Easter - What's Most Important?
The scene of Christ's death is bloody and horrifying. It has been retold so many times that perhaps we have developed an immunity to the pain involved.
It was not fast like executions today in gas chambers, or electric chairs. It went on for hours in front of scornful, mocking crowds, jeering at our Lord and Savior. Mocking Him -- Save Yourself, if You indeed are the Messiah!"
Jesus' death is the cornerstone of our faith, the most important fact of His Incarnation.
He came to die.
We can't follow Jesus without confronting His death.
"The gospels bulge with its details. He laid out a trail of hints and bold predictions about it throughout his ministry, predictions that could only be understood after it had been done, when to the disciples, the dream looked shattered.
"His life seemed prematurely wasted. His triumphant words from the night before surely must have cruelly haunted His followers as they watched Him groan and twitch on the cross." (From The Gift of Pain by Philip Yancey)
No matter how glorious and celebratory the resurrection morning, it is the gruesome death that brings us back to God.
We glory in the resurrection, but our atonement and reconciliation comes from the death.
We call that day, not Black Friday, but Good Friday.
But after all that is said, He had to conquer death, because He is God and through His resurrection He guaranteed our own resurrection. And he fulfilled prophecy and also his own promises to His disciples.
Hear Paul's words to the Corinthians:
Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures....
-- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Death, burial and resurrection - it takes all to complete the gospel - the good news! This is the "gospel by which you are saved"!
My universalist friends tell me that we evangelicals emphasize the crucifixion too much -- that we should concentrate more of our attention on the resurrection instead.
It's an interesting thought.
But when I read through the gospels in preparing myself for Easter I notice something different.
The gospel writers themselves place far more emphasis on the death of Jesus than they do on His resurrection - if, that is, we can measure such a thing by the space they allow for the events.
It seems much more of the gospel material recorded relates to Christ's death than to His resurrection.
Matthew - 28 chapters. Chapter 21 begins with the Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), the last week of Christ's earthly life, climaxing in chapters 26-27 with His arrest and death. Only chapter 28 records the resurrection.
In my copy, Matthew takes up 54 pages, with 18 pages on Christ's last week, and one page for the resurrection.
Mark has 16 chapters, with 11-15 devoted to the last week and only chapter, 16, to the resurrection.
Luke is a similar arrangement.
John has 21 chapters and the record of the last week begins in Chapter 11, with the resurrection of Jesus covered in chapters 20 and 21.
Also significant is the obvious slowing down of activity, a winding down, as the gospel writers record their words for us. We can see the climax coming.
When we celebrate Lord's Supper, we "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes"
It's an interesting thought.
But when I read through the gospels in preparing myself for Easter I notice something different.
The gospel writers themselves place far more emphasis on the death of Jesus than they do on His resurrection - if, that is, we can measure such a thing by the space they allow for the events.
It seems much more of the gospel material recorded relates to Christ's death than to His resurrection.
Matthew - 28 chapters. Chapter 21 begins with the Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), the last week of Christ's earthly life, climaxing in chapters 26-27 with His arrest and death. Only chapter 28 records the resurrection.
In my copy, Matthew takes up 54 pages, with 18 pages on Christ's last week, and one page for the resurrection.
Mark has 16 chapters, with 11-15 devoted to the last week and only chapter, 16, to the resurrection.
Luke is a similar arrangement.
John has 21 chapters and the record of the last week begins in Chapter 11, with the resurrection of Jesus covered in chapters 20 and 21.
Also significant is the obvious slowing down of activity, a winding down, as the gospel writers record their words for us. We can see the climax coming.
When we celebrate Lord's Supper, we "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes"
(1 Corinthians 11:26)
The scene of Christ's death is bloody and horrifying. It has been retold so many times that perhaps we have developed an immunity to the pain involved.
It was not fast like executions today in gas chambers, or electric chairs. It went on for hours in front of scornful, mocking crowds, jeering at our Lord and Savior. Mocking Him -- Save Yourself, if You indeed are the Messiah!"
Jesus' death is the cornerstone of our faith, the most important fact of His Incarnation.
He came to die.
We can't follow Jesus without confronting His death.
"The gospels bulge with its details. He laid out a trail of hints and bold predictions about it throughout his ministry, predictions that could only be understood after it had been done, when to the disciples, the dream looked shattered.
"His life seemed prematurely wasted. His triumphant words from the night before surely must have cruelly haunted His followers as they watched Him groan and twitch on the cross." (From The Gift of Pain by Philip Yancey)
No matter how glorious and celebratory the resurrection morning, it is the gruesome death that brings us back to God.
We glory in the resurrection, but our atonement and reconciliation comes from the death.
We call that day, not Black Friday, but Good Friday.
But after all that is said, He had to conquer death, because He is God and through His resurrection He guaranteed our own resurrection. And he fulfilled prophecy and also his own promises to His disciples.
Hear Paul's words to the Corinthians:
Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures....
-- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Death, burial and resurrection - it takes all to complete the gospel - the good news! This is the "gospel by which you are saved"!
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