What’s the point of
Easter?
What is Easter? What does it represent? Who is Jesus, and what is his effect on history? Jesus began and ended his life on earth resting on the same substance – wood. At the heart of Christianity is an empty cross. Christians down the ages have been convinced that his own death on the cross was not the last word about Jesus. What’s the point of Easter? looks at the life and death of Jesus, and considers what happened at God’s funeral and what it means to us today.
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J.John
Life After Death Have you ever wondered why Christians choose the symbol of the cross for their faith?
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What is love? “The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved.”
What other belief in the world, whose major theme is love, has as its emblem a gallows, gaschamber or the electric chair?
Despite
our critical
Crucifixion was possibly the most painful form of execution ever invented by humankind. It originated in 600 bc and was abolished by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
No other death has raised a fraction of the interest or concern as that of Jesus Christ. Think of a biography – usually the death comes in the last chapter, often on the last page and even in the last paragraph. It’s interesting that of all the things that Jesus could have asked us to remember, He instructed us to remember His death.
Victor Hugo “Love is the basic need of human nature, for without it, life is disrupted emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.” Karl Menninger
generation, which has
shattered the reputations of many great personalities of
Jesus Christ remains a dominant figure. the past,
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Shrove Tuesday Many writers have tried to face the question ‘Who is Jesus Christ?’ and communicate His significance for each generation. There is no denying the importance of Jesus in the history of the world and in the lives of around 2 billion people in the world today, who call Him by such titles as King, Lord, Saviour, Son of God. History is full of people who claimed to come from God, or to be gods, or to bring messages from God.
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Examining the facts
But how do we decide whether any of them are right in their claims? There are two good tests: reason and history – reason because everyone has it, and history because everyone lives it.
‘Shrove’ is a term associated with confessing sins. People are said to be ‘Shrove’ or ‘Shriven’ when they have admitted their failings. Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, is preceded by using up butter, cream and eggs, and consuming rich food in the home in preparation for a fast. Feasting followed by fasting! Pancakes are a good way to use up food, and pancake races became a traditional sport. One of the biggest Shrovetide celebrations is the Mardi Gras, which is held each year in New Orleans, USA. Mardi Gras means ‘Fat Tuesday’!
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Reason suggests that if any one of these people did actually come from God, then God would support the messenger’s claim by preannouncing their coming. Further, if God did not give His support there would be nothing to prevent any impostor from appearing in history claiming: “I come from God!” In such cases
there would be no objective historical way of testing the messenger. We would have only their word for it, and they could be wrong!
When people travel to a foreign country as diplomats, that country may request their passports and other documents as testimony that they represent another government. If such proofs of identity are required of delegates from other countries, reason certainly ought to demand
a similar level of scrutiny of messengers who claim to come from God. To each claimant reason asks:
“What record was there before you were born that you were coming?”
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. At an Ash Wednesday church service, ash is marked on a participant’s forehead in the form of a cross as a sign of penance (‘penance’ means expressing regret for one’s wrongdoings). This is a reminder of the sackcloth and ashes used as a sign of penance in the Old Testament of the Bible. When a person is signed with the ash, the following words are spoken: “for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). This reminder of the mortality of the human race starts the preparation for reflection and meditation, penance and prayer for the Easter festival. 6
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The Dead Sea Scrolls
In the Old Testament, written many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, one finds clearly predicted the virgin conception of the Messiah, His life, teaching and death. There are 322 references relating to this person to come. Can one doubt that the ancient predictions point to Jesus? No! Why? Because Jesus fulfilled every single one of them. When Jesus appeared, He struck history with such impact that He split it in two, dividing it into two periods, one before His coming, bc (Before Christ), the other after it, ad (Anno Domini – the year of the Lord).
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Over three hundred manuscripts, hidden for two thousand years, were discovered in 1947 in the Dead Sea area at Qumran. Since then, scholars have carefully studied these documents, most of which date from the time of Jesus. This vast body of Jewish literature helps us understand theology, rituals and pattern of everyday life within the Jewish world in which Jesus lived.
Another fascinating observation that separates Jesus from all other leaders is that every person who ever came into the world came ‘to live’. Jesus came ‘to die’. Death was a stumbling block to the philosopher Socrates – it interrupted his teaching. But to Jesus, death was His goal, and the new beginning. Few of His words are really understood without reference to His cross. 9