The Reward Of Easter

The Reward of Easter!

Illus. by Andrew Chan

A Sunday School teacher asked her class on the Sunday before Easter if they knew what happened on Easter and why it was so important. One little girl spoke up saying: "Easter is when the whole family gets together, and you eat turkey and sing about the pilgrims and all that." "No, that’s not it," said the teacher.

"I know what Easter is," a second student responded. "Easter is when you get a tree and decorate it and give gifts to everybody and sing lots of songs." "Nope, that’s not it either," replied the teacher.

Finally a third student spoke up, "Easter is when Jesus was killed, and put in a tomb and left for three days." "Ah, thank goodness somebody knows" the teacher thought to herself.

But then the student went on: "Then everybody gathers at the tomb and waits to see if Jesus comes out, and if he sees his shadow he has to go back inside and we have six more weeks of winter."

Isn't that the truth? We as humans, we all have different ideas about Easter. For some it's just another family day, that families come together and eat.

For children of all ages, they look forward to getting all the goodies in their Easter basket. And for the small children of course, they look forward to finding the eggs that the Easter bunny somehow miraculously left behind.

Happy Easter! I'm not sure who coined the phrase. But the road that led to the resurrection that early Sunday morning, was not all that of a happy one. What JESUS endured for you and I, was an amazing miracle!

Isaiah 53:2-10 MSG

2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,

a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.

We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,

on him, on him.

7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,

but he didn’t say a word.

Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered

and like a sheep being sheared,

he took it all in silence.

Justice miscarried, and he was led off—

and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare,

beaten bloody for the sins of my people.

They buried him with the wicked,

threw him in a grave with a rich man,

Even though he’d never hurt a soul

or said one word that wasn’t true.

10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,

to crush him with pain.

The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin

so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.

And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

God's plan as to deeply prosper through what Jesus did on the cross on that first Easter weekend so long ago. Was started with The Son of Gods unselfish act of Love! The Easter revolution has touched more than 2 Billion followers, statistics tell us.

(Killing JESUS by Bill Oreilly)

And how is it possible, that one man's actions has touched so many people and caused them to want to become believers?

Only one thing could have caused that, "Gods Grace!" It was God's plan all along to reconcile man unto himself and establish an ongoing and loving relationship with his children. A plan that had been waiting since the beginning of time!

He sent his son and Jesus willingly accepted the assignment, to deliver Gods Amazing Gift of Grace to save a lost and dying world!

The unattainable law, that the children of Israel so desperately wanted. Which was flawed from the beginning and never designed to work, had to be replaced with a more and better way, called Grace!

It was the only way, that mankind could be saved from and endless death and ever be able to experience the eternal life! God so looked forward to giving to whosoever would believe!

John 3:16 NKJ

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life