EDITOR'S NOTE: Every day from Ash Wednesday until Resurrection Sunday, we'll bring you one devotional from our archives about Easter, the miraculous joy of the Resurrection, confronting our guilt, or the resulting spread of God's Church. Check back every morning as you thank the Lord for His gift of victory over sin and death! And for Crosswalk PLUS subscribers: You can download a printable PDF version of our 40-Day Lenten Devotional here!
Quote of the Day
"It is impossible to omit from that ascended and reigning One the wounds He bears. They are part of His Personality and speak of the fulfillment of a purpose which was the purpose of God, and which was carried out by God in and through Jesus."
~G. Campbell Morgan (from "Does Jesus Still Have His Wounds?")
Today's Answer
Easter: Bigger Than Christmas?
Ray Pritchard
In our society there are two great religious holidays - Christmas and Easter. For most of us Christmas is the bigger and greater season of the year. It's the time of year when we gather with family and friends to sing carols, decorate the tree, and exchange gifts. Christmas is the climax of the whole year. Easter? Well, for most people it's just another long weekend, another chance to get away for a few days.
Even Christians view Easter as a second-rate holiday!
Somehow we've gotten our thinking badly mixed up. If Easter had not happened, Christmas would have no meaning. If the tomb is not empty, the cradle makes no difference. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he really is just a misguided Jewish rabbi with delusions of grandeur. If Easter is not true, then Christmas is only the story of an obscure baby born in an out-of-the-way village in a forgotten land 2000 years ago. It is Easter that gives Christmas its meaning.
You want proof? In all the New Testament no major doctrinal point is ever built upon the the virgin birth of Christ. Not one. It's true. It happened. But it's never discussed or mentioned. In fact, two gospels don't even say anything about it.
But the resurrection? That's a different story. In every part of the New Testament, it comes up again and again. Read the Acts 4:28. When the first Christians preached, they didn't mention Bethlehem; they talked about the empty tomb. They never got over the fact that on Easter Sunday when they went to the tomb, Jesus was gone.
Excerpted from "Easter Questions" by Keep Believing Ministries (used by permission).
Today's Video
What Happened on the Day Jesus Died?
Answered by Greg Laurie
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