Why Easter is So Important
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;” (Revelation 1:18)
Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead after He died for our sins. Easter celebrates the fact that we have a living Saviour! Jesus’ atoning death for us was foretold in the Old Testament.
Jesus had to die because nothing we do can atone for sin. We first see this truth in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, “…they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.” (Genesis 3:7) In a sense, they were trying to cover their sin by their works. Yet works cannot cover sin. Genesis 3:21 says, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
This truth is also seen in Genesis 4:3-5. It says, “…Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.”
Abel obeyed God in how he offered a sacrifice. Cain did not. God obviously had given Adam specific instructions on how to offer sacrifice and Adam told both sons. Abel offered a sacrifice of an animal in ways God had specified. No doubt Cain knew these instructions, too, but he was determined to sacrifice fruit. In a sense, he wanted religion his way, not God’s, which is why God rejected his offering.
Both accounts were previews of Jesus’ atoning death. Innocent animals died to clothe Adam and Eve. An innocent animal was also the sacrifice that God accepted from Abel. We also see another preview of Jesus’ atoning death in Plague #10 in the book of Exodus.
The Hebrews were in bondage in Egypt. God had sent nine plagues upon Egypt, but Pharaoh would not let the children of Israel go. Plague #10 would be the death of every firstborn. God gave the children of Israel specific instructions on how to be spared from it. He told them to take an unblemished male lamb, kill it, and put its blood on the two side posts and the upper door post of their house. The unblemished lamb would be a preview of Jesus, also known as the Lamb of God, who was unblemished by sin.
The killing of the lamb would preview Jesus’ death. The lamb’s blood would be put into a basin, and a hyssop plant would be dipped into it. The bloody hyssop would be struck on the two side door posts and upper door post of the house. The motion of striking the posts would form a bloody cross. The children of Israel were also to eat the lamb, which is an illustration of receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour.
Old Testament sacrifices also did not atone for sins: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) Yet they previewed Jesus’ atoning death. Leviticus 17:11 says, “…it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
John the Baptist called Jesus “…the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Jesus let Himself be falsely arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced, and executed on a cross. Jesus “...bare our sins in his own body on the tree,” (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus’ death paid for the sins of everyone who would ever live. We may not understand how He could have done that, but we can trust God’s word that He did.
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822