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Posts Tagged ‘Easter’

Easter – Why Crucifixion?

Posted in Bible, Crucifixion, Easter, New Testament, tagged , , , , on March 30, 2012|

Why did Jesus need to be hung on a wooden cross?

Crucifixion was a Roman convention, not something provided for by Jewish law.  As a matter of fact, the Bible teaches “cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree.”  Deut. 21:23.  So why would the Jewish Messiah, the anointed one of God, be crucified on a wooden cross?

  • To Fulfill Prophecy – The Psalmist speaks of crucifixion in Psalm 22, a psalm which clearly speaks of Jesus, “for dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.” Other scriptures in Psalm 34:20, Zechariah 12:10, and Isaiah 53 all foretell of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
  • To Illustrate the Suffering that Sin Brings – Jesus suffered on the cross.  We know this because in Matthew and Mark’s gospels, they record Jesus’ last words as “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  These words speak of great torment and suffering, of the soul searching in vain for God.  And so it will be with the sinner who fails to appropriate the blood shed at Calvary to his or her own sin.  If you fail to accept the sacrifice of Jesus as sufficient and apply it to your life through repentance and confession of Him as Lord and Savior, you have an ongoing sin problem.  How will you, in your sin, approach a Holy God?  No promise of heaven is given to those not covered by the blood of Jesus, only a promise of eternal separation from God.  Eternal life is a certainty.  The only uncertainty is where it will be spent.
  • Because Blood Alone Makes Atonement for the Soul – The most important reason for the crucifixion was the shedding of the blood.  According to Leviticus 17:11, “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” Walk with me down the Romans road:  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23 “There is none righteous, no, not one.”  Rom. 3:10  “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23   Add to that the statement from Leviticus, “the blood . . . makes atonement for the soul.” There is only one conclusion to be reached;  there had to be a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice.  Someone had to die that I might live . . . that you might live.  Who would be the sacrificial offering (the propitiation) for my sin?  for your sin?  Who could meet the perfection standard outlined in God’s law?  Who would be without blemish, without sin?  Whose blood would be able to wash me . . . to wash you white as snow?  Only Jesus!  Crucifixion was necessary because our sin separated us from God, and God desired to be in fellowship with us.   God so loved the world . . .  God so loved me . . . God so loved you . . . blood had to be shed.  Unless you lived a sinless life and met the law of God in every point, you also need Jesus to have died on the cross, to have shed His precious blood.  Jesus was crucified, suffered, and bled because of me . . . because of you.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  1 John 4:10

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Easter – Why on a cross?

Posted in Bible, Crucifixion, Easter, Gospels, Jesus, New Testament, tagged , , , , on March 29, 2012| 1 Comment »

Ever wonder why the image of the cross figures so predominantly in the New Testament.  It’s more than the obvious – Jesus died on a cross.

Mark 5:34 records Jesus speaking, “Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  When Jesus made this statement, he hadn’t gone to the cross yet.

John Stott says “becoming a Christian involves a change so radical that no imagery can do it justice except death and resurrection – dying to the old life of self-centeredness and rising to new life of holiness and love.”

In Galatians 5:24, Paul writes “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh of its passions and desires.”

In Romans 6:6, he says,  “our old man was crucified with Him.”  He repeats the imagery of the cross and death on the cross to speak of living a life of self-denial – death to self.

Often people think that their “cross” is the trial or persecution they are undergoing.  The trials are not the cross.  The trials function to strengthen one to carry his or her cross.  The cross is the life of self-denial, the laying down of one’s own life for the furtherance of the gospel.

As a Christian, I am best described as “dead man walking” since I must carry the instrument of my own execution, the cross.  I must die, so He might live through me.  By this great miracle, others will see Him and His glory and be drawn to Him.  Thus, the gospel is spread.

Father, make me to be dead to self and alive to Your Spirit.  May Easter remind me of how that fully-surrendered life appears.

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Easter – Why Betrayal?

Posted in Bible, Easter, Gospels, Jesus, New Testament, tagged , on March 28, 2012|

Why did Jesus have to be betrayed by one of those closest to him as well as those in religious authority?

1.  It was the fulfillment of scripture.

  • Psalm 41:9 “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.”  See also John 13:18 confirming fulfillment of the prophecy.

2.  It was necessary so we could know that God understands and can sympathize with our situations, the betrayals we suffer at the hands of those closest to us and those in authority over us.

  • Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

We have all been betrayed.  Our inclination is to seek revenge or punishment for our betrayer.  But Jesus was betrayed, and He did not defend Himself.  Rather, He lived out the sovereign will of His Father, trusting that the Father would change the circumstances if He willed.  Jesus understood that the will of the Father (God), is the primary focus for the Son (and for us as children of God).

3.  It is clear evidence of the “religious’ heart of man apart from God.

The betrayal of Jesus by his own people, by the “religious” of his day, is a warning to us of what can happen when we allow our religion to become more important than our faith in and relationship with the Savior.  Jesus warned the religious leaders, but they were unmoved.  They had no heart for God.

Jesus was betrayed because that is our relationship with God apart from Christ.  We are betrayers.  We can’t keep the law.   We can’t put the will of the Father before our own desires.  He had to show us how.  He had to make a way for us.  Betrayal was the first part.

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Easter in Genesis? There’s more . . .

Posted in Bible, Blood, Easter, Old Testament, tagged , , , on March 23, 2012|

The need for Easter began with man’s expulsion from the garden, but Genesis (and much of the history of Israel as it is documented in the Old Testament) chronicles the depravity of man and the righteous judgments of God.

