Several years ago, my husband and I viewed the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.”
During the scene of Jesus being brutally beaten before His crucifixion, I wept and covered my eyes. I could not watch. The pain he felt was beyond comprehension as he was fully man with a body that had all the neural pathways of sensitivity. At the same time, He was also fully God with the power to strike his opponents dead at the scene. But He voluntarily took the flogging, suffered the pain, and was eventually nailed to a cross. Why would He do that?
To fulfill prophecy and verify truth.
That cruel cross became an altar where the Lamb of God was slain for a purpose.
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53: 4 ESV).
To pay the penalty for our sins so we can be reconciled with God.
Jesus was the perfect man who knew no sin, but in the dark hours he hung on the cross, He paid for our sins. “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us that we might become the
righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5: 21NIV). In other words, all of us have sinned and deserved death but Jesus came to give us eternal life. Jesus took my place. He paid for it all. I have received His grace and mercy and do not have to fear God judging me to eternal hell.
To identify with us.
We can never say that Jesus doesn’t understand our pain, our feelings of loss, confusion, grief, or our struggles in life.
“But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 5 ESV).
My life changed dramatically when as a young wife and mother of three, our youngest son, Jeffrey, died suddenly of bacterial meningitis. It happened shortly after Easter. God consoled me through my family, church friends and neighbors. He comforted me through His Holy Spirit as I sought answers to my questions during the rough grief journey.
Again, I was supported through the Psalms when my father, a WWII veteran, and believer in Christ, became deeply depressed and took his life.
I faced heartaches once more when our young adult son, a physical therapist, became ill for fourteen years with two life-threatening illnesses. Sadly, he passed away. Four years later my mother died. I can truly say I’m looking forward to seeing them all in Glory.
To be raised from the dead
“For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not
been raised, your faith is futile. (I Corinthians 15: 16,17 NIV).
Easter is a time for celebration because Jesus arose from the dead! Because He is risen,
we celebrate life and the opportunity to be with Him in Eternity. We do not grieve without hope when physical death occurs, because we know with Jesus in our hearts, we will be raised to see Him and our fellow believers in Heaven.
Everyone has a story—pain, problems, illness, deaths, losses of various kinds, etc., but with Jesus, we can testify that thankfully He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. My heart beats with excitement because we worship a Living Savior. HE is Risen! HE is Risen indeed!