DEVOTION/ Why Is Easter important?

A day of rest

 Easter is a holiday that might remind us that spring is here. It includes dyed eggs, chocolate Easter bunnies, and lots of candy. People have celebrated Easter for many years. For God’s children, however, this is not the reason we celebrate Easter. We enjoy it because the first Easter was the greatest day ever!

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people worshipped on Saturday. They followed God’s command from Exodus 20 when he said: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work . . . . The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. But that changed after Jesus’ ascension. The Christians in the early church decided instead to worship on another day of the week in remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection—Sunday.

 The early Christians

 Why was Easter so important to the early Christians? The Bible tells us that Jesus is God’s Son, and he came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem. God designed a special plan to remove the curse of sin and death. It included Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus came to live a perfect life and his death on a cross removed the curse of sin, but that could not be the end of the story. Jesus needed to prove that death no longer had power over us. After Jesus died he was buried, and a stone was rolled in front of the grave. But the grave and the stone were no match for Jesus. Three days later he rose from the dead. He broke the power of death with a great victory.

That is important to God’s children. First Corinthians 6:14 says: By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Jesus’ victory over death proves that he will one day raise us from the dead. What comfort it is to know that God planned a way for us to be with him in heaven. And that plan was fulfilled on Easter Sunday long ago. What a message to share with others!

 “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23)

 Whenever the apostles preached they mentioned the resurrection. It was always the centerpiece of their message. Acts 4:2 tells us, They were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Why is the resurrection important? It’s because Jesus proved his power over sin and death. That same power will one day raise us to life everlasting. First Corinthians 15:20 (CEV) assures us Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life.

by Reynold Kremer