The chaos increased by the hour. Uncertainty and fear took hold. Panicked people began to fend for themselves.
Those sentences could easily be headlines describing events in our world today. They also vividly describe another time—the most significant event in history, the first Easter.
Everyone on edge. Tension in the air.
Something big was going to happen. But what?
A final meal. A betrayer identified.
A lonely garden. Desperate prayers. Tears of blood.
An arrest. Then, fear and chaos. “Everyone deserted him and fled.”
Trials. Beatings. Mockery. A crazed crowd screaming, “Crucify him!”
A cross on a hill. Crucifixion. Lots cast for his clothes.
Final words. “It is finished.”
Darkness filled the sky. The earth quaked.
Questions, doubts, fear and panic gripped his followers.
Time passed. Minutes turned to hours and days.
Angels appear. An empty tomb.
“He has risen!”
“Do not be afraid. Go and tell the others…”
“Peace to you!”
Disbelief turns to worship.
Amid the chaos, complexity, change, and challenges around us, Easter's cross and empty tomb remind us to keep focused on the One who has overcome the world. Click To TweetThe One who has overcome sin and death.
Whatever the circumstances, let’s keep our eyes fixed on the One who has no equal. The One who brings light in the midst of darkness. The One who brings hope in the midst of chaos. The One who is our Prince of Peace in the midst of turmoil. The One who gives us new life through His sinless life; loving and obedient sacrifice on a cross; and victory over death.
Because Jesus changes everything.
Dr. Steve A. Brown
President, Arrow Leadership
[adapted from previous work by Dr Steve A. Brown, 2020]
