Joshua Hawk

On my way to church this morning I saw the lawns of various homes covered with colorful plastic eggs. Families and children will celebrate this day with baskets, chocolate, decorated eggs, and jelly beans; however, I celebrate this day for a different reason. Today I regard as the greatest day in history – the resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus lies at the heart of the entire Christian faith. Muhammad is buried at the Green Dome in Medina, Saudi Arabia and Buddha is buried in Kushinagar, India; however, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is empty because Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven! If the corpse of Jesus was still in the tomb today, Christianity would be another worthless religion without purpose. But because there are no remains of Jesus, Christianity offers something that no other religion could offer – legitimate hope.

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There will you see him.’ Now I have told you.”” Matthew 28:1-7 NIV

I have been a Christian for most of my life but I never really stopped to ponder on the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus until last year. I had a lot of questions that weighed heavily on mind; questions like: Why did Jesus have to die to save mankind? Why was mankind worth saving when the bible clearly shows that mankind has done nothing but offend a holy God? God is self existent and has everything He could ever need so what could He possibly gain by redeeming us in such a bizarre way? Perhaps some of you have asked these same questions but to answer these questions we must go back to the very beginning.

In Genesis 1:1-25, God spoke everything into existence. God created the heavens and the earth, night and day, the land and the seas, plants and animals all with the sound of His voice. God spoke everything into existence except for one thing – man. In Genesis 1:26-27, God created man in His own image. Not only did God create man in His image, God created man with His hands. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 NKJV God then created a garden in Eden and walked with man. In Eden, man had a unique relationship with God that no other created being in heaven or creature on earth had. Man was simply created to fellowship with God. Tragically as the story goes, man’s companionship with God was severed when Satan tempted Adam and Eve to break God’s only commandment (Genesis 3). Sin separated man from God and would be a curse to every human born into this world.

God’s desire and process to redeem this broken relationship can be clearly seen throughout the bible. God’s temporary solution for atonement was through the blood sacrifice of innocent animals. “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” Leviticus 17:11 NIV

God wanted to redeem mankind through the lineage of Noah (Genesis 6:5-8 NIV) but the sons of Noah forsook God. God again wanted to redeem mankind through a lineage but this time through Abraham’s, specifically through the Israelites (Exodus 19:3-6 NIV); however, the Israelites failed (Exodus 20:18-21 NIV). God then rose up judges and prophets but the people of Israel still rejected God with wickedness and idolatry. The price of sin became too great that no man could ever pay it. Therefore God’s permeant solution to sin was He would pay the price for us. Jesus came to earth as a man born to a virgin which prevented the curse of Adam from being passed onto him. This is what made Jesus free of sin that would allow Him to be that atoning sacrifice.

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” John 10:17-18 NIV

Jesus willingly gave up His life without resistance. When Jesus died on the cross, His mission was finished. The price of sin was paid and man’s broken fellowship with God was restored. The evidence of reconciliation is immediately found in Jesus’ first statement after resurrecting from the dead.

“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will will see me.” Matthew 28:8-10 NIV

This is first time Jesus referred to the disciples as “brothers.” At long last man’s fellowship with God has been restored! What an undeserving yet amazing thing God as done for us!

Going back to the questions that I posed earlier in this blog, the answer is strangely simple yet difficult to comprehend. We as humans deserve to pay the wages of sin but God paid it for us because He loves us. Love is not a word that I use very often when referring to God. I have such a high regard for God’s holiness that I talk about His love when referring to reconciliation. This why today is such a special day! Today is more than just a holiday; it is the greatest event and miracle that has ever occurred in history! Resurrection Sunday brings me great joy and appreciation for my Lord. Jesus will forever bear the scars from the nails and I will forever be grateful for God’s incredible love for me. Happy Resurrection Sunday and don’t forget to thank Him for granting us such an amazing gift!