NOTICE: The following article is written
by the author itself and not by me, I am not trying to violate their copyright.
I will give some information on them. As it is Easter 2013, I will post two
devotion of the week articles.
PAGE TITLE: CBN Easter Devotion
ARTICLE TITLE: The Real Meaning of
Easter
DATE: N.A
AUTHOR: Beth Patch
AUTHOR
INFORMATION: Beth
Patch is a CBN.com Internet Producer and Editor of the Spiritual Life Daily
Devotionals. She holds a MA in Journalism from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia and a BA in
Mass Communications from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville,
Virginia. She encourages writers and leads workshops at various Christian
Writers Conferences, such as The Christian Writers Guild's "Writing for the
Soul," CLASSeminars' "Writing at the Ranch," and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers' "Write His
Answer" Conferences.
In Charlottesville, Beth reported news for
the local radio station, WCHV-WWWV, and for University of Virginia’s WTJU radio
station. Her communication skills eventually led her out of journalism and into
Real Estate as a licensed agent in Maryland and Virginia, where she managed and
sold residential and commercial property.
Some may call it a mid-life crisis, but Beth
calls it a mid-life calling: 25 years after earning her BA, she felt the Holy
Spirit urging her to leave real estate and earn her MA in Journalism at Regent
University. She had a simple promise from God: “You will get paid for working
with words.” She’s doing that now.
The
best way to understand the real meaning of Easter would be from Jesus. As is
recorded in the 12th chapter of John, Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem by a
large crowd singing praises to Him, carrying palm branches and hailing Him as
the King of Israel - the Messiah. They were gathering to celebrate Passover and
such an outpouring of adoration made the Pharisees seeth with anger and
disgust. They did not believe Jesus was their long-awaited King.
Jesus replied, "Now the time has come for the Son of Man to
enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted
in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new
kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this
world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will
keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me,
because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who
serves me." John
12:23-26, NLT
Probably
a puzzling speech at the time, but clearly another moment when Jesus used a
timeless parable to tell His message. Grains of wheat haven't changed and never
will - a kernel must be planted in the soil and die to produce a harvest of
wheat. Jesus had to die and be "planted" in a tomb to rise up and
produce a harvest of life everlasting to those who believed in Him. (After His
resurrection, the parable's meaning could be fully understood.)
Jesus
knew that He was going to be killed and how He was going to be killed; and He
knew the time was approaching. He told his disciples how he'd like his death on
the cross to be remembered. His request is found in Luke 22:
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the
table. Jesus said, "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with
you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won't eat this meal
again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." Then he took
a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, "Take this and
share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of
God has come." He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he
broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body,
which is given for you. Do this to remember me." After supper he took
another cup of wine and said, "This cup is the new covenant between God
and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a
sacrifice for you. (Luke
22:14-20, NLT)
Without
a doubt, Jesus wants us to remember his great love and sacrifice for us by
taking communion. He was getting ready to be betrayed by one of the disciples,
publicly humiliated and mocked, beaten beyond recognition, and hung on a cross
to die, when he made his special request for us to remember that He gave his body
for us and poured out his blood as a sacrifice for us. The heart of Easter lies
in his words, "the
new covenant between God and his people."
What
is the real meaning of Easter? Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we
have been given victory over death and eternal separation from God, a covenant
promise of forgiveness and grace:
“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He
was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians
15:3b-4, KJV)
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9,
NLT)
When
we eat the bread and drink the wine of communion, we need to search our hearts.
Are we remembering the suffering that Jesus’ body went through for us? Are we
remembering how His blood was shed so our souls could be spared? Let’s thank
Jesus this Easter for giving us life and for giving us the Holy Spirit as our
comforter before He ascended back to Heaven.
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