Easter, Spring and The Resurrection

Happy Easter!

As I'm writing this blog, I'm watching a Veggietales video, An Easter Carol. A semi-spoof (as all Veggietales are) of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, where a mean old miser with a plastic Easter egg factory misses the point of Easter altogether. Before he tears down a church to build a Easter themed theme park, he's visited by an angel who takes him through his past, present and future to help him understand what Easter is really about.

The disciples weren't visited by an angel, but on the third day after Jesus death, Mary and Mary Madgalene, Joanna and other women did see an angel outside the empty tomb.

Luke 24:2-5 'They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzeling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.'

And on the road to Emmaus, two of Jesus followers met Jesus themselves and did not recognize him until he gave a blessing. (Luke 24: 13-35)

And the disciples finally saw Him themselves, when he appeared to them in a locked house. He asked them to see the marks in his hands in feet, and he did the same to a doubting Thomas a week later. (John 20:19-29)

Yesterday I speculated on how the disciples' feelings and how they had no faith but still the radical teachings of Jesus. Can you imagine the joy the very next day when they saw Jesus was alive? When they finally got it? Faith is when we have hope in the things we do not see, and believe with certainty God's promises will and have been kept. God kept His promise. Jesus did rise from the grave.

Why did Jesus have to die in order to rise? Because God wanted to reconcile His creation from death and sin, but He also wanted to serve justice for death and sin, He sent His Son to become a substitute for us and take our punishment upon Himself. But then He rose from the grave to conquer death. When you believe that Jesus did die for your sins, and that He rose back to life three days later, and that belief in all of this and repentance of sins, God will give you eternal life.

Or, as the folks at Veggietales puts it, 'He died for us...to give us life...And to give us hope...He rose...'

And it is no coincidence that Easter is celebrated in Springtime. So this Easter, as you look at the new life in nature, remember the new life we have in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Annointed One...The Savior who is alive!