Why is Easter Important?

So…why is Easter so important to Christianity?

The obvious answer is (I assume most people would say) JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD! But why is that important? I pray that I have found the answer. This is what I have found; so far, forgive me if I missed something.

The resurrection is important for many reasons, but the most important reasons are the following:

1. It fulfilled the scriptures and Jesus’ prophecy.
2. It gave “us Christians” a foundation for our beliefs.
3. It turned the disciples, from regular men and women, into prophets.

It fulfilled the scriptures…

What scriptures did it fulfill? It would fulfill the scriptures that were written (in the Old Testament) and the scriptures that would be written years after the resurrection. In Mathew chapter 24, after leaving the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus tells his disciples that this temple will be destroyed. This is the same temple that Jesus talks about in John chapter 2; Jesus says that this temple will be destroyed and in three days he will raise it up. What is Jesus talking about? The answer is quickly and easily found in Revelations 21:22 “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” Jesus is the temple! Yes, and Jesus is the same temple that they were talking about in the Old Testament (Ezra 5:16). The death and resurrection in Jerusalem brings it all together…it had to happen this way. The temple was destroyed, but in three days it was back up.

It gave “us Christians” a foundation for our beliefs…

As Christians we need a solid foundation for our beliefs, solid ground from which to build our belief system. Where do we start? What essentially is a “Christian”? Jesus gives us this answer, it can be found in chapter 16 of Mark and Chapter 20 of John. After he rises from the dead, Jesus appears to the disciples so that they believe he has risen from the dead. He knows that they NEED to see this. But the message that he gives to the disciples is simple, and it is the foundation for Christianity: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”(John 2o) We, us Christians, are the blessed. There is nothing more essential to Christianity than this belief! It is believing, without seeing, that we are Christians.

It turned the disciples, from regular men and women, into prophets…

What followed after Jesus’ resurrection is what gave us the books Mathew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. After Jesus died, the disciples ran inside and locked the door. They were scared, they knew everything that had just happened, and they were devastated. Jesus came back, he rose from the dead, to tell them that they needed to go out and spread Christianity to the world (Mathew 28). He even came back a week later (after his resurrection) to tell a few of them that he was serious—they needed to go out and spread Christianity: “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21) But Jesus was not going to send them out without the proper tools and training for this new job, being a prophet is serious business. He told them to wait in the city for a little while longer and he would send the Holy Spirit to empower them—the Holy Spirit would turn them from regular men and women into prophets. This spawned the first Christian Saints: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24) What did God promise the disciples? Truth! “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 16) This is what led to the disciples doing some amazing things—instantly learning new languages, healing the sick, casting out demons, and converting nonbelievers.

So…Happy belated Easter!