Why Easter Is Our Hope
Posted: March 8, 2024
I think many Christians would consider Christmas to be the primary celebration of the Christian year. No doubt it is prominent, but as a celebration, Easter holds pride of place. The entire season is one great Sunday feast. Certainly, the weight of our devotional life is bent in the direction of Easter, and that with good reason. For, after all, without the resurrection of Christ all other feast days are superfluous, and, as St. Paul reminds us, “our faith is in vain.” It is the resurrection and not the incarnation (as important as that event is) which holds the place of distinction on the calendar and in our theology and devotional life, too.
Yet, how could this be? How could any event overshadow the incarnation, or for that matter the death of Christ upon the cross? Why is Easter our hope?
A lot can and has been said in answer, but it is sufficient for now to say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead not only vindicated His words, life, and ministry but also put a huge “!” very near the end. It is a striking example of God, once again, acting redemptively in a decidedly counterintuitive manner. For what could be more surprising and unexpected than a Jewish carpenter being hung on a cross in display of the Roman Empire’s might and then being demonstrated to be The Son of God with Power (and ruler of all creation) by being raised from the dead by The Spirit of God? Yet, even this does not exhaust its importance. For when Christ stepped forth from the grave, He also brought with Him God’s New Humanity. By His resurrection Christ began the work of new creation, and that work continues. In Christ, the world, the old order, has been turned upside down. The rich have been sent away with nothing and the poor have the place of prominence. The powerful are fading as the meek inherit the earth. Christ has not gathered an army or statesmen and politicians to govern His new world but instead has sent out messengers, healers, and those who bind up wounds and wipe away tears. Lofty ideas, for sure, but true. And true to it is the work of the Union Gospel Mission as we extend the message and truth of Easter to Tarrant County. As we seek to be a friend to the friendless and offer hope to the hopeless. To help build a peaceable kingdom against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. To seek and save those who are lost. To visit the prisoner. To comfort those who mourn. Missionaries and strangers in a strange land, those who await with bated breath the final day when the “trees of the field will clap their hands (Is.55.12)” and “a little child will lead them (Is 11.6)”. The day when the New Heavens and the New Earth collide, and all break forth into joy.
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Yet, how could this be? How could any event overshadow the incarnation, or for that matter the death of Christ upon the cross? Why is Easter our hope?
A lot can and has been said in answer, but it is sufficient for now to say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead not only vindicated His words, life, and ministry but also put a huge “!” very near the end. It is a striking example of God, once again, acting redemptively in a decidedly counterintuitive manner. For what could be more surprising and unexpected than a Jewish carpenter being hung on a cross in display of the Roman Empire’s might and then being demonstrated to be The Son of God with Power (and ruler of all creation) by being raised from the dead by The Spirit of God? Yet, even this does not exhaust its importance. For when Christ stepped forth from the grave, He also brought with Him God’s New Humanity. By His resurrection Christ began the work of new creation, and that work continues. In Christ, the world, the old order, has been turned upside down. The rich have been sent away with nothing and the poor have the place of prominence. The powerful are fading as the meek inherit the earth. Christ has not gathered an army or statesmen and politicians to govern His new world but instead has sent out messengers, healers, and those who bind up wounds and wipe away tears. Lofty ideas, for sure, but true. And true to it is the work of the Union Gospel Mission as we extend the message and truth of Easter to Tarrant County. As we seek to be a friend to the friendless and offer hope to the hopeless. To help build a peaceable kingdom against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. To seek and save those who are lost. To visit the prisoner. To comfort those who mourn. Missionaries and strangers in a strange land, those who await with bated breath the final day when the “trees of the field will clap their hands (Is.55.12)” and “a little child will lead them (Is 11.6)”. The day when the New Heavens and the New Earth collide, and all break forth into joy.
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PLEASE PRAY:
- For our residents, that they will experience the joy of Easter as they celebrate their new lives in Christ.
- That those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ will find fulfillment in His love and mercy.
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