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keeping it in perspective

Yesterday was Easter ~ the day we Christians set apart as a special day to remember that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of man, not only died a horrible death on a cross, but He rose from the grave 3 days later. It is His rising that our faith centers on ~ His death would have meant nothing if not for His conquering sin and death through His rising from the grave and His ascension into heaven.

It seems to me that most of the time the fact that He is the Risen Lord who lives at the right hand of God the Father in heaven is lost in the general evangelical preaching of the Gospel. The Good News is that He didn’t just pay the price with His death, He is the Conqueror of sin and death! Because He rose from the grave, we can be sure He is Who He says He is, and He did what He said He would do!

How is it that we can so easily forget this important piece of the equation? Jesus’ death by crucifixion was one of the most barbaric, painful, horrible deaths a human being has ever suffered as a public display. To be flogged and beaten, publicly ridiculed and humiliated, then forced to carry your own cross through the streets as people jeered, mocked you, and threw stone and refuse at you as you passed is honestly beyond my comprehension. And let’s remember here, folks ~ Jesus did this willingly. He asked the Father to let this weight fall away from Him, yet He finished His prayer with, “Your will be done.” He did what God the Father asked of Him. Willingly.

The soldiers stripped Him of His clothes and nailed Him to that cross He had dragged though the streets and outside the city gates to the top of a hill. They laughed at Him and made fun of Him, placing a crown of thorns on His head, and showed no mercy as they hung Him out in the hot sun along with 2 other men who were considered “the worst of the worst.”

Yes, we know all of that, you say. Yes Trish, we get that. We get that Jesus died a terrible death, and as a result our debt is paid to a God Who is loving AND just ~ “I owed a debt I could not pay, He paid a debt He did not owe” and all that.

But wait. That’s only HALF of the story. It doesn’t end with Jesus’ death!! Remember, He secured our place in heaven in His Father’s mansion, because after 3 days in the grave He got up and walked away! The stone (read: boulder that would completely crush your oversized SUV) that was placed in front of the tomb where Jesus lay was rolled back, out of the way, so when Mary arrived she would be able to see that the tomb was empty. He would then appear to various people over the next few days and weeks; He even went so far as to show dear Thomas His hands and His wounds, just to prove He was Who He said He was!

Jesus is alive! Yes, He is my friends. Alive and well. And sitting with God, at the right hand of His throne. Jesus’ crucifixion was entirely necessary ~ but so was His rising from the grave and ascending into heaven. Don’t get stuck halfway through the story. His crucifixion was necessary because of the sin of mankind. The sin that Adam and Eve introduced into the world. And when Jesus died on the cross He said, “It is finished.” Yes, He did. But He didn’t mean the story was finished. Only that the cost of sinning before a holy God and offending the Holy Spirit has been taken care of. The bill has been paid.

And now the rest of the Good News. You and I can, because of Jesus’ substitutionary death and resurrection, spend eternity basking in the heavenly glow of God’s love ~ walking streets of gold and living in mansions with crowns bestowed upon us by the Creator of the universe!!! And, guess what ~ Jesus will be there right along with us!

Jesus ~ the guy who was a humble carpenter, who loved His mother (as shown by His giving her care over to His dear friend John before He died on the cross), who walked around in sandals and ate unleavened bread and olives,  who had younger (half-) brothers and sisters, who helped His friend Peter walk on water and turned jugs full of water into jugs full of the most excellent wine ever tasted ~ this same guy now awaits our joining Him in the heavenly realms.

That’s pretty awesome (and I do mean literally awesome). And it’s all because not only did He die, but He rose again, just like He said He would.

Now whaddaya think about that?!

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