Our pastor had been preaching a series of sermons on the specifics of Jesus dying on the cross. It is not that I don’t appreciate the significance of what my Savior did for me, it is just that I get a little nauseated hearing about the brutality of the event. So when my daughter passed me a note, I welcomed the diversion.
Her note asked me why Jesus had to die on the cross. I wrote back the answer she already knew – to take away the punishment for our sins. He was our substitute. God made the rule before time began that if we sin, we will die a spiritual death. But knowing we would all sin and desiring to be with us forever, He had a way for our spirits to be reborn. Jesus experienced this death in our place, but He had the power over death and He rose again on the third day. If we accept Him as our substitute and make Him our Lord, God will take us back to live with Him forever.
Basically, I had written her a small book. She whispered back that she knew all that, but why did the people want him to die. I wrote back that Jesus claimed to be God and it made the Jews mad. Since the Romans really didn’t care, the Jews convinced them that Jesus also claimed to be their King. This made the Romans go along with the crowd and crucify Jesus.
But the look on her face told me she was frustrated. I still had not answered her question. She whispered, “I mean, why do they kill him every year.”
“They don’t,” I replied. “He only died one time about 2,000 years ago.”
“Then why do we keep saying ‘He rose again’ every Easter?” she asked.
Wow, isn’t it amazing how the things we say can so easily be misinterpreted. When I explained to her how we just celebrate the resurrection every Easter and Jesus doesn’t actually come back every year to be crucified again and raise Himself from the dead again, I could see the light of understanding come on inside her. She was really happy that He only had to die once for all people.
I am really happy Jesus died once for all too. I hope everyone will celebrate our risen Savior this Easter with the happiness of my little girl. Happy Easter!
