Any Given Easter

On any given Easter, millions of Christians worldwide come together to pay homage to Jesus of Nazareth and remember His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. In somber services that elicit emotional responses through heart-wrenching hymns such as “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)?”, believers pause to contemplate the death of our Lord and Savior. Can our worship truly encapsulate the magnitude of the love Jesus exuded as He paid the price for our sins? Can words ever quantify the immeasurable love of Christ?

The images of Jesus on the cross or standing with Pilate while the crowds screamed “Barabbas, Barabbas,” evoke sentiments of injustice and dampen the eyes and pierce the hearts of those in attendance. However, justice was truly being served in its most fundamental form as part of God’s greater plan for the redemption of humanity.

Only a few days had passed since witnessing the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and now He was facing imminent death at the hands of the establishment. As shocking as the events that day must have seemed for Christ’s disciples, the crucifixion was not a surprise to Jesus and was the outcome that was planned all along. Jesus “willingly” gave up His life for us. In John 10:17-18, Jesus succinctly summarizes His destiny and the conclusion of His earthly ministry. “The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

IT IS FINISHED!

When Jesus was crucified, the land was covered in darkness for three hours (Matthew 27:45) and when He drew His last breath and proclaimed, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), marking the culmination of His sacrifice and the fulfilment of scripture, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). It wasn’t torn from bottom to top, signifying human action or natural processes, but from top to bottom as the very hand of God interceded and removed the barrier between Himself and mankind.

The writer of Hebrews teaches us, “When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”

The day Jesus died, a violent earthquake shook Judea and rocks were split (Matthew 27:51). This was also reported by the Greek historian Thallus, who was later quoted by Sextus Julius Africanus in AD 52. Interestingly, this can be correlated to the shaking of Mount Sinai when the law was given to Moses (Exodus 19:18). The law of Moses was fulfilled by Jesus and Jesus had indeed completed an earth-shaking revolution that would reverberate throughout history.

Words written by Isaiah and recorded in Isaiah 53, seven hundred years beforehand, predicted the suffering of the Messiah. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.

HE WAS PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgement He was taken away. And who can speak of His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:3-9).

The New Testament repeatedly associates these prophetic writings with Jesus of Nazareth and Christ also claimed them to be fulfilled in Himself. The apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1 in Romans 10:16: “But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’” Additionally, we find a direct correlation to Jesus’ healing ministry in Matthew 8:16-17: “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’”

Peter also connects the dots regarding Isaiah 53 in reference to Jesus. He writes, “’He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.’ When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds we are healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:22-25).

In Luke 22:37, Jesus declares, “It is written: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in Me. Yes, what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.” Furthermore, Paul quotes Isaiah 52:15 in his appeal in Romans 15, “Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’” (Romans 15:21).

It is noteworthy that no man could orchestrate fulfilling these prophesies through their own effort. Having one’s side pierced rather than having their legs broken is a case in point. Yet that is exactly what happened in fulfilment of Isaiah 53:5, Psalm 34:20 and Zechariah 12:10. John 19:36-37 asserts, “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of His bones will be broken,’ and, as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’”

IN HIM WAS LIFE

Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. Jesus was the one true unblemished Lamb. He alone was qualified to pay our ransom. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5).

Jesus declared, “It is finished,” but He wasn’t finished. He had atoned for sin but salvation was yet to be ratified. Death could not hold Him and just as Isaiah 53:10-12 states, Jesus did not remain in the grave and His days were prolonged.

“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Jesus resurrected after three days, just as He said He would and this event became the most important development in the history of humanity. It is the fulcrum of the Christian faith (https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/the-resurrection-reality/). Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:14-15, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead.”

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the entire gospel message is rendered meaningless. However, Christianity with the reality of the resurrection is the very power of God. It has been estimated that it took 34 trillion watts of VUV light applied in the fraction of a second to resurrect the body of Jesus. It took supernatural power. It took power beyond human comprehension.

On any given Easter, people all over the world marvel at the reality that the tomb of Jesus was empty on the first day of the week. That despite the darkness of Friday, the light of life shone brighter than ever on Sunday. The resurrection of Jesus Christ carries profound and undeniable authority for Christians and for all humanity. It validates the gospels, authenticates the promise of eternal life and offers the transformative power of love to bring about meaningful change to individuals and societies.