The Names of Jesus: A Holy Week DevotionalSample

Day 8: Easter Sunday

By Mac Mood

Seacoast Johns Island Campus Pastor

Savior

And now he [God] has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. 2 Timothy 1:10 (NLT)

In 2012, my mother was dying. She needed a transplant and had been waiting on a very long list for some time. It was beyond painful to watch her fade away, knowing there was nothing I could do to prevent it. The hour before we received the call of a possible organ match, I had helped my mother to bed and then told my wife that I didn’t think Mom would wake up in the morning. When that phone call came, words cannot capture how I felt, how my family felt. Over the next few months, my mother went from near death to flourishing in life.

But it came at a cost.

A family had suffered a tragic loss and then made a sacrificial choice that brought life to my family. The incredible and far-reaching impact that sacrificial act has had on me, my wife, and children, and on my mother, is immeasurable. I treasure the last twelve years and all the moments that my family has been blessed to share with my mom. The regular phone calls, the days full of laughter spent with our children, and time at church together have demonstrated God’s blessings and goodness. My mother was saved because of a tremendous sacrifice made by another.

It makes me think of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us. His sacrifice was not just for one broken situation or one person but for all of us. Not just for me and my mom. All of us. Jesus’ sacrifice brought life, abundant life, within reach of everyone.

2 Timothy 1:10 tells us that Jesus stepped in as the ultimate Savior to demonstrate God’s abounding goodness and His sacrificial love. “He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.” He stood between us, the entirety of humanity, and destruction. But it came at the price of Jesus’ life.

It is easy to passively describe him as the Savior of the world, but there was nothing passive about it. He chose to sacrifice himself so that we would be made right with God. His sacrifice was the most astounding and impactful act the world could ever know.

This Easter, let’s celebrate Jesus as our sacrificial Savior, knowing that he offers us not only an abundant life in the here and now but in eternity!

He is Risen.

Reflect: What loving sacrifice have you or your family experienced that helps you better understand what Jesus did for humanity?