I read a message on the site below. You can click on it or read it below as I will state it here. I felt touched by the Lord to share it with you. If I may ask you: Do you know the real meaning of Easter? What do you celebrate every year at this time when the Christians celebrate Easter??
Please read the message below, and share it with your friends. Be blessed as you read.
http://www1.cbn.com/devotions/real-meaning-easter
The Real Meaning of Easter
The best way to understand the real meaning of Easter
would be from Jesus. The real meaning is a three word answer ... the new covenant.
The New Covenant
Jesus had come in town for the Passover celebration
and was getting ready to be betrayed by one of the disciples, publicly
humiliated and mocked, beaten beyond recognition, and hung on a cross to die,
when he made his special request for his followers to remember that He gave his
body for us and poured out his blood as a sacrifice for us. The heart of Easter
lies in his words, "the new covenant between God and his people."
In Luke 22 we get a picture of the night before his
death:
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down
together at the table. Jesus said, "I have been very eager to eat this
Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I
won't eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of
God." Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he
said, "Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine
again until the Kingdom of God has come." He took some bread and gave
thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples,
saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember
me." After supper he took another cup of wine and said, "This cup is
the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my
blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Luke 22:14-20
Passover and the New Covenant
Since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden,
people were destined to be separated from God because of their sin. God's
Spirit rested on the Patriarchs of our faith, but was not poured out on the
masses. The Holy of Holies was the innermost and most sacred part of the tabernacle
and ordinary people of faith would never get to have access to this place where
God's Presence could be found. We were hopeless in our sins and distanced from
God.
People of faith offered up animal sacrifices according
to the laws given to Moses to ask God to forgive their sins and have mercy on
them. Bulls, goats, and lambs each had their significance. But the lamb had
special meaning because it was lamb's blood the Israelites painted on their doorposts
to avoid death on the night of Passover. (Exodus
12:11-13)
God gave Moses and Aaron specific instructions on
how to honor God with annual Passover celebrations. Lamb is the pinnacle of the
Passover meal. The lambs were to be spotless and even lived with the families
for several days before they were sacrificed, adding to the understanding that
the ultimate sacrifice was close to the hearts of those whose sins were atoned
for. All of the many interesting details of celebrating Passover have significant
meaning that point to the ultimate Passover lamb - Jesus Christ - a sinless
God-man who lived among the people for a season.
What is the real meaning of Easter? In John 1:29, as he sees Jesus approaching, John the Baptist
announces to the crowd around him, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world!"
He knew that Jesus was the son of God, the long
awaited Messiah, the one whom God's prophets had promised to save mankind from
their sins and to give them a deep heartfelt relationship with God the Father.
The new covenant would be an everlasting covenant. (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Jeremiah
32:39-42, Isaiah
55:3) Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, our Savior, our God,
our Redeemer - he laid down his life as our sacrificial lamb to pay for our
sins. When he rose from the dead three days later, he gave victory over eternal
separation from God (death) to all who put their faith and trust in him. That
is the new covenant - everlasting life spent with God through faith in all that
Jesus Christ has done and continues to do.
Bible Verses
All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts
that this testimony is true. Those who don't believe this are actually calling
God a liar because they don't believe what God has testified about his Son. And
this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is
in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does
not have life. (1 John 5:10-12, NLT)
“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4,
KJV)
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, NLT)
Prayer
Father God, there is sometimes controversy about how,
when, and what to call the remembrance of the greatest day in history - the day
Jesus Christ, your beloved son, rose from the dead and brought the gift of your
forgiveness and eternal life to all who would like to receive it - the new
covenant. Please pour out your Holy Spirit on all who believe in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ and put us on our knees before you with thankful
hearts for your great love for us. You, oh God, have given us victory over sin
and death, and the promise of never leaving us or forsaking us for eternity.
Help us to be the body of Christ, the church, united in awe of how you saved
our unworthy souls ... your body and your blood as a sacrifice for us. Help us
to bring this message to all who will listen. Help us to love like you love.
Thank you forever! Amen.