What Is Easter All About?نموونە

We Needed a Savior … 

Things were getting worse. But God kept offering His love to this world all along the way. He never gave up on us. He knew it would take time for us to understand and follow the trail of love He was carving throughout history to lead us back to Him. 

Sin had twisted the world God made so badly. It had twisted the hearts of men and women everywhere. Fighting, hatred, envy, lying, cheating, stealing, and so many more sins piled on top of one another, making the price of all this sin higher and higher. 

But God had a plan. Watch this video to see what God planned to do for the world. Hint: He was putting together a huge win—for you! 

Did you hear the part of this video that said, “Sin is expensive”? What does that mean?

Well, thousands of years ago, it was expensive to the family because God asked people to sacrifice a healthy and strong animal as an offering for their sins. It was a way to get people’s attention. It cost them something. And maybe God knew it helped them to stop, slow down, and consider the impact of their sins on the world around them. Sin caused death, and sin cost death.

But the sacrifice didn’t last. And the sins kept coming. There was only one way to pay the price that sin cost God’s beautiful creation, and people couldn’t pay it. People can’t be perfect. Only God is perfect. So God was the only one who could pay the price of the sins of the world. And He started to spread word that He would do it. He would send a savior. Someone to pay the cost once and for all.

Today, you’ll read some of the prophecies in the book of Isaiah, written around 700 years before Jesus was even born. It tells the story of a man who was despised and rejected, treated harshly, killed, and put in a rich man’s grave. But it also says that He would bear the punishment for sin! Guess who it’s talking about? It’s the savior of the world! Jesus! 

It’s strange to read because a lot of it is in the past tense, but it’s actually talking about things that hadn’t happened yet. That’s because in the ancient Hebrew language this Scripture was written in, there wasn’t a way to talk in the future tense. It wasn’t a language that has true tenses like English. The passage you’ll read today was written in what’s now often called the “prophetic tense.” It was often used to describe something that was so sure to happen, that it was as if it had already been done. People reading it when it was written knew it hadn’t happened yet based on context. They knew it was pointing toward the coming savior because there was no savior at all who carried the sins of God’s people when this passage was written. It was good news. But it would be a long time before this savior would get here.

It’s not Easter yet, but we’re beginning to hear about its coming! 

Ask yourself: Why is it sometimes hard for people to believe that God’s grace is free? When it’s time for me to forgive someone, is it easy or do I want them to feel bad before I forgive them? 

Pray: God, thank You for loving us enough to pay the price of our sins for us. We could never pay that price. Thank You for being so generous toward us. Your grace is absolutely amazing. In Jesus’ name, amen.