Nobody Wants To Pay The Asking Price
I love Easter and I love that we celebrate it in the spring when everything is starting to bloom and come back to life. What an awesome symbolism of what Easter is all about. And I know what you might be thinking, and no you aren't crazy because Easter is still a week away. However it is never too early or too late to think or discuss the events at Easter. In my humble opinion the events that transpired on Easter are two of the three major stories that are the cornerstones of the Christian faith. Let's take a look at all three;
Jesus was born of a virgin
Can you imagine if he had been sired by a human? Wouldn't we then be worshiping whoever created Jesus instead of Jesus himself? If you haven’t noticed by now, humans are broken creatures and do not deserve any form of worshiping!
Jesus died on the cross for our sins
At Church when we worship Jesus in song we have slides with the lyrics and different pictures that pop up on the screen. Your church might do something similar or you may have seen something similar in other churches. Anyways, one Sunday we were signing and a slide popped up with the words of the song and a picture that simply stated, “Who really killed Jesus?” Talk about a loaded question! However, that picture was perfectly timed because the lyrics of the song went, “We all want love, we all want honor, but nobody wants to pay the asking price.”
Can you imagine if the only way into heaven was to obey God and at the end of your life to be crucified on the cross? How many people would realistically sign up for that? And what happens if people are killed before they are crucified? Talk about a mess! But thankfully Jesus humbled himself and died in our place. Wow….
When I try to put myself in Jesus’ sandals I can never do the crucifixion justice. Maybe you have a better example, but I try to picture someone murdering a person in my family. But instead of the convicted felon getting the execution chair I step up and take his place so he can be a free man. If I am answering honestly I don’t think I could do that, but thankfully I don’t have to because Jesus already did!
Jesus rises from the dead
Do you know what event I would go into debt up to my eye balls for to see live? After Jesus was crucified he went down into hell and made a mockery of the enemy and took back the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:18 “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” Mathew 27:52 goes on to tell us that, “and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.”
Can you imagine watching Jesus descend into Hell, walking in like he owns the place, takes the keys straight from the enemy’s hand, and as soon as the keys are in his possession he brings all the previous believers back to life? And all while this is taking place there is an earthquake that splits rocks and tears the temple curtain perfectly in two (Mathew 27:51). If you were to witness these things, how could you not instantly believe that Jesus is/was your Lord and savior?
Please take time this Easter weekend to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for you, your family, your friends, and the entire world. I would challenge you to not just remember this during Easter weekend but every weekend for the rest of your life. But Easter seems like a good place to start!