Easter very fittingly comes in the spring, when the earth is just coming alive after it’s long winter’s sleep. Spring and Christ’s resurrection are synonymous with life, that is why it is so beautiful. The Easter story is more than just life, there is also Christ’s death on the cross on Good Friday. There could not be an Easter Sunday without the cross. Jesus experienced the same fear and terror of the cross that we feel in our lives.
In Matthew 26:39 Jesus prays, basically asking his Father, “Do I really have to go to the cross? Are you sure there is no other way to save the people from their sins?” Here he is feeling very human, knowing all the pain he is about to suffer, but he is still obedient to his Father’s will. We can feel exactly like Christ at different times in our lives, especially when we have a physical illness or have to go through an operation. In Matthew 26:42 Jesus prays almost the same prayer, but this time acknowledging that he is willing to drink from the cup of pain and death.
When I was a teenager I had an inflammation of the esophagus called, “Esophagitis.” I did not know what the pain was at the time, so I went into the hospital for a test. God gave me peace about it, and let me know that this time of fear would pass. I found comfort in thinking that Jesus understands the pain and fear I am going through because he suffered the ultimate suffering. The thought that Jesus understood my fears helped me through that time. Then just a few years ago I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled, and I was SO SCARED. In this case, drinking from the cup of fear meant actually having the teeth pulled out. There was no way around it. We all have a fear of death to a certain degree. But that is what Easter is all about, Christ’s victory over sin and death. We do not have to fear, because Jesus has been through this, and he knows and understands exactly how we feel.
We as humans suffer from many kinds of fear, and we seek Jesus because we want to find peace and rest. We are like the women who came to the tomb to anoint his body with spices out of love and respect. They did not expect to find the stone rolled away and his body gone. It was something they had a hard time comprehending. They knew and believed that he was the Son of God, but they did not expect anything like this to happen.
In Matthew 28:5 the women see an angel by the tomb. He tells them not to be afraid and that he knows they are seeking Jesus. Then the next few words of the angel are the most joyful words in the whole Bible, and the completion of God’s plan for salvation. “He is not here; for he is risen as he said.” Matthew 28:6. There is the happy ending to the Easter story and now we have a job to do. In the very next verse Matthew 28:7 The angel tells the women to go quickly and tell his disciples, and basically tell everyone that JESUS HAS RISEN!
We can take that as a command to us as well, to go and tell everyone that Christ died for our sins and arose on Easter Sunday. God’s main plan for saving mankind from their sin may have been complete, but the rest of His plan is that we share the Easter news with others, so that they too can find salvation and have eternal life.
Note: I used the King James Version of The Holy Bible for reference.
