Lets start with a history lesson: I am sure you have heard of Jesus. He wasn't liked by the religious leaders of the times. They hated him. Because of this they had him arrested. They wanted him dead.
They took him to Pilate who was the Roman Governor of Judea. He sent him to King Herod who was King of the Jews. King Herod sent him back to Pilate.
Here is why:
LK 23:13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him. "
As you can see neither Pilate nor Herod found any reason for their charges against Jesus, because of this Pilate wanted to let him go.
LK 23:18 With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man!
LK 23:20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
LK 23:22 For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."
LK 23:23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand.
The chief priests, the rulers and the people hated Jesus so much, they wanted him dead no matter what. So Jesus was unjustly crucified and then placed in a tomb with a stone rolled in front of it.
This is all part of Easter, but thank God it did not end there. Lets see where it goes:
LK 24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 `The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8 Then they remembered his words.
One thing you may notice is that women discovered the empty tomb. This is not a big thing nowadays, but back in them days woman didn't have any say what so ever. Their testimony didn't mean anything. My point? If the writers of the creation history wanted to make up a story about this, I really don't think they would have used women to find the empty tomb. Either way, the tomb was empty.
So what happened? Here it is in a nutshell:
Paul explains it in 1 Corinthians:
1CO 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Paul tells us why Jesus died for our sins, was buried and raised on the third day. Then he goes on, it didn't end with the empty tomb either. Jesus showed himself to many after his resurrection as proof.
What else does the resurrection due? It proves that if we die someday we too will be resurrected as promised. It isn't just empty words.
So what is Easter?
It is the resurrection of Jesus.
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