So why is Easter a big deal. For some people Easter is strictly about the Easter bunny, chocolate, dyed eggs, and family dinners. For me, it is much more than that.
Easter is important because it proved that Jesus was who He claimed to be. He was God in the flesh, and He came to earth to save us.
There were three events on that first Easter morning that I’d like to look at: Jesus’ trial, His death, and His resurrection.
The Trial
Jesus actually went through six trials. In that one night, he was brought before Annas, Caiphas (the high priest), the Sanhedrin (the religious Supreme Court), Pilate (the governor of Jerusalem), Herod (the governor of Galilee), and then back to Pilate. At the end of those six trials, what did they find to accuse him of?
Nothing. He had done nothing wrong.
They brought in people to make up phony charges, but those didn’t stick. Finally they convicted him on one count: claiming to be the Son of God. That’s the sole reason Jesus went to the cross. They didn’t like that claim.
How did they make that claim stick? Jesus admitted to it. He testified against himself. So when the liars didn’t give enough evidence, He willingly handed them the evidence they needed for a death sentence.
Jesus claimed to be the Savior of the world.
John 12:47, Jesus says: “I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save it.” He allowed himself to be put on trial so there would be no doubt about who He was. He could have stopped the trial at any moment. He knew He would be proven guilty and put on the cross -- but he allowed it to happen. It was all part of the plan.
The Death
After enduring a night of beatings and mocking, and after having a crown of thorns thrust upon his head, Jesus was crucified. Crucifixion was torture. His hands were stretched out wide against the cross and nailed through the two bones in each wrist.
If you hung this way for any period of time, the muscles around your chest cavity began to be paralyzed. You’d be able to breathe in but you couldn’t breathe out.
Death on a cross would have been a simple matter of suffocation. However, the Romans took his knees and bent them a little bit and nailed his feet to the cross.
So he hung there in absolute agony until the pain in his chest was about to explode -- and then he would lift himself up on his nailed feet to grab a breath.
When the pain in his feet grew unbearable, he’d let himself back down again -- until the pain in his lungs became unbearable. It was an incredibly torturous event.
Eventually, the soldiers would break the legs of the criminal to hasten death by suffocation. In the case of Jesus, they didn’t have to break his legs, because he had already died.
Just to make sure, they stuck a spear in his side. Water and blood came out of the chest cavity.
Why did Jesus have to die? Because He alone was able to pay for our sins. We deserved punishment, but Jesus paid the penalty for us.
The Resurrection
After Jesus died, they took his body down and put him in the tomb, and a giant stone was set in front of the cave. The religious leaders -- worried that Jesus’ body might be stolen and so they asked for Roman guards to be posted in front of the tomb.
The stone didn’t stop Him. The guards didn’t stop Him. Jesus rose from the dead and walked out.
“... by being raised from the dead he was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God himself.” (Romans 1:4, LB)
Historical records say he showed himself to 500 people at one gathering. Can you imagine witnessing his death and then seeing him walking around Jerusalem three days later!
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the skeptics mocked him and said, “If you’re the Son of God, why don’t you just pull yourself down from that cross? Why don’t you just come down and show that you’re really God?” Jesus had something more spectacular planned. He said, “I’m going to let you bury me for three days, then I’ll come back to life to prove that I am what I am.”
What does this mean to us today?
Jesus died to pay the penalty of death that I deserve for my sin. He was buried and rose with a glorified body, gaining victory over death and the grave. When I put my faith in Him, I have the promise of one day having a body like our Lord’s and reigning with Him in heaven.
What’s your verdict?
Easter really boils down to only two issues.
- One, is Jesus who he says he is? Is he God?
- And two, if he is who he says he is, are you going to place your faith in Him? Will you accept his payment on the cross for your sin?
Today, you sit in judgment of Jesus. Just as Pilate asked, “What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Christ?” What’s your verdict?
1 John 1:8-9 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
2 Timothy 2:11-12 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;”
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