A Reason to Celebrate

(Matthew 21-28;  Mark 11-16; Luke 19:29-24:52;  John 12-21)

   There are two major things Christians typically observe every year.  One occurs in the winter, which is Christmas, when we rejoice over the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.  The other happens in the spring, which is Easter, when we celebrate the death & resurrection of Christ, our Lord & Savior.

   Most Christians recognize three main days in their yearly Easter commemorations:  Palm Sunday, Good Friday, & Easter Sunday.  What makes these days so special?  Why do they matter so much to us?

Palm Sunday    (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:29-44; Jn 12:12-19)

   This is when we celebrate Jesus fulfilling prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) & riding into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey.  The people there recognized the fulfillment & praised & honored Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, the Anointed One, the promised King, by shouting “Hosanna” & tossing their cloaks & freshly cut palm branches on the path before Him, carpeting His way into the city. 

   When we praise God on this day, we do the same as the people then, but with the added blessing of knowing the end of the story.

Good Friday    (Mt 27; Mk 15; Lk 23; Jn 18-19)

   This is one of the most difficult, heartbreaking, gruesome days in the Christian faith.  This is the day that we remember how Jesus was betrayed, arrested, abandoned, put through a mockery of a trial, brutally beaten, treated like dirt, nailed to a rough wooden cross like the lowest criminal, & died.

   So, why to we celebrate this?  Why do we call this “good”?  Because He did it all for us.  Jesus loved us so much, that He sacrificed Himself in our place, as a payment for all of the debt owed God by every human for every possible thing that breaks God’s perfect law & separates us from Him.

Easter Sunday    (Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-14; Lk 24:1-49; Jn 20:1-23)

   This is the day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  It is the defining moment of our faith where Jesus proves He is who He said He was & provides us a way to spend eternity with God.  We rejoice that Jesus Christ is bigger & stronger than death, that the grave could not hold His almighty power.

   Jesus’ resurrection proves that His sacrifice was enough—that He is the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life for us to have a close, personal relationship with God forever.  All we have to do is believe.  As Paul tells us, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)  Jesus’ arrival, death, & resurrection made this possible.  That’s why we sing praises!  That’s why we celebrate every year! 

CHRIST IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!  HALLELUJAH!