His Solemn & Holy Sacrifice!!!
Easter is about so many things...but!
Beginnings
Easter….
For me, Easter is a special time of year. It is the time of my spiritual birthday. One year around Easter time, when I was young, my parents were visiting a church in the Los Angeles region. At that church they presented a play on the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7). There were probably some other things as part of their play, but it was the story of Stephen that captivated me. Here was someone who held so closely to his faith that he was willing to die for it. That courage, that conviction of truth pierced my heart.
So, when they gave the altar call at the end of the play, asking if anyone wanted to serve the Lord and give their heart to Jesus - I went up, alone and unaccompanied by my parents, at the age of 7 years old. My life has never been the same since. I am only here to write this post today because of my relationship (however topsy turvy it has been over the years) with my Heavenly Father, trusting in his blessed Son Jesus and being guided the Holy Spirit.
The single-most influential point I took from that fateful play was ‘Sacrifice’. If somebody believed in something so powerfully, so deeply that they would readily give their life for that. I wanted a part of it, hence I chose to believe in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
Easter Reflections
Now many decades after that decision, I find myself reflecting again at the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us and several things jump out at me as to the depth of that sacrifice.
There are a few main elements of Jesus’ sacrifice pre-crucifixion and post-crucifixion. These include:
He sacrificed his heavenly domain, and his divine nature to become human:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Think about that for a moment…think about our own lives and the struggles we face each and every day - physical, mental, spiritual and within our relationships. You get old enough and your body hurts, just getting up in the morning. I don’t know about you…but I can’t wait to have a new body, mine’s falling to bits. Yet, Jesus gave up having a perfect, immortal, divine body in order to be one of us to fulfil the mission of the Heavenly Father. More importantly, he gave up being immortal, so that he could die a mortal death, in order to defeat death for the rest of eternity.
Are we ready to sacrifice our bodies, our health - all for the sake of Jesus?
He sacrificed his career in order to enter into his ‘ministry years’:
“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" (Matthew 13:55)
Jesus would have learnt his father’s trade (which is a concept that is worth of its own post in the future), Joseph was a carpenter - so too would Jesus have been. In an age where stone and wood were the dominant building materials, a carpenter would have been a reliable steady source of income. Yet he laid all this behind in order to be obedient to his Heavenly Father, and go about His business here on Earth.
Are we willing to sacrifice our lifestyles in the name of ministering to others and to be obedient to the calling of the Lord on our lives?
He sacrificed the stability of having his own home:
"Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58)
In order to go where the Holy Spirit Guided him, Jesus could not have a home to tie him down to a specific place. It allowed him to move about, ministering and teaching to those that he came across. It allowed him to gather disciples from a range of locations. It also meant that he didn’t have to worry about having to pay for it’s upkeep (etc). It gave him a freedom that many of us can only wish for.
Yet the question remains…are we tied to our lifestyles and to our homes that we salve away at paying for? Or are we ready to be torn up and moved about for the Kingdom of God?
He gave his life - willingly:
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18)
It was the Heavenly father’s will that Jesus die on the cross, and be raised to life again. Jesus was being obedient to his Father’s will for him, and for the sake of humanity. Those who have served with the military (or with first responder type roles), or know people who have understand the cost of being willing to lay down your life for others. It is not an easy decision, nor is it one that is taken lightly.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)
I personally know several people who grew up in Christian homes, and heard the Word of the Lord preached every Sunday - yet when they came to grasp with the notion of being a martyr for the Kingdom of God, they decided to walk away from the faith and follow their own desires. Yet, so many Christians over the ages have died for their faith in Jesus - perhaps we too will have to make that decision in the days and years to come. Are we ready to pay the same price Jesus did for us?
The Ultimate Victory
In wrapping up this post I’d like to consider 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, which says…
"I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
This…this is the ultimate victory…death has been defeated by Jesus in his glorious resurrection. No matter how difficult our lives have been, no matter how ill and broken our bodies have become, no matter if we have lived but a short time, or a long time…Jesus’ work on the cross has paved a way for us to be in eternal relationship with the Heavenly Father, and to have eternal bodies that are not tarnished by sin and brokenness.
Yet, this victory would have been impossible if it were not for the supreme sacrifice Jesus paid, and chose to pay - for each and every one of us. We cannot possibly celebrate Easter and contemplate its meaning without discussing and pondering the impact of sacrifice has on our lives - both in this life and the next.
Final Prayer
Today, I pray that if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour that you ask him to become Lord of your life by acknowledging your sin and brokenness, and by simply believing that Jesus is the Son of God, who died and was raised to life.
To those who already have a relationship with Jesus Christ. May your faith be strengthened in these days. May you draw close to the Heavenly Father. May you be obedient to the calling that he places on your life, even if it means sacrifice on your part. Be strong, remember that “Greater is He that is you, than he who is in the world”.