The Easter Story

The Easter Story is the most important store of the Bible. It is the story of God dying for His people. Imagine that, God himself died for His creation. In all of the journals and ideas of man, never has such an idea even dared to enter our thoughts, but God created this plan to restore man to himself after we sinned and turned our back on Him.

God created man and woman perfect. In Genesis 2 we learn that Adam and Eve talked with God directly. They enjoyed His perfect creation and enjoyed a perfect relationship with Him. There was no sin or shame. But the story does not go long before man wrecked this. We were the ones that chose ourselves over God. We brought sin, and death, sickness and pain into this world by rejecting God and His commands and trusting in ourselves. The first sin was a sin of idolatry – man wanted to make his own rules – to be like God (Gen 3:5). This sin brought all of the calamity that we see in the world today. But this also brought an irreconcilable divide between man and God. We cannot see God, or seek after Him.

Romans 3:10-12 – As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

But God did not leave us in this state. He promised man that He would restore man to himself. Only God could do that because man had nothing to bargain with. Man already lost his own life as punishment for sin, how could he bargain with God to pay this price? God told man back in the garden that He will send a deliverer that will conquer sin and restore mankind.

Genesis 3:15 – 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Thousands of years passed and we learn in Scripture that God is merciful and forgiving to those that seek Him. Finally, on a night when we least expect it, in a small virtually unknown town named Bethlehem, a baby is born and laid in a food troth. This baby is not like other babies, he is Christ, the son of God. Because this baby was the son of God, He would grow up and live a perfect life – sinless before God and man. He lived the life we cannot live so that He might pay the price for our sin. God himself came down to earth as a baby to suffer with man and pay the price for our sin.

Some celebrated, but many hated him. Many wanted nothing to do with him, and many even wanted to kill him. They captured him one night, and put him on trial. The convicted him, and crucified him. He died, a horrible death, and in so doing, he paid the price for our sin.

Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The story, though, does not end with his death, because three days later he rose from the dead. Jesus paid the price for our sin and died in our place. Then God raised him from the dead and he is alive forevermore. This is the story of those incredible nights.