What Easter means to Christians
Yes, it’s a welcome holiday, a time for family, for Easter egg hunts and an overdose of chocolate.
But what’s with these people you see, out on the streets on Good Friday morning, walking behind a wooden cross?
And why are so many cars parked outside churches on Easter Sunday morning?
Back in the day, many Kiwi families would visit church at Christmas and Easter, and hear the age-old Christian teaching about these seasons.
Today, with church-going not so common, many people don’t get to hear or understand what has been called the greatest story ever told.
Easter, to a Christian, is even more important than Christmas.
Jesus came to do what he did at Easter, for everyone: me, you; everybody everywhere.
And what he did was mind- blowing.
He grew up, the Bible tells us, ‘nothing much to look at’, but by the time he was 30 he was teaching his countrymen about God with outstanding authority, revealing Him as a Father who deeply loves each one of us.
Jesus backed up his words with signs of a whole new kingdom: forgiveness, healings, release from spiritual oppression, even bringing the dead back to life.
Great news, yes? Not everyone thought so.
In fact, those in power were so threatened by his teachings they arranged to have him killed.
On Good Friday Christians commemorate the day Jesus was hung on a wooden cross by the authorities and left to die.
He didn’t try to escape, but chose to let it happen, knowing this was not the end. Jesus died. His body was taken down and buried.
The next day was the Jewish Sabbath, on which no work could be done. It wasn’t till the following day his friends went to the grave and found his body gone.
As they stood there, devastated and bewildered, an angel appeared and gave them an amazing message: ‘‘Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s not here: He’s alive!’’.
On Easter Sunday, Christians remember Jesus’ astonishing triumph over death; his willing sacrifice which frees all who believe in him to encounter God and have a loving, caring relationship with Him that enriches their lives forever.
And that is the big deal, with Easter.
But why not visit a church this weekend, and see for yourself?
-Josie Ashworth is a member of the combined churches of Te Aroha.