God is perfect in his timing. Exquisite in his creative nature. Refined in his telling of the story of his son Jesus. Focused on the redemption of the world. Nothing was random.
So why did Easter happen when it did?
Why did the crucifixion take place during the season of the Passover Festival? Why not during Rosh Hashanah when a new year is celebrated … could have been about new life. Why not during Yom Kippur which focuses on repentance and forgiveness … that would make sense.
Jesus gave his life. God sacrificed his son. We were forgiven and redemption was freely given. It all happened at the Festival of Pesach (Passover).
The death and resurrection of Jesus is a story resplendent with the ultimate expression of love. An intricately woven tapestry so rich that tens of thousands of books have been written, millions of sermons preached, and it continues to fill our hearts with wonder and awe and mystery and love.
Two thoughts out of the myriad that could be spoken:
THE CROSS IS OUR EXODUS. Passover was the celebration of God setting Israel free from generations of bondage and slavery in Egypt. The cross is our freedom. He has taken us out of bondage into freedom. We have been set free from corruption and slavery and our hearts have been renewed with liberty.
LOVE ARRIVED. The world was brutal. There was no help for the poor. The Roman ethos was in full force. The rich ruled, the powerful gained, there was little or no assistance for those who could not get ahead by force … life expectancy was 20 – 30 years. Law was a millstone around the hearts of men.
The cross changed everything. Love came into the world. Love set us free. Love gave us new life.
The cross was not a transaction, it is a covenant. Not a contract but a covenant – a contract is what you get, a covenant is what you become.
Jesus didn’t lower the bar of manhood, he raised it. That’s why we need the cross.
We needed a savior that would set us free, love us with a passion and form us into real men – disciples. Manhood and Christlikeness are synonymous.
Read the gospels again. Read John 16-20. Use different translations … discover again the humanity, sense the hand of God. That was for you.
Easter is coming. But freedom is here right now.
Thank you Jesus, thank you Father, thank you Holy Spirit for making it real in our lives today.
