus, I have deliberately chosen not to enter into a discussion of the word "easter".
