Whenever it is time to celebrate Easter, I get a bit tired of what is happening around me. Amongst all the bunnies, eggs and chocolate, I find it frustrating to see the significance of the Lord’s death in these celebrations. More so than at Christmas, with all the marketing and publicity the world gives to Easter, I find it hard to focus on the importance of the event we remember during this time.
The Significance of Easter
I am sure you find the same frustration within yourself, so I share a strategy that I have put in place for my own heart during this time. First, I focus on one aspect of the celebration I have not considered before. Then I spend time meditating on it, reading about it in scripture and finding its significance for my own heart. Then during the Easter weekend, I try to share this insight with as many people as possible, starting with my own family.
I have focused on that part of Jesus’ arrest, where He had to heal an ear. Luke 22:49-51 (Amplified):
“When those who were around Him saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus replied, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched the ear and healed him.”
When Peter chopped off the ear of the high priest’s servant, he was effectively messing up the future course of his life.
- He was motivated by what he thought should happen; he wanted to intervene in Jesus’ arrest because Peter believed, like all the other disciples, that Jesus was going to bring about a new political order in Jerusalem.
- He took matters into his own hands and intervened without authorization from Jesus.
- As a result, Peter’s actions caused harm to another citizen, the high priest’s servant, a well-known man in Jerusalem.
- He was looking at being arrested, imprisoned, and ultimately not fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. (Matt 16:18 “And I tell you that you are Peterand on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”)
Jesus stops everything, even the arrest process, to correct the path of Peter’s life.
- He stops everything by healing the ear of the servant firstly because He is the Healer and secondly because He didn’t want Peter’s impulsive actions to destroy his life. He effectively also “heals” Peter’s life.
- Jesus stopped everything, despite how He was feeling. Even though Jesus had just gone through an intense spiritual battle when He prayed in the garden; then was betrayed by a friend with a kiss, and now was facing the prospect of the cross and three days in the grave; Jesus stopped everything to heal the ear of the servant because He loved Peter.
- He did not leave Peter to clean up his own mess. He intervened to save Peter from a messy situation Peter had created for himself. He loved Peter enough to stop everything and fix the ear; He put things together to help Peter out of his mess. That just there my friend: is a picture of mercy.
Mercy is getting what you don’t deserve.
- Peter deserved the mess that he had made with his own hands, but Jesus is merciful and puts things together again, with a small insignificant ear, so that Peter can get out of his mess.
It strikes me that we all deserve what is coming to us due to taking our lives into our own hands. We all make a mess of our lives. But Jesus is merciful and gives us pardon for our sins and heals us. He restores our lives as He did for Peter because of His love for us.
In that part of the story of cr
ucifixion, where an ear is chopped off, is Jesus’ provision for our sin all over again.
We tend to judge others for the mess their lives are in, forgetting that Jesus has already extended His mercy to us, has already intervened in our lives and cleaned up our mess. He has given us what we do not deserve and restored our lives. Restoring our lives is so important to Jesus; his love for us is so great that He stops the mess in our lives to bring order into our lives and restore us to wholeness.
In an instant, Jesus can change the direction of our lives.
Thank You, Jesus, that, again and again, you show mercy to us, which we do not deserve. How often have we taken our lives into our own hands and messed up? But in a relationship with You, there is a new beginning, our mess is cleaned up, and You restore us to wholeness again. I bear witness, Lord, to Your supernatural power to turn my life around and bring us back onto Your path for our lives. Thank you for your death on the cross, to procure for me forgiveness of sin so that I may be in an eternal relationship with You and turn my life around.
May you and your family enjoy a special, blessed Easter, a season to remember the death of our Savior and His resurrection. Thank you for making me a part of your life journey and allowing me to share heart treasures in your life. You are special to me.
If you enjoyed this post, why not read:
Appreciating the Heart of Jesus
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