Happy Easter and Resurrection Day! Easter is also known as Resurrection Sunday is a Christian festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, (Savior). This year, 2021, the day is celebrated on Sunday, April 4th celebrated all across the globe.
According to the New Testament of the Bible, Easter occurs three days after the crucifixion of Jesus by Roman authorities. Easter concludes the “Passion of Christ”, which begins with a 40 days period of fasting – Lent and is concluded by the Holy Week. Holy Thursday (celebration of Jesus’s last supper) and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday is a part of the Holy Week which ends on Easter Sunday.
The story behind Easter narrates how Jesus was arrested by the Roman authorities under Pontius Pilate (governor) of Judaea (26–36 ce) under the emperor Tiberius who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for Christ’s crucifixion. The crucifixion was executed on demand of the Jewish religious leaders because Christ said he was the Son of God and they termed it as blasphemy.
He was crucified on Good Friday, died around 3 in the afternoon, and was buried in a tomb. Three days later, he arose from the grave in resurrection life leaving an empty tomb. The people who cited Jesus after His resurrection exclaimed they had seen His ghost. He appeared to hundreds after He rose from the tomb and ascended to Heaven 40 days after His resurrection, witnessed before eleven of His apostles.
As He rose to the clouds into Heaven before His apostles, He said He will come back again in clouds of glory to descend on earth. His second coming to Earth is to defeat evil, while His first coming on Christmas was to give Salvation to humankind.
The Bible declares that Christ came to die for the world in order to fulfill the eternal plan of Heaven by living, dying, and rising alive, defeating the power of death and the grave, paving the way for humans to enter Heaven when they die, thus Easter is celebrated for this reason.
The resurrection of Christ is the centrifugal message of the Bible and the Book of Acts in the Bible places great emphasis on the resurrection. It is said that one’s daily spiritual life should be empowered with the resurrection life of God in order to open dimensions to the eternal.
Belief in Jesus’ physical resurrection is the defining doctrine of Christianity believing one simple truth: The tomb was empty, hence He arose from the grave. Christians believe in the importance of living in the light of the resurrection event as it defines the levels to which one’s spiritual life can grow.
The Bible says, “It is the resurrection of Jesus that reveals His true nature to all who will see: “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31).
The event of resurrection gives us the joy of knowing that Christ is with us today and life on earth although temporary and brief, opens the doors of Heaven to people when they leave this earth because Christ died for all and rose for all people. It emphasizes the love of God for humanity, above all things.
Adrian Warnock, a Christian writer powerfully states, “The church did not create the resurrection stories; instead, the resurrection stories created the church.”
Happy Easter and Resurrection Day!
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