Hello. A quick one today as we go into the Easter weekend. Tomorrow is Good Friday, where
we take some solemn time to remember that Jesus was put to death by Roman soldiers at
the request of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. But this is not the focus of Easter. On Sunday,
our solemn contemplation turns into a joyful celebration because this man was raised back
to life. Jesus said many things about himself and actually he placed himself at the same level as
the Jewish God Yahweh, which probably explains why he wasn't too popular with the religious leaders.
Several people are recorded as being raised back to life, brought back from the dead in the Bible,
but Jesus didn't consider himself as an average man. So if this man was raised back to life,
it says a lot about who he is and who he said he was. Not only this, but all the others who
were brought back to life will die again one day. But Jesus will never die. He was raised
back into heaven and he will be seated at the right hand of Yahweh God forever, equal to him.
This was to fulfill a lot of things that were said about him, that a man would come who would be
shepherd over the people, he would be king of the people whose reign would never end,
and he would be a priest who would sacrifice on our behalf. When you accept Jesus, you become
one of his flock and he will tirelessly look after and defend you. You'll become a member of
his kingdom, subject to his perfect laws and this kingdom will never end. You will live with him
forever. One day this will be a perfect existence in a new and better creation, not subject to the
brokenness and the suffering that we see today. Finally, he becomes your priest and in times
gone by we would have had to sacrifice to God or your gods and this would be for your wrongdoing
and this would be a continuous process because you would never truly be able to right your wrongdoings
because the animal that you sacrifice would be imperfect. After all your sacrifice would be
imperfect but Jesus was a perfect sacrifice. He was a perfect man. He was a godly sacrifice
and there was nothing more to do after that. He has done everything that he needed to on the cross
and this is why we celebrate the cross because it's the center of our existence. It's our hope for
the future where pain, suffering and all types of abuse will end and we will live with him forever.
If Jesus is not your king or your priest or your shepherd but you long for a hope for the future,
I would so warmly encourage you to find a Christian who will tell you about him. Find a Bible. You
might have one lying around at home but you can download an app for free on your phone and I would
point you in the direction of the Gospel of John and you can read for yourself about this man.
It will take you no more than an hour to read the whole thing and you will see who he was. You'll
see the things that he did, the things that he said about himself and maybe you'll feel drawn to
him like so many billions have been over the course of history and you will find peace,
rest and love and hope for the future. God bless you this Easter wherever you are,
whatever you're doing. Peace be with you in Jesus name.