The Beauty of Easter
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A prophet has risen among us! And “God has visited his people!” (Luke 7:16-17)
This Bible verse is part of the story about Jesus bringing a dead person back to life. The witnesses who saw the miracle did not recognize Jesus as God. Instead, when they saw it, they were in awe, yet they miscalled and downgraded Him as a “prophet”.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”. This is a reminder that Jesus is the Son of God who came and died as the ultimate sacrifice.
This is the beauty of Easter because it is a yearly reminder that the Son of God, not a “prophet”, won over death as the Savior King to rescue us from eternal punishment and death.
Before Jesus, people had to offer sacrifices by offering pure and flawless animals to atone for their sins. But when Jesus came and died on the cross, He was the ULTIMATE sacrifice for our sins. Before Jesus, you would have had to go through rituals to speak to God or even ask a prophet to speak to Him. When Jesus came, God became more accessible, so we could speak to Him anywhere, anytime. We can come before Him and say “Abba! Father!”.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4-6)