Why Does Easter Matter?

Easter weekend has been and gone. Chocolate eggs have been consumed in vast quantities. Roast dinners have been had, sadly without extended family or friends around the table. Church services and events have marked the death and resurrection of Jesus in new ways during this lockdown period. Banks have taken holidays. But what does it all mean? What difference does all this make to our lives, now that the weekend is over?

The death and resurrection of Jesus is the single most important element of our faith, and yet we often fail to give the resurrection the attention it deserves. Not only does it undergird the Gospel, it enables us to live Jesus-shaped lives now. The cross is about the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection is about new life. Jesus didn’t stay at the point of death. We don’t stay at the point of death either in receiving Jesus, we are raised to new life because He was raised to life. Forgiveness and justification (our right standing before God) are completed through the resurrection.

This new life, this eternal life, is not just about what happens when we die. Not by a long shot! Eternal life has already begun for you if you’re a follower of Jesus. An empowered life is God’s gift to you – the resurrection power of Jesus. Easter is closely followed by Pentecost, when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you now (Romans 8:11), so how are you living in the resurrection power throughout your daily life?

Is the resurrection an event that you celebrate once a year or once a week on a Sunday, or is it a life-changing reality for you? The resurrection is not about how the story ends, it shows us our part in the story now. By the resurrection power in us through the Holy Spirit we are transformed to live out our faith in community and on mission.

How are you living in the reality of Jesus’ resurrection power this week?