The Easter story is ultimately not about chocolate at all. It’s about God’s love for the whole world and how His everlasting love and eternal plan of salvation were fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The story involves God’s mercy to us – for we have all sinned and deserve to pay the price of death and separation from God for that sin, but we are rescued by Jesus taking our place on the cross. It involves the Messiah, Jesus, God’s chosen and anointed one. It’s a story of miracles – a miraculous birth (which we celebrate at Christmas) and a miraculous resurrection, demonstrating God’s power over sin and death. It also reminds us that God is worthy of our worship and wants us to be His witnesses around the world. One of our readings today was from Matthew 28, reminding us of the Great Commission God has given us to make disciples of all nations, teaching people all that God has done.
God’s plan of salvation was not a last-minute idea; Jesus was slain from the creation of the world. (Rev 13:8) Salvation came from apparent failure, humiliation and defeat. Resurrection followed crucifixion, and this reminds us that in our lives too, we have to walk dark paths before we reach victory.The gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that by His death and resurrection we are reconciled to God and born again into His family, is so simple that even the youngest child can understand it and receive Jesus into their lives by faith. Paul spends a lot of time in his letter to the Corinthians trying to explain the difference between God’s wisdom and the world’s wisdom and he tells us that everyone who believes can have access to God’s wisdom and that Christ is actually the wisdom of God. He says,‘No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—What God has arranged for those who love him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.’ (1 Cor 2:9)
Easter changes everything. It opens our eyes to God’s eternal plan, shows us the extent of His everlasting love, gives us insight into the mercy He shows us and the miracles the Messiah works – and the result should be our ongoing worship and witness to the world God made and loves so much that He gave His only Son to save us.
