I’ve been thinking about the meaning of Easter while running errands, and just now it dawned on me. We focus on our Savior’s death, rightly so. He died to pay for our sins so we wouldn’t have to pay the penalty, which is really permanent death without hope of ever living again. We focus on the resurrection of our Lord, and rightly so, for I Cor. 15 says if He was not resurrected, there is no resurrection, and therefore no hope of eternal life for us!
I can’t stand to watch scenes from the Passion movie, much less the whole thing. At church I had to interpret descriptions of it in sign language every year for way too long. But I was thinking about what His death accomplished, and how many first-time ever events were made possible or happened simultaneously with those two events.
It was the first time human beings were given access to the very throne-room of God signaled by the veil in the temple tearing in two at the moment of Jesus’ death.
Related to this, the Levitical custom that went with what we now call Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was fulfilled and became unnecessary. (Heb. 12 I think). Once a year the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle goats’ blood on the mercy seat. This mercy seat is a type of God’s throne, where, after His resurrection, Jesus Himself became our High Priest and presented his shed blood to atone for our sins once and for all.
Jesus also became our intercessor and mediator.
Also the Holy day Passover was now fulfilled by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I Cor. 5:7 calls Christ our “passover” sacrificed for us.
The requirement for “keeping the law” ended at Jesus’ death. Having the law “written into our hearts” began when the Holy Spirit came. The need for animal sacrifices ended, too.
Although “the church” began on Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit, really, “Christianity” began at the death and resurrection of Jesus. The “Jewish” religion, with the law and Levitical customs, was replaced by Christianity, following what Jesus taught and made possible by his death and resurrection.Whether anybody realized it at the time, it marked the end of one “era” and the beginning of a new ‘era”.
At the moment of his death, the old covenant was over with, and the new covenant began.
In the old covenant days, only Jews were “eligible for salvation”. Christ died for everybody whether they were Jewish or not.
These are just a few, but they’re major. We are justified by His death and saved by His life. This was planned from the beginning, but couldn’t really happen until Jesus came, lived, died, and was resurrected.
The bible calls Jesus the “firstborn of many brethren.” His resurrection paved the way for us to live again after death and go to Heaven like He did.
A whole new way of life began. A whole new relationship with God was made possible.
Just thought I’d share what’s been on my mind tonight. Rather than the blood and gore and the empty tomb, I’d rather focus on those things. I”m so thankful for them!
Love to all,
Gerrie
