Easter

One of the things I’ve sometimes thought about with having cancer is how thankful I am that I don’t know my future. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to live with the knowledge that I would one day have cancer. That would have scared me—and made me wonder when…when…when. When will the cancer start? Thank the Lord only He knows the future. This is good for us. However, for Jesus, it was the exact opposite. Unlike you and I who don’t even know what the next minute will bring, let alone tomorrow or next week, Jesus lived His life on earth knowing exactly how His life would go. He would suffer rejection, be constantly misunderstood, and ultimately, be killed by people who hated Him…and not just dying but hanging on a cross, naked and abandoned and alone.

One of the things that is so clear from studying John 13-16 for the last several weeks is that Jesus taught obedience to God the Father. But He not only taught that—He lived it. No matter how difficult God’s plan was, Jesus obeyed. You know, it’s easy to focus on the miracles that Jesus did—He did a lot of them. He healed so many people of so many different ailments and diseases. But you know, He never owned His own home…today, we would say Jesus was homeless. He didn’t have any belongings other than the clothes on His back. And He was hated. It wasn’t just that many disliked Him—people literally tried to kill Him again and again. The religious leaders were constantly trying to trick Jesus so they could arrest Him and kill Him. Jesus was a wanted man. Did you realize that? On top of this (as if that’s not enough), Jesus did all these great works but very few people actually heard what He taught. Very few people understood Jesus. Very few truly believed He was the Son of God—even though He told them again and again, and proved it with His miracles over and over. That had to get pretty tiresome for Jesus, don’t you think? Yet He put up with it all. Why? Because He loved God. And because loving God was His number one priority, Jesus’s days were lived obeying God. There simply was no other way for Him to live. Because He loved God that much, it was only possible for Him to do what pleased God. So, Jesus obeyed God the Father no matter what it cost Him. And it cost Him everything…His life…a terrible death on a cross.

But you see, Jesus whole purpose in coming to earth was to die on that cross. He knew that. But the knowledge that He would die on a cross for the sins of man didn’t stop Him from doing the work that God had for Him to do. The cross didn’t scare Him. So I think about cancer and how hard the journey has been so far. But the truth is that this is nothing compared to the suffering that Jesus suffered. And I don’t mean just the physical suffering of hanging on the cross. More importantly, Jesus suffered the penalty for my sin. If you put your faith in Jesus, then He paid the price for all your sin too as He hung there on the cross. The Bible says that He did this for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). How could there be joy hanging on the cross? Because Jesus knew that when it was all over, He would be the victor. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ would overcome death. So. These are the realities that I treasure: 1) that Jesus suffered much more than I and He knows my pain. He understands because He also suffered (Hebrews 4:15); and 2) He rose from the dead. Jesus is victorious over death! For all who believe in Him, there is life eternal in glorious heaven with Christ. That’s what Easter is all about: Jesus paid the penalty for sin and rose from the dead. If you put your faith in Jesus, you have life eternal, not just after you die but right now. I pray you choose life. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.