Celebrating Easter vs. Living Easter

Happy Palm Sunday. We call that blessed day “Palm Sunday,” when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We believers see this event as the journey that Jesus had to take to redeem us. In Mark 10, He first instructs His disciples to do some preliminary work – get the very important vehicle He would use to make His entrance – a donkey. Such a humble animal; yet for Jesus, every move was about instructing; every move of His hand was to move us closer to God; every move of the needle was to keep our eyes on the big picture – God Himself.

So they had the donkey; what next? Jesus was to ride into Jerusalem – never mind that He had foretold in Mark 10:33-34 a dire forecast – “We are going up to Jerusalem, but I will be delivered to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Me to death and will hand Me over to the Gentiles, who will mock Me and spit on Me, flog Me and kill Me. And on the third day, I will rise again.” I wonder if His disciples were truly listening to the gory details? It is too much to take in, right? Too much to comprehend, right? How many of us can comprehend this harrowing narration today?

And so it seems that because we can’t comprehend this narration even now, many institutions (i.e., grocery stores, advertisers looking to sell something, even the church) have sensationalized Easter. We are quick to celebrate it. We love Easter, and rightly so because it reminds us of the price that bought our sin; the pain one Man had to pay to set us free. We are reminded of this pain when we watch Mel Gibson’ film “The Passion of the Christ.” Rightly put, the “Passion” of the “Christ” indeed. Jesus was so passionate to do the will of the Father that He paid the price that the Father requested of Him. And so when we celebrate this event, we are celebrating Him. We are celebrating what He has done. We are celebrating how it makes us feel – He took our shame, our burden, our guilt. He took what we deserved away from us. God knew we couldn’t bear it. He also knew how sinful we can become – and only His Son could cure us. Jesus tore the curtain and He gave us new lives. All that is to be celebrated. Yes, I understand why the crowd gathered with such enthusiasm and stripped their clothes before the King and Son of God.

And yet for what end will it be if all of that is just a celebration and nothing else? I love celebrating Easter also, but I want to celebrate in spirit and truth and not continue to have a sensational approach to Easter. And why do I say this? Easter is once a year! It is fleeting in the news, and can be fleeting in people’s minds. Easter is not a fleeting spiritual experience however. It is where we should live, move and have our being. Paul said it beautifully in Philippians 3:10 Amplified version – And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did].

I encourage you when you think of Easter not to be fixated on the palm leaves, Easter eggs, etc. I know the palm leaves are significant. I used to hand them out at church. They are a reminder, but they are not a heart reminder. They are just an illustration of what was; a symbol of what took place. They do not capture the integral detail of what it meant that He had to go to Jerusalem; why the importance, why the urgency, why did GOD want this?

I believe Paul did a good job in capturing the “why” in Philippians 3:10. For all that Jesus did to be worthwhile, then Philippians 3:10 must occur in our consciousness; if not, we have to ask ourselves this question – “what was the fruit of the foretold suffering”?

To bring context and enrichment I refer you to Philippians 3:7-9 – But whatever former things were gains to me [as I thought then], these things [once regarded as advancements in merit] I have come to consider as loss [absolutely worthless] for the sake of Christ [and the purpose which He has given my life]. But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him—a joy unequaled]. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him [believing and relying on Him], not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but [possessing] that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

We see in Paul (above scripture) the fruit of Jesus’ journey in Mark 11; we see in Paul the fruit of Jesus’ suffering. There should be no celebrating of Easter in a sensational way, otherwise we take His pearls and as swines we trample over them. Jesus’ pearls are so precious, so innate, so worth it. That was why Paul said “he” Paul counts everything as dung to know this Christ who rode on the donkey. On the day that Jesus rode on the donkey, the people did what they knew to do, took off their clothes and strewn them on the floor in worship. Well, many years have now passed; the Holy Spirit has now come; we are more savvy now; we know He really suffered; we know He did die for us; we know He rose again; we don’t need convincing; the Holy Spirit testifies of Him in our hearts.

And so where do we go from here? Celebrate Easter or live Easter? I believe Paul was asking us to live Easter. Focus on what Paul said again – he counts everything else as dung. All he wants is to know Jesus Christ. Yes, to know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did].

My friend, that is how we must live Easter today. I pray that at this moment of inflection we take time to ponder on how to live Easter everyday. Amen.

Linda Faith
Linda is a prolific writer. Her body of work includes inspiring poems, fictional books, and Christian living empowering books. You can find her work on www.amazon.com. Linda is also the pioneer of Joy Women, a platform she employs to inspire women all over the world to be all God has destined them to be. Read more about Linda at www.lindafaith.org.