Jesus died on the Cross for us. The most powerful sentence in the world, and yet we toss it around without a thought. I know I do. It’s something I’ve heard my entire life. Jesus died on the Cross for my sins. Of course I know that. But there’s a big difference in knowing something over feeling something. I’ve always loved Easter. My family is made up of mostly adults and yet we still gather around the kitchen table or on the back deck and dye eggs. I mean, come on. Dying eggs is a blast, I don’t care how old you are. I love the fresh, bright colors associated with the holiday and all the adorable plush rabbits lining the shelves in stores. It’s a fun, happy time to celebrate. But, oh, beyond the pretty colors and stuffed bunnies, what a thing we have to celebrate! JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS. That sentence. That sentence we hear our preachers mention on Sunday mornings, the one we throw around in our own every day conversations, the one we remind ourselves from time to time when convenient. Do we ever sit down and really, deeply and honestly, THINK about it. Do we feel it? Think about this day we casually call “Good Friday”. The Creator of the Universe’s Son went out and faced something we can’t even imagine. Jesus, God’s Son, willingly let them put nails in His palms, which held him up on a scratchy piece of wood. His blood—real, warm, sticky red blood—poured from His hands, from His feet. The pain excruciating. But that pain was nothing to what He faced next. Every single sin billions upon billions upon billions of people committed came to Him, our perfect, spotless Savior. He took our sins and cleaned them all away with His blood, through a sacrifice of His own life. Wow. Jesus died on the Cross for us. Whenever I say or hear or read that sentence I want to remember. I want to not just know it with my head, I want to FEEL it, to realize the history, the power, behind those words. The ultimate sacrifice our Jesus made for us. But the story doesn’t end there. There is no “The End” to this tale. Because on Easter Sunday we are not celebrating a death, we are celebrating a life. Jesus returned to us, and we may be with Him for eternity. Life everlasting. His sacrifice tore down the wall of sin between us and our God, so we may live, not a “happily ever after” but a “joy eternal”. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 For us. Jesus died on the Cross for us. For you. For me. Easter may be full of egg dying and goodies in Easter baskets, but the most beautiful story in the world is the real meaning of this holiday. The story about the LIFE we have been given through the LOVE of our Savior. Because Jesus Christ died on the Cross, and rose again!