These stories are warnings to the heart of man which says, ” God is dead” or ” God forgets” or “God doesn’t care” or “God is only love”.  The truth of the heart of God is that He does care, He is righteous and holy, and He wants none to perish, but some will perish.  The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.  Psalm 1:5-6.

Consider evidences of the judgment of God in Genesis alone:

  • The flood
  • Tower of Babel
  • Sodom & Gomorrah

Just as He has judged the wickedness of man before, so He will judge again.  In the final judgment, only those who are covered in the blood of Jesus will stand.

Easter is about the blood of Jesus poured out for a lost and dying world.

Does the blood of Jesus cover you?  If not, how will you stand in the judgment?   It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.  Hebrews 9:27

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Easter in Genesis?

Posted in Bible, Easter, Genesis, Old Testament, tagged , , on March 21, 2012|

It is no mystery to the student of scripture that every book of the Bible has a little Easter running through it.  Easter is all about love, God’s love.

The heart of Easter pre-dates creation.  Before man was in need of a Savior, the God who loves enough to give us Easter was.

The need for Easter, however, can be found squarely in Genesis.  When man violated the one rule God had given him, man’s perfect fellowship with God was broken.  Easter represents man’s only hope, his one way back into that fellowship with God.

God is holy.  He alone is holy.  Sinful man* cannot approach or have close relationship with a holy God without dealing with his or her sin problem.  Sin is an abomination to God.

Just as darkness and light cannot co-exist in the physical realm, so holiness and sin cannot co-exist in the spiritual realm.

The promise of Easter is found in Genesis 3:15.  And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

*For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  James 2:10

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What is your Easter I.Q.? (KEY)

Posted in Bible, Bible Quiz, Easter, tagged , , , , on March 19, 2012|

Here are the questions and answers to the Easter I.Q. Test:

1.  What Jewish holiday was Jesus celebrating right before his trial and subsequent crucifixion?  PASSOVER

2.  What event did the Prophet Zechariah foretell in his statement “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  (Zechariah 9:9)  JESUS’ TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM

3.  What Easter-related event is predicted to the day in Daniel 9?  MESSIAH’S RIDING INTO JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY (REPRESENTING HIMSELF AS A KING OF PEACE)

4.  Where was Jesus taken first after his arrest? HOUSE OF ANNAS

5.  Upon whose testimony was Jesus sentenced to death?  HIS OWN.  THEY COULD NOT FIND TWO WITNESSES WHO AGREED AND JESUS FINALLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION, “ARE YOU THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD?” “IT IS AS YOU SAY.”

6.  To what representative of the Roman government was Jesus taken for permission to carry out the death sentence?  PONTIUS PILATE, ROMAN GOVERNOR

7.  What prisoner was released instead of Jesus at the request of the crowd?  What crimes was he accused of?  BARABAS, REBELLION, ROBBERY, MURDER

8.  How many men were crucified with Jesus?  THREE

9.  Who are two of the people (there were more than 2) at the cross when Jesus died? JOHN, MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS; MARY’S SISTER; MARY THE WIFE OF CLOPAS; AND MARY MAGDALENE.

10.  What is in the tomb where Jesus was laid after he died on the cross?  NOTHING.  THE TOMB IS EMPTY!  HALLELUJAH!  HE IS RISEN!

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What is your Easter I.Q.?

Posted in Bible, Bible Quiz, Easter, tagged , , , , on March 15, 2012|

Answer the following basic questions about Easter and find out your Easter I.Q. :

1.  What Jewish holiday was Jesus celebrating right before his trial and subsequent crucifixion?

2.  What event did the Prophet Zechariah foretell in his statement “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  (Zechariah 9:9)

3.  What Easter-related event is predicted to the day in Daniel 9?

4.  Where was Jesus taken first after his arrest?

5.  Upon whose testimony was Jesus sentenced to death?

6.  To what representative of the Roman government was Jesus taken for permission to carry out the death sentence?

7.  What prisoner was released instead of Jesus at the request of the crowd?  What crimes was he accused of?

8.  How many men were crucified with Jesus?

9.  Who are two of the people (there were more than 2) at the cross when Jesus died?

10.  What is in the tomb where Jesus was laid after he died on the cross?

Be sure to write your answers down.  The key to the quiz will be in an upcoming  post.

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Update from the Book Lady

Posted in Easter, tagged , on March 16, 2010|

I’d like to take this opportunity to suggest some books to help prepare the heart for Easter.  It is a great time to meditate on the cross, the blood of Jesus and the resurrection and what they mean to the Christian.

Here are some books which to consider:

Because He Lives:  The Hope, Promise & Truth of the Resurrection, Calvary Chapel Publishing 2004 (ISBN: 0-967666-8-X)

The Cross of Jesus, Warren W. Weirsbe.   Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan1997 (ISBN:  0-8010-5781-7)

Classic Sermons on the Resurrection of Christ and Classic Sermons on the Cross of Christ, both compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe.  Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1990.  (ISBN:  0-8254-4042-4 and 0-8254-4040-8 respectively).

The Power of the Blood of the Cross, Andrew Murray.  CLC Publications, Fort Washington, PA 2003.  (ISBN: 0-87508-381-1)

Of course, reading the Bible and studying the passages about the betrayal, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the best way to prepare to celebrate that He Lives!

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