The Hope of Easter

by    23rd March 2008    0 responses

It is a well-known fact that Christmas has become increasingly commercialised over the last few decades.  The crib scenes have been replaced with tinsel and presents, the family time has been shoved aside to make way for prime television time, and the true meaning has been relegated to an obscure historical artefact amidst the roast turkey and “goodwell to all men”.

It should come as no surprise, then, to realise that Easter has gone much the same way.  As I was driving to church this morning for the Easter Sunday service, I was struck by the absence of cars on the road – ironic that on this Christian holiday, it is the non-Christians who get a lie-in!  Here, again, the reason for the celebration has been lost amongst the chocolate eggs, Easter bunnies, new-born lambs, and two days off work.  All the more reason, then, to reassert the reason for the season, to share the Good News of Easter with those for whom it is nothing more than a brief holiday underscored by an excess of chocolate.

Easter encompasses the climax of our Christian beliefs, the culmination of thousands of years of prophecy, the penultimate act in God’s grand plan for humanity.  I say penultimate, because the final curtain call is yet to come – the Day of Judgement when all are called to account and these busy chapters of life are brought to a close at last.  Right from the very beginning, God has carefully planned and orchestrated all manner of ways of saving us, from individual plight to bringing whole nations out of slavery.  But none compare to the wonder of Easter, both horrible and glorious.

The Problem

First, it is worth noting the reason why this all had to take place.  After all, if it didn’t need to be done, I am sure Jesus would not have willingly gone through such a painful and humiliating death.  The problem, essentially, is us.  Since the moment we understood the difference between right and wrong we have chosen our own way over God’s, choosing to live our lives as we see fit, rather than the way our Maker knows is best.  This may seem trivial, but it is a point worth stressing, and putting into context.  You see, there is more to sin than the Ten Commandments.

The problem of sin is perhaps best illustrated in the scene at Golgotha, where three men hung on crosses for their crimes.  The authorities, who were charged with upholding peace and maintaining justice, had decreed those men guilty, and saw fit to have them punished accordingly.  We don’t know the crimes the other two men were charged of, but the fact that they were being crucified suggests it was something pretty significant, worthy of the most painful form of execution.  Jesus, on the other hand, was put to death for being a nuisance, a threat the the normal way of life, an enemy of the state, and someone who talked with more authority than the authorities felt comfortable with.

It is interesting to compare that with God’s perspective on justice.  Jesus, the only Son of God, told one of the criminals beside him that he would be with him in paradise that day.  That’s pretty significant given the sentence being carried out.  Clearly, God’s rule book is different to ours.  What we consider to be ‘wrong’ doesn’t always seem to matter quite so much to God.  Is it that God is less just than us?  Do we have a greater sense of authority to judge than God does?  No, it is something far more profound.  God’s measuring stick has only one mark on it – we either know God and accept his rule, or we don’t.  That is the only criteria.

The problem of sin, therefore, is that we would quite like it to be more complicated than it is.  Our views on judgement are to do with life here on earth.  God’s are to do with life after death.  If we are found guilty on God’s scales, no amount of community service will atone for it, no sentence will suffice, and there will be no time off for bad behaviour.  It may sound bleak, and without Easter, it is.  For we all fall short, we all go our own way, we all turn away from God.

The Solution

Throughout history God has intervened in our lives, showing us the right way to live, showing us what is ultimately important to Him.  And no intervention was ever as powerful and influential as that of Jesus.  The incarnation of God, the act of God becoming man, something that ought to be impossible, but which through God was made possible regardless.

God knows his standards are high.  He’s been telling us that all along.  And He also knows that we, on our own, are not capable of rising to those standards; you only have to look at the Bible to see how even the ‘great’ leaders got it wrong.  No one, man or woman, in all of history, has managed to get it all right.  And on that basis, no one would measure up, no one would receive the promised inheritance.  And that is why Jesus had to come and die for us.

We are clearly told that “the wages of sin are death”, that anyone who goes falls short of God’s perfect expectations must expect to be punished for it.  What Jesus did on the cross was to put himself in our place, to take the punishment reserved for us, to take the blame for everything we have done.  By doing this, when we finally come into God’s presence He will not see a tarnished, broken human being, but a radiant and pure Child of God.  It is not that the sin never happened, nor that God doesn’t care about what we do, but that through Jesus God allows us to be perceived as innocent, and as such worthy to enter His presence and live for eternity with Him in paradise.  Easter is the door from hopelessness to salvation, from a world of despair to an eternity of wonder.  Jesus died to save you.  Because he loves you.  Always has.  Always will.  And he died to prove it.

The Promise

When Jesus shared his last meal with his disciples the night before he was crucified, he talked about his blood being a “new covenant”.  A covenant is a promise made between two parties, an agreement bound from both sides which cannot be broken.  God takes one side of the covenant, promising to save us and allow us into heaven.

The other side is for us.  Unless we accept this covenant, agree to the terms and conditions, sign our name on the dotted line, we cannot receive anything from God.  The promise of salvation only applies to those who accept it.  You cannot unwrap a present that you have not first accepted.  It is not an easy covenant to live by, and there will undoubtedly be times when the whole world seems to be set against you.  But that is largely irrelevant – it is not by the world’s rules that we live, but God’s.  If we accept God’s rule in our lives, we can be assured that in return Jesus’ death will be marked against our own.  Our punishment will already have been paid.

Jesus has signed his half of the agreement.  He has offered himself to save you.  Whether you accept that makes no difference to his offering – he gave his life for you anyway – but it only counts for something if you let it.

When God puts you next to his measuring stick, where will you be?  Saved, or not saved?  It makes no difference how far beneath the line you are, nor how you compare to those around you, all that matters is you and that measuring stick.  There is no fence to sit on.  There will be no time to think about it after you’re dead.  This life is where you must make your choice.  Easter is a time to remember what Jesus did for you.  How will you respond?

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Matthew has long had a strong involvement with Christian websites. He was a keen contributor to the original Crossring site, and subsequently launched his own website, Focus On Faith. Focus On Faith was incorporated into Crossring in September 2009, and Matthew took on the role of lead writer for the site. Matthew works as a web designer, and lives in the West Country with his wife, Ellie.

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