Preparing your heart for Resurrection Sunday

We have been hearing a lot about ‘the heart’ in our study of Proverbs. So, I want to address your heart concerning the events of the coming week. Lord willing, on Sunday morning, we will celebrate another Resurrection Sunday together as a church family. Now, we know that every Sunday should celebrate the risen Christ. But there is something special about celebrating the resurrection at the time of Passover. The parallel should not escape us.

The Passover was a commemoration of the exodus of the Jewish people. They were in slavery to the Egyptians. They were powerless and unable to stand against the might of Pharaoh. The Hebrews needed a deliverer. A mediator or spokesman on behalf of God in the person of Moses. Despite the law-givers intervention, Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release the Jews. Moses instructed the people to sacrifice a lamb and to wipe the blood upon the door frame of their houses. That night the angel of death came and killed the first born of all those who did not have the mark of blood upon their homes. Pharaoh’s son, was one of those killed. In his grief, he relinquished and set the people free. And his pride got the best of him. He regretted his decision and sent his army after his former slaves. And as we well know, God destroyed his army in the Red Sea. Which only proves that Moses didn’t save God’s people. God did. The Passover feast was to be celebrated each year as a memorial of their delivery (Exodus 12:24-27).

The first Passover was a foreshadowing of the coming Christ. And truly to understand the joy of Resurrection Sunday, we must remember our state before Jesus rose from the dead. Our sin held us in captivity. We were unable to freely pursue God. Another mediator was needed. This time one greater than Moses- the Son of God (Hebrews 3:3). At the cross on Good Friday, rather than the sacrifice of a lamb, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice himself, eliminating the need for additional sacrifices (Romans 6:10). He freed us from our sins. He helped us escape the wrath of God that is to come. The proof was in the resurrection of our Lord. The sin debt had been paid. Those who have placed their faith in Christ’s atoning work are now free to be in a loving relationship with God. Only in light of our sin, which Jesus took from us at the cross, can we truly celebrate the magnitude of what happened on that Sunday when Jesus rose again (Galatians 4:7). When we think upon the cross, we do not do so under self-condemnation (Romans 8:1). But we do so to remember where we were and what we were freed from so that we might magnify Christ all the more (1 Timothy 1:15-16). So as you prepare for Sunday, take time to remember the cross and the price paid for your redemption. It will enhance your worship of Jesus as we gather to celebrate His great victory.