Pastoral Letters

The True Meaning of Easter Sunday

April 9, 2023 Author:Elder Teo Chin Tian
Today, we celebrate Easter Sunday. In America people celebrate Easter by going for church services, hunting for Easter Bunny eggs and candies. During this Easter season you can find chocolate shaped like Easter Bunny eggs in various colours and widely available in many supermarkets. But what does Easter Sunday mean to us as a Christian? Easter, to a Christian, marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the third day after his death, Jesus Christ rose victoriously from the dead. His resurrection assures us of our salvation. Jesus Christ died to atone for our sins and make us righteous before our Holy Creator God. His resurrection assures us that we will be like Jesus Christ. We will not die but live forever. Although we may die, but when Jesus Christ returns, we who are dead will be resurrected and we who are alive will be raptured. Jesus Christ, by His resurrection, became the first fruits of those who have died. The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us the confidence that we too, will not die but will be resurrected from the dead just as Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead.

By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He has conquered death and sin. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians records this for us: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’, ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:51-57).

Death cannot hold Jesus Christ down. His resurrection gives us victory over death. Likewise, death cannot hold us down. Many people fear death and the unknown. Many seek to find immortality but failed to find it. Immortality is a gift from God. God demonstrated his love for us by sending his one and only son Jesus Christ. By Jesus Christ death on the cross, Jesus Christ has given us life and eternal life. The Word of God says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God in the Bible says of all of us that without exception we are sinners. As sinners, all of us must die. The good news is God loves us and demonstrated his love for us by sending Jesus Christ. He died for our sins so that we can live. His resurrection ensures our salvation. To obtain this immortality, we must first acknowledge we are sinners, believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that He rose victoriously from the dead on the third day for us. This is in accordance with John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God promises that those who believe in Jesus Christ would not die but have everlasting life.

If you have not, ask God to forgive all your sins and invite Jesus Christ to be your Saviour. By doing so, God promises you will become a child of God. This is the promise of God in John 1:12, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Once you become a child of God, no one can snatch you away from God the Father. In other words, you will never lose your salvation. God gives us this assurance in John 10:28-29, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” Christ’s death and resurrection secures your salvation and gives you everlasting life. If you have not believed and accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, may I urge you to do so today.

May this Easter be special. May this Easter give us an endless hope that we will not see death but will live forever with our risen Saviour Jesus Christ. Hallelujah to our Risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.