The most excellent news to mankind is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! The relationship between God and man has been broken since Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience. Man tried hard to reach God, which resulted in so many religions. Religions are man’s attempt to reach God based on different works to please God. Unfortunately, all religions have resulted in competitions like the Olympic Games. All the works of religions are filthy rags according to the scriptures in Isaiah 64:6. All our righteousness based on religion, sadly, cannot please God.
Man is in a dilemma. He is alienated from God, yet he yearns for God. Since man cannot reach God because of the sin inherited from Adam, God solved the problem. Man wants to relate to God as in the Garden of Eden, and God also wants to reconcile with man. In man’s deplorable state, God called Abraham out of paganism to show him how to walk with God. Out of Abraham came Isaac, out of Isaac came Jacob, out of Jacob came the twelve tribes. From Levi, one of the twelve tribes, came the Levites.
God assigned the Levites the responsibility of offering different sacrifices for the forgiveness of the sins of the nation of Israel and individuals. There are various prescriptions for every sin as described in the book of Leviticus. In addition to this unending task of sacrifice, the High Priest has to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the day of atonement to atone for the nation’s sin and intercede. The Bible says,
“and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” Leviticus 16: 33-34.
It is a day of fasting for the whole nation of Israel. As the High Priest intercedes for the people, the community reflects on all their sins. They will be fasting and praying for 24 hours, standing outside, waiting eagerly for the result. If the High Priest comes out alive from the Holy of Holies, it means the sacrifice for the nation for that year is accepted. The people will rejoice because they have received forgiveness. If the High Priest made a wrong move in the Holy of Holies, he would die inside, and he would have to be dragged out—a scary and very sensitive assignment. Despite all these efforts, the nation’s sin is covered until the following year. It is not removed permanently.
At the fullness of time, God sent His own Lamb to remove the world’s sins permanently. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, said this at the beginning of Jesus’ Ministry, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29. The coming of Christ into the world is to take away the sin of the world, not just Israel. This Lamb’s blood is such a miraculous detergent that will wash away the sin of the whole world, not yearly but permanently. God is bringing the world’s problems to an end by providing His own Lamb in the person of Jesus Christ, reconciling all of us who had been alienated. Unlike the daily and yearly sacrifices, this sacrifice is once and for all.
So, when Jesus was crucified, it was not because He was overpowered. He came purposely to die for you and me because God loves us – John 3:16. He was not forced to die, but He died voluntarily. Just like the animal in the Old Testament would be examined to be sure it had no defect, so also Jesus was examined. After a thorough examination, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, recorded the result in John 19:6: “Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”
Pilate further tried a customary pardon of releasing a criminal before the feast of Passover. He asked the angry mob to choose between the release of Jesus or Barabbas, a well-known criminal who was imprisoned for murder and insurrection. The mob shouted for the release of Barabbas. We are released from the death penalty as Barabbas, and Jesus took my place and your place on the Cross to pay the price for our sin – that is, death, which is spiritual separation from God.
But did Jesus have to die on the Cross? Why was He not stoned to death? Or beheaded? Or any other type of death that was common in Bible days. The Bible says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole”- Galatians 3:13. Jesus died on the Cross to set us free from the curse. The Cross is where your curse is broken. There is no more condemnation against us if we believe that He died for us.
On the third day, Jesus resurrected. On the day of resurrection, Mary saw the resurrected LORD! She believed! She was instructed to tell the disciples! Mary became an apostle to the apostles! Peter and John came to the tomb. What did they see? Mary and John saw what you had to see – the empty tomb and the resurrected Christ. In John 20:6-8,
“Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed”.
Peter went in first and saw the strips of linen and the burial cloth with his physical eyes. The other disciple (John) went in also, and he saw everything Peter saw, but he not only saw but also believed. The Greek word ‘believe’ means to have deep trust and confidence. It is a firm conviction and persuasion. He believed with firm conviction and persuasion in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus told them several times that He would die and rise on the third day. As John looked at the strips of linen and the burial cloth, he believed that Jesus had risen just as He said.
Our High Priest made the once-for-all sacrifice on the Cross to atone for our sins. Heb 9:12-15,” 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, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
The resurrection of Jesus Christ ended the separation between God and man. Through Jesus, we have no more legal relationship with God but a personal relationship with God. So, it is not just the history of what happened 2000 years ago; it is your personal story if you believe that Jesus died for you! This is the very pivot that our spiritual lives are rotating on. It is our focal point, the anchor to our existence, the miracle of becoming children of God.
As the Old Testament believed that the animals they killed substituted for them, so also Jesus died a substitutionary death to give us eternal life. Jesus died so that we could live! As Barabbas’ life was exchanged for Jesus’s, so also Jesus died so you may live. Therefore, put your faith in the great sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and receive the blessing of eternal life. Believe that Jesus died for you and put your faith in Him. TELL SOMEBODY YOUR STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB AND RESURRECTION. HAPPY EASTER!