Easter is the most important celebration within Christendom. It is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus and the start of a brand new relationship between God and Man.
The separation between God and Man started in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of time when, through disobedience of God, Man sinned. Sin carried with it an immediate death sentence. Man died immediately spiritually and gradually physically, but, in accordance to God's Word, Man died.
Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He had spent the last three years teaching and healing people, and many had heard about Him. He had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.
If you remember, the Israelites had become slaves in Egypt. When Moses, on God's instructions, went to the Pharaoh to petition him to release the Israelites, Pharaoh refused to allow the Israelites to leave. So God allowed ten plagues to come on Egypt.
The accounts of the plagues are listed in the Book of Exodus. They were:
- water turning into blood
- frogs
- lice
- flies
- cattle dying
- boils afflicting the Egyptians
- hail
- locust
- darkness over the land, and
- the death of the first born of Egypt.
But, let's get back to Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The people rejoiced at His entry and cast palm branches and their clothing for Him to ride on. They were welcoming Him as King and shouting blessings on Him. It was a really exciting time to be in Jerusalem and to see this Man who was expected to change things for Jews.
On Thursday, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. Afterwards, after He had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, He was arrested by soldiers, acting on information from the chief priests and elders. He was interrogated and flogged throughout the night, first by Pilate's men, then by Herod's men, and then returned to Pilate who presented Him to the people on Friday to inquire what they wanted done with Jesus, in Whom he had found no fault.
The people shouted, "Crucify Him!" Pilate was unable to reason with the people, and so he released a criminal to them and sentenced Jesus for death by crucifixion.
On Good Friday, Jesus was nailed to a cross where He hung until He died. He was placed in a borrowed grave with a large stone placed in front and guards placed outside the grave. On Sunday morning, there was an earthquake, the stone rolled away, and all that was found inside the grave was the linen that had been used to wrap Jesus' Body. Of Jesus, there was no sign until He started to appear to His disciples, alive and well.
The faith of Christians lie in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The cross no longer represented shame. It had become hope for all mankind. You see, in His death, Jesus paid the price for the sin of all the world. He took up on Himself the sin of the entire world through all the ages. He fulfilled the requirement ... the payment ... the cost for sin. For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3: 16.
But death was not something that Jesus should have experienced, since He had never sinned. And so the grave could not hold Jesus. Remember He had said that no one takes His life from Him. He said that He laid His life down and that He would take it up again.
Once the price was paid for sin, it was no longer owed. In His resurrection, Jesus brought life to Mankind, mended the rift between God and Man, and bought us and restored us to God's family. So, Man was reborn spiritually immediately in keeping with Jesus' statement that if we believe in Him, we would never die.
So, on Good Friday, we remember the agony that Jesus experienced on the cross. We remember what God gave to Mankind to free us from sin. We remember the great cost that Jesus paid. We remember the weight of our sin that was placed on Jesus. We remember the Lamb of God who died in our place so that we would have life and that we would have relationship with God.
And we know that in a few days, on Sunday, we celebrate the greatest miracle - the resurrection of our Lord as He conquered death and restored us to the Family of God. And that is reason for rejoicing.
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
