What Is Easter?
Easter, also called Resurrection Sunday, is the day we celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead, gaining victory over sin, death, and the grave.
Jesus had been killed by crucifixion on a Friday.
Early on the following Sunday morning some women who had been Jesus’ followers, came to His tomb with prepared spices.
They were planning to properly anoint His body for burial.
They’d been unable to do it right after the crucifixion because the Sabbath started at dusk Friday and lasted until dusk Saturday.
During this time they were not allowed to do any work due to Jewish law.
When the women got to the tomb the stone blocking the entrance had been rolled away.
Jesus’ body was not there.
The tomb was empty except for the linens Jesus’ body had been wrapped in when placed there late Friday afternoon..
There was an angel there at the tomb.
The angel spoke to them:
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”” Mark 16:6-7 NIV
He had risen from the dead, just as He’d said He would!
The women hurried off and told the others.
The disciples made their way to Galilee where Jesus met with them.
Over the next 40 days Jesus appeared to the disciples several times.
Afterwards, Jesus spoke a blessing over them and then rose into the sky where He ascended into heaven.
Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God, where He makes intercession for the saints (People who believe in Jesus and have trusted Him to pay for their sins are called saints). Romans 8:34 NIV
Because Jesus rose from the grave we have direct access to God Himself.
Before Jesus was crucified man could only take sacrifices to the temple and have the priest offer them to God there as a way to atone for their sins.
When Jesus was crucified He became the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all of our sins.
He also became our bridge to access God directly.
When we trust Jesus to be that sin payment and believe in our hearts that He died for us, we become reconciled to God through Jesus.
At that moment we become the adopted sons (and daughters) of God.
No longer His enemy, we have direct access to Him through prayer and are protected, loved, and cared for by God Himself.
This relationship could only be made possible by God’s precious gift of sacrificing His Son, Jesus, for us.
If you have not yet started this relationship, I urge you to do it today!
Jesus, who never once sinned, paid a terrible, painful price for us to be redeemed for God.
Now that Jesus the Christ has risen from the grave, let’s celebrate this wonderful gift and thank God for sending His Perfect Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we can be reconciled to God and live in right relationship with Him!
To read the full Easter story please read Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20.
To read more about Maundy Thursday and how Jesus was arrested, please read my post, Jesus Was Arrested
To learn more about the day Jesus was crucified, read my post, What Is Good Friday?
To learn more about Holy Week, read my post, What is Holy Week?
To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.