What Easter Teaches Us
Easter and Christmas are two holidays which make our faith real, growing, and on-going. They are intertwined. If we believe the wonders of Christmas, we must believe the miracle of Easter. How God split time and space and intervened when man had no hope illustrates how much He loves us: both during Christmas and Easter and all year round. We cannot separate the two. They go together just like peanut butter and jelly. You cannot have the miracle of the Virgin Birth without the miracle of the Resurrection. If we deny one, we must deny the other.
Because of these intricacies, one might stop and ponder, “Can these “holy days” be integrated, even celebrated as one?” Yes, they can. With a quick review of man’s sinful condition and God’s reach of salvation, each holy day can be shown to be relevant, even to today’s post-modern mind. Easter unites the Gospel. Easter proves the Gospel is true. Easter is the end result of the need of man’s resurrected faith.
What does the season of Easter teach us about Christmas? About our God? About ourselves? Easter teaches us about —
1. The Fallenness of Man - Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the grace of God.” Every. Single. One. I know what you’re thinking: “Easter is a joyous time of family and friends, bunnies and flowers, new dresses and new suits.” Yes, it is; but to say this is all Easter is about would be an error. Because of Adam’s sin, Easter became necessary. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 says, “For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Man’s choices, through the introduction of sin, bring death. Christ, however, brings life. Easter symbolizes and speaks to the condition of man while looking forward to eternal hope.
2. Jesus’ Death and Resurrection - By Christ’s resurrection and through uniting with Him, those who ask are guaranteed to be raised to new life. If we have died to ourselves and united with Him, we are guaranteed to live with Him in Heaven. Romans 6:8-11 reveals, “Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” Because of Jesus’ death, we can die with hope. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can live with assurance. Revelation 1:5-6 speaks to our Savior’s gifts to us. Christ has made us “kings and priests” and, as a result, we give Him “glory and dominion forever and ever.” Nice swap!
3. Jesus’ Return - In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we learn about Christ’s Second Coming which Paul elucidates clearly. In fact, as 1 Thessalonians 4:14 explains, “Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” In other words, because the Resurrection is true, the Second Coming of Christ is also true. They hinge on the same axis. The truths of Easter mandate a second hope, a Second Coming for all the world to see.
4. Jesus’ Comfort - Not only does 1 Thessalonians mention Christ’s return, but it also gives hope and comfort to the every day believer (4:18) Jesus says to Mary and Martha after their brother Lazarus’ death, “I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”
Easter teaches us the necessary components of the Christian faith. If Jesus is, as 1 Peter 1:3 states, in fact, our “living hope,” and we have Him living inside of us, then we are offered this joy every day of the year. Further, if we can sing as Job, in Job 19:25, that “my Redeemer lives,” we can abide in His resurrection power each and every day of our lives. Because Easter unites our mission, we can share God’s grace and love with everyone we pass on the street. Because Easter is God’s answer to man’s problem of sin, we can praise Him for giving us the ultimate plan of salvation. Though the trials of life seek to harm us, the fact that Easter unites us together gives us hope and peace. This Easter season, live with Jesus’ resurrection, hope, and comfort, as we look to Christ who has defeated the grave.