The Meaning of Easter

Where did Easter begin?

Genesis 3:15 “And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.””

After the fall God spoke to the serpent , Eve and then Adam.

He pronounced judgement on each for their role in choosing to sin.

Here we see the first inclination for how God will deal with the sins of mankind.

Psalm 2:2 “The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers conspire together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,”

Psalm 2:3 ““Let’s tear their shackles apart And throw their ropes away from us!””

In this Messianic Psalm we see a glimmer of the fate if the coming Messiah, it tells us that the religious Leaders of the day, namely the Pharisees will rise up against God and his Anointed one, Jesus.

But in verses six and seven we see how this plan will not prevail

Psalm 2:6-7 ““But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will announce the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have fathered You.”

We see that the enmity talked about in genesis 3 is now detailed further here in verse six and seven, Old testament believers would have recognized this saying when it was announced at Jesus Baptism.

Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my help are the words of my groaning.”

Here we see what Jesus went through on the cross, because our sin separated us from God, Jesus who was our substitute, for the first time, in all eternity, felt separated from The Father in our place. This must have been unbearable for our Lord, Imagine being so close to someone as to be one with them for all eternity and then feel an eternal separation from them. This was our fate because of our disobedience, we being created could not have come back from that, we would be eternally separated from God, but Jesus being eternal himself experienced that and came out the other side. I don’t pretend to fully understand how that works but that is why Jesus was the only one who could experience this great punishment and yet be brought back from it.

Psalm 69:4 “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; Those who would destroy me are powerful, those who oppose me with lies; What I did not steal, I then have to restore.”

In Psalm 69 we see that Jesus was opposed by the religious leaders without cause, though he were completely innocent his enemies were powerful and many. they opposed him with lies and deceit. He gives us a clue to his fate what he did not do he then will have to restore. He accomplishes this restoration during Holy Week on the cross and on Easter in his final triumph he Will rise again to fulfill what has been prophesied here in these verses.

Psalm 72:1-4 “Give the king Your judgments, God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son. May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice. May the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness. May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, Save the children of the needy, And crush the oppressor.”

In these verses in Psalm 72 we see the results of the death and resurrection on Jesus and on the world. we see that God gives His king, Jesus, the right to become the just and righteous judge of God’s people, his victory on the cross he brings vindication to those who have been oppressed by the enemies of God throughout time. Psalm 72 is a beautiful picture of the future to come when Jesus rules with justice and righteousness, I encourage you all to read it.

Psalm 72:18-19 “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”

we see the psalmist here praising the Lord for what he has accomplished and the effects of that victory, working a wonder that fills the Earth with his glory.

Luke 24:6-7 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.””

In response to what Jesus has done for us we see how we should react to this great victory that God has done for us through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Psalm 100 “A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with jubilation; Come before Him with rejoicing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courtyards with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting And His faithfulness is to all generations.”

In Luke chapter 24 we see what has happened to the Lord how he has fulfilled the prophesies and redeemed mankind, he foretold that he must die and rise again yet his disciples did not them understand, do we fully understand what He did for us today?

So we see that even before Adam and Eve sinned God had formed a plan to redeem us from that choice on the cross.

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”