Hey Jammers! Graciepopstar91 here, with actually no crazy intro this week.
You guys: GAAAAAAAAAASPPPPPPPPP
Hehehehe I don't really see how a crazy intro would work for this kind of a post so.. (Even though they don't work with any of my posts XDD)
Today's post is going to be about Easter, and how Jesus's death and resurrection was for you, and for me. Let's get started!
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A lot of people tend to think that Easter is all about bunnies, eggs, getting together with family, candy, etc.. But, that truly isn't what Easter is all about, which some people don't know.
My dad says that Easter is actually one of the most biblical holidays if you think about it.
Before we talk about the real story of Easter, let's read the real story about Easter! The story of Easter can be found in the Bible in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but today we're going to be looking at Matthew.
Matthew 27:11-66, 28:1-10
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Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watchover him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stoneand posting the guard.
Jesus Has Risen
28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
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Even though I've heard the story of Easter so many times, I still love it so much. It's just incredible to think how Jesus was beaten for us. He died for us. He rose again for us.
I don't understand how so many people have made Easter into something it's not. The bottom line of Easter is, Jesus died, and rose again, for our sins. So we wouldn't have to constantly carry the weight of our sins, and have death glooming over us.
If you want to have your sins forgiven, all you have to do is ask God to forgive them, and to not purposely sin. God can forgive you, no matter what you've done.
If you want to start a relationship with the God who forgives your sins, and loves you so much that he died and rose again to do so, all you have to do is,
1. Confess your sins
2. Confess Jesus is Lord. He's the one true God.
3. Maybe pray something like this, (in your own words)
Jesus,
I want to be saved. I want LIFE! I confess my sins and ask for forgiveness. I believe that You loved me so much that You came to die on the cross for my sins and that You rose from the dead to defeat all sin and death once and for all. I receive Your love, grace, and the gift of eternal life today! I put my old life behind me and choose to trust and follow You alone as my personal Lord and Savior.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Most people from there would act you're good. Continue living the life you were.
But, there's a very important part of living a new life as a Christian. You'll desire to have a relationship with God. You'll desire to change.
In having a relationship with God, you'll want to get to know Him through His Word. You'll want to talk to Him through prayer. You'll want to worship Him through music, or through prayer.
You'll also desire to change. You won't want to live in sin anymore. If you truly change your life to follow Christ, you can't stay the same. You shouldn't want to listen to trashy, displeasing music, or read displeasing books, or watch displeasing movies. You'll want to just drown yourself in Christ, because He's the only thing that's true, and right.
So, this Easter, what do you choose? Do you choose to follow Christ, and stop focusing on the man-made traditions of Easter? Of course, I'm not saying you shouldn't hang out with family, or make Easter baskets and stuff. Just don't get too wrapped up in that, because the real reason for Easter is Jesus. This year, try honoring God more in those areas. Maybe you can talk to your family members who don't know Christ about the real reason for Easter, or put in chocolate crosses in your siblings Easter baskets.
Whatever you do this year for Easter, do it to the glory of God!
~Graciepopstar91
