Learn About and Reflect on Three Different Verses of the Bible Celebrating Easter Sunday

The message of salvation is that God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die so that people might be saved from their sins. Why did Jesus have to die? Why are people called sinners? What happens to a person when he becomes “saved”? These are very important questions because in order to be saved one must know the answers to them.

Genesis states that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. On the seventh day he created man in his own image. We all are very familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. The story of Adam and Eve plays an integral part in answering these three important questions. God gave Adam and Eve the whole Garden of Eden. He allowed them to eat from every tree in the garden except for the tree that he called “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (see Genesis 2:17). Although Adam and Eve understood God’s commandment, they could not resist the devil who said that eating from that tree would open their eyes and make them as gods. Eve ate from the tree first and then tempted Adam who also ate from the tree. This disobedience is also known as “the fall of man”. Because Adam sinned there was curse placed upon the whole human race (see Romans 5:12). When Paul, in Romans 5:8, calls all of us sinners, this is what he means. Because of Adams disobedience, sin and death passed unto all men.

Further along in the Old Testament, God commanded that a bullock be burned to atone for the sin of the people (see Exodus 29:36). The definition of atone is to make reparation for. The burning of the bullock redeemed the people from sin. This was God’s commandment. The tabernacle was a holy place and God did not want anything that was unholy in his tabernacle. In order to enter the tabernacle, a person’s sin had to be atoned for.

This is the crux of why Jesus had to die. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins of the world (see John 1:29). There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, (see Hebrews 9:22) therefore according to God’s commandment something had to die to make up for the sin that Adam passed on to the whole human race. When Jesus died, his blood atoned for our sin so that a believer might be redeemed. Being redeemed, the believer can then enter God’s tabernacle holy and free of sin.

John 12:32
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Equally as important as the death of Jesus is his resurrection. Jesus died not just to die but to be risen again. This resurrection is symbolic of what God does to a person when he becomes a Christian. It is also a foreshadowing of what happens to a person when they go to heaven (see 1 Corinthians 15:49). The resurrection is the hope of a Christian. Christians hope that one day they will be resurrected again to live with God in heaven forever. Paul states that if the only thing Christians have to look forward to in this life is death, then we are miserable. However, because Jesus rose from the dead, and promised that all who believed in him will also resurrect, there is hope for Christians in life on this earth(see 1 Corinthians 15:52).

The word “draw” in John 12: 32 also has some significance. God cannot force anyone to believe in him. It is by grace that ye are saved (see Ephesians 2:5). This grace is what saves people from sin. But it is also this grace that makes people willingly believe. Jesus does not force men to him, he draws men unto him (see John 6: 44).

When Christ arose he arose in the flesh. He could be touched and seen and recognized. He visited his apostles and supped with them. He was on earth for forty days before ascending into heaven. While on earth after his resurrection, Jesus gave Peter the mission of the great commission. He made Thomas believe by letting him touch the holes in his hands and his side. He fulfilled the prophecy of the scriptures by dying and rising from the dead.

Matthew 28: 6
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

There have been many fulfillments of the scriptures but none as glorious as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Jesus lived, the Pharisees sought to kill him because he was creating quite a following. He was getting people to believe in him and was making the Pharisees look bad. This is one of the reasons why they crucified him. After Jesus was dead, the problems did not end for the Pharisees. Jesus prophesied many times during his ministry that he would die and be raised on the third day. The fact that this did actually occur scared the Pharisees for two reasons. The first is that Jesus had actually fulfilled his own prophecy and that it would cause an uprising because of a false accusation. The moment Jesus died there was a great earthquake and the veil of the temple tore in two. This caused one of the people watching the crucifixion to say “truly this was the Son of God” (see Matthew 27:54). The second reason which struck fear in the hearts of the Pharisees was Jesus continuing his ministry. His teachings drew people away from their synagogues and that affected their treasury. With Jesus still around, he was a threat to their livelihood. They created stories that the body of Jesus had been stolen so as to impugn the credibility of Jesus (see Matthew 28:12, 13).

When the women went to see the tomb and saw that no one was there, it also fulfilled another prophecy. Jesus had to leave the earth so that the Holy Ghost could begin his ministry. Another name for the Holy Ghost is the Comforter. The Holy Ghost is the great teacher and would provide guidance to the apostles in their ministry (see John 16: 7). When Jesus was with his apostles after his resurrection he breathed on them, blessing them with the Holy Ghost (see John 22, 23). This power of the Holy Ghost gave them the power to heal, and forgive sins. Although it was sad for the women to not see the body of Jesus in the tomb, they should feel comforted that the ministry of the Holy Ghost had begun.