 |
| Celebrating Easter with my brother and several friends |
 |
| Brownies with Peeps having an Easter egg hunt :-) |
I guess all that preparation and remembering ahead of time got me even more in tune with the Holy-day. I don’t always feel as much joy on Easter. But Sunday morning as we sang joyfully about Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection I wondered why don’t I feel this happy every day? After all Jesus has been risen from the dead for the last 2000 years. I don’t have to wait until Easter each year for it to be true.
Then I thought of the disciples. As joyful as I felt they must have felt ten time more joyful! Their joy was so profound and surprising it must have taken days to absorb. Some of them didn’t even believe it at first. It was just too amazing, impossible even.
Just before that they were devastated, crushed and traumatized. They saw their leader and teacher and friend, Jesus, violently murdered in front of them. They thought he was the Messiah from God. They thought he would save them from the Romans, but with his death all their hope for the future was gone. Maybe they thought God had tricked them. They believed, really believed, in Jesus but look where it had gotten them. They were bereft. They were also afraid that they would be next. Jesus was killed as a traitor. They were his followers so they may have expected to be hunted down as his co-conspirators.
But all that suddenly changed when Jesus rose from the grave! He was victorious over death! It was impossible! But it true! He really did die but then he really did come back to life! He beat the Romans and the religious leaders and the rabble that wanted him crucified. He conquered them all!! Life went from being hopeless to being the best day ever! It is hard to fully grasp the amazing joy they must have felt. They probably felt like dancing. Maybe they did dance. They probably shed tears of joy and relief. Maybe even laughed hilariously. And shouted. That kind of joy just can’t be contained sedately inside. And it doesn’t need to be.
They had Jesus back! Against all odds!!!
I wonder if they had any inkling how different life would be after that? They may have expected everything to go back to normal, only better. Like maybe Jesus would finally conquer the Romans and set up his kingdom and show everyone that he really was the Messiah. Then they could have comfortable positions in his kingdom.
I doubt if they were prepared to see Jesus leave again in 40 days. I wish we had a record of all the things he said and did during those 40 days, of course some of it was probably included in their later writings that we now have in the New Testament.
Some things they didn’t understand immediately. I’m thinking particularly about the Gentiles, that’s us, being included when Jesus said go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. It also seems to have taken a while for them to understand what being in the new covenant was all about.
Some still don’t. I read last week that some people are even now teaching that only “Torah observant” believers in Jesus will be saved. But in Acts 15 when some of the Jewish believers said that, Peter made it clear that salvation is through faith in Jesus alone and not by following the law of Moses. (Paul also taught about that at length in Galatians and Hebrews.)
We are under a new covenant. Jesus began it with his blood. He announced it at their last Passover meal together. It is a new and living way. It was promised to them long before but maybe it seemed too good to be true. But it is true. Now we can, "draw near to God in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10.
If you put your faith in Jesus you can be included in it too.
I am glad you all had a lovely Easter. Love the cake. It's really cute :-)
ReplyDelete