DAY 1 – Easter Devotional

Scripture

And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.

Genesis 3:15 (NLT)

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

John 1:29 (NLT)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 19:42 (NLT)

And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Acts 13:35 (NLT)

Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.

Introduction: Prophetic Fulfilment of the Death and Resurrection of Christ

As we celebrate the true meaning of Easter this week — the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ — let us be reminded that the cross and resurrection was always God’s plan from the beginning.

God’s essential attribute of omniscience (or being “all-knowing”) means that He is fully aware of the entire timeline of history. In the “eternal timeline” of God, everything that is currently happening or is yet to happen, has already happened.

God, therefore, was not “caught off guard” by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in Genesis, nor by our own sin, for the Bible says that the Lamb of God was slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Planned from the Beginning

This means that the death of Christ for the atonement of our sins was planned even before humanity had sinned.

In fact, the first prophecy of Christ in Genesis 3:15 points to the crushing defeat of the enemy through the crucifixion. The cross was an intentional act of the sovereign power of God, and was the means by which God would defeat the power of sin.

The Crucifixion Prophesied in the Passover

The Exodus was a significant moment in Israel’s history referenced over 120 times in Scripture. God performed miraculous signs to deliver Israel, and the final sign was the Passover, where they needed to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and cover its blood on the wooden doorposts of their house, protecting them from judgement against Egypt’s disobedience.

God commanded the Israelites to celebrate the Passover every year as a reminder of His salvation. It is therefore interesting that the night of Jesus’ crucifixion was the same night in which the Passover lambs were sacrificed (John 19:42).

For Christians, the blood of Christ upon the wooden beams on the cross is a representation of our Passover lamb Who saves us from the consequences of our own sin, and the necessary judgement of God. To those who put their faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, they are completely saved from their sins.

The Resurrection Prophesied in the Psalms

Paul, who was a vehement persecutor of Christians and denier of Christ, had experienced a life-defining encounter with the resurrected Christ. In his sermon about the resurrection, he references David from Psalms 16:10 in Acts 13:35:

35 For this reason He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.’

Paul reminds us of the promise of God spoken through King David who had foreseen a figure of a ‘Holy One’ Whom God would not allow to experience decay, and Who would ultimately resurrect from the grave.

As we celebrate Easter this year, let us be reminded that God had salvation in His heart from the very beginning. The death and resurrection of Christ was intended by the will of God from creation so that God can reveal His goodness, glory and power even in the midst of death and darkness. God is always in control, and has divine authority over the events of our lives, and is intimately involved in turning all situations around for our good!