What is Easter Anyhow?
On Good Friday every year, the church I attend hosts a six and a half mile hike from the far side of the city into the neighboring town where the church is located. They call it the “Christ Walk”, and it’s done in remembrance of the walk Jesus made to his crucifixion on Golgotha. In addition to what is already an Appalachian challenge, they carry with them a large, wooden cross realistically depicting the wearisome walk Jesus made to His death. Some of you may have witnessed this a time or two. It’s really quite remarkable, although I will suggest that the majority of people who see this reenactment don’t entirely get it, myself included.
I’m not suggesting that those who witness this dedicated parade don’t understand its purpose, but rather that the whole Easter story is a such a stretch of our senses, that without faith Jesus can seem almost as fantastical as the Easter bunny. The idea that He died for me and then rose again is complex and confusing without an understanding of God’s nature, the history of man’s sin and the history of the animal sacrifices required to maintain a relationship with Him. If we can’t grasp that…hearing that Jesus died for us may be just a bunch of words that never truly penetrate the brain. According to Jesus, in a conversation with his disciples, it is only by the revelation of God that we understand the things of God.
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Matthew 16:15-17 NIV
The question then is, how does God reveal His truth in a way that will help us to trust in something so absolutely impossible? The answer is found throughout the Bible, through the testimonies of the characters God revealed Himself to, whether through healing or some other miraculous deed. It is these events that act as a catalyst for growing our faith. It was in their time of need that God responded and these broken humans discovered His awesome presence in our world. For me, it was through my dramatic salvation experience that He showed Himself. I called out in my darkest hour and He rescued me in ways that can’t be explained by anything other than a supernatural God who heard my cry.
Once God demonstrates His supernatural presence, it becomes easier to believe in the impossible. As we step out in obedience, our faith grows and the enigma begins to unfold before our eyes. We don’t have to fully comprehend the crucifixion of Christ or His resurrection from death to have faith that it actually occurred. We just need to seek God and he will build our faith in ways that baffles the minds of intellectual men. Easter 2022 is in the past, yet one day our answer to that question, “who do you say that I am”, will point us in the direction of our eternal home. If we’re waiting for the answer to make rational sense, we miss the point of faith. For once we have seen with our eyes, faith is no longer necessary for belief, yet it is only by faith we are saved by this Jesus who took on the sins of every man to reconcile the world to God. It is something to ponder as we close this Easter season.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—Ephesians 2:8 NIV
