Letter to the Editor: Understanding Easter
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As we approach the Easter season, it is important to understand what it is all about. Although the secular world likes to talk about the Easter Bunny, all of that has absolutely nothing to do with the real meaning of Easter.
It is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave three days after his crucifixion on a cruel, rugged cross. Crucifixion, a preferred form of public execution used by the Roman government in those days, was the most painful, degrading, and humiliating form of public execution at that time. Its purpose was to make the person suffer as long as possible before they died. The victim of this process already had suffered a tremendous beating, called scourging, prior to being executed. This scourging, as painfully depicted in the movie "The Passion of the Christ," was extremely brutal and lasted for a good while. Some people did not survive the scourging.
Jesus Christ was put on trial at night, which was against the law. The custom was also to ask the crowd gathered to make a choice who would be crucified and who would be set free. They were given a choice: Barabbas, a murderer, or Jesus Christ, the son of God and the Savior of the world. The world, in its infinite stupidity, said let Barabbas go free. When asked what to do about Jesus, they said crucify him. What an insane choice, or was it?
Jesus died on the cross for our sins. he payment for our sins is death. It is a debt we owe and cannot pay because it required a perfect sacrifice, and Jesus Christ, being the only perfect one, was the only one who could pay that debt.
If Jesus had not been crucified and Barabbas had been, we would still be in our sins and would have to pay ourselves. Barabbas could not have died for our sins. He was not the perfect sacrifice, Jesus was.
Thank God that Jesus steadfastly went to the cross and willingly died for my sins and yours. Crucifixion did not kill Jesus, he willingly "gave up the ghost." Without that, we would still have a debt to pay.
Good Friday is a strange name for the day Jesus was crucified, but it was good, for us. Without our savior Jesus Christ paying for our sins, we would have no hope.
Turn to him today!
Robert Sadler
Marietta