What brings thoughts of spring to your mind? Baby chicks, ducks, or playful little goats? Green grass? Daffodils, lilacs, and azaelas in full bloom? All kinds of new life unfolds under bright blue sunny skies.

Or maybe, it’s Easter. As a child, my family always spent spring break at our San Juan Capistrano beach cabin. When Easter Sunday arrived my cousins, sisters, and I went for a long walk on the sand so the Easter bunny could come. Upon return, we’d hunt among the couches, lamps, and our old chest-high cabinet radio for jelly beans and baskets full of goodies.

Little did I know about a far more significant reason for the holiday. And, many today know even less than I did then. It’s a shame because in a world filled with chaos, confusion, and cancer–Jesus shines hope even brighter than the sun’s rays on the ocean waves.

Was That Friday Really Good?

Celebrating Easter by going to church was one thing, but it took years for me to comprehend why Christians called the day Christ died on the cross–“good.” Mel Gibson’s movie,  “The Passion of the Christ depicts the agony of Jesus’s last moments in living color. In his review of the film from a biomedical/engineering perspective, Alex Metherell, a medical doctor with a PhD in engineering, shows how the torture was even worse. In recounting the history of crucifixion, Mertherell said:

The Romans eventually perfected it to produce the maximum pain and suffering possible with the greatest degree
of humiliation for the victim. This is why the victims were nearly always completely naked.

As only someone with Metherell’s credentials can do, he provides details that Gibson’s movie couldn’t put on the big screen. Yet despite explanations of words like “excruciating,” Metherell’s article claims this is “The Most Amazing Love Story of All Time.” 

Better than most of us, he understands the cost of God’s love.

A Love That Dies

On April 11, 2008, Dr. Metherell’s only son, Mark, a former Navy Seal, was in Iraq. As a military contractor, he chose to go train Iraqi forces to defend their own country against tyrants. That day, in one horrific instant, a roadside bomb exploded and Mark died. After learning of the circumstances, radio host Hugh Hewitt said:

It is so obvious . . . that Mark Metherell was back in Iraq because he loved the Iraqi people and wanted them to remain free.

Having had the honor of working with Mark’s dad on a project around that time, I will never forget Alex’s anguish. There’s no doubt in my mind that he loved his son so much he’d have taken Mark’s place if that had been possible.

An Incomprehensible Sacrifice

How much harder must it have been for God the Father to carry out John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave us His only son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

While a great human father would have done anything to spare his son, our heavenly Father willingly gave us His. A just God must punish sin. He couldn’t ignore the consequences of Adam and Eve’s rebellion–consequences that infect every single human being. 

Pushed by an interviewer from Outlook to explain “why Jesus intentionally went to the cross knowing He’d suffer an agonizing form of torture?”:

Alexander Metherell—the man this time, not the doctor—searched for the right words.
“Frankly, I don’t think a typical person could have done it,” he finally replied. “But Jesus knew what was coming, and he was willing to go through it, because this was the only way he could redeem us—by serving as our substitute and paying the death penalty that we deserve because of our rebellion against God. That was his whole mission in coming to earth.

Having said that, I could still sense that Metherell’s relentlessly rational, logical, and organized mind was continuing to crunch down my question to its most basic, nonreducible answer. “So when you ask what motivated him,” he concluded, “well . . . I suppose the answer can be summed up in one word—and that would be love (p. 27).”

God loved humanity so much that He gave us His only Son to take our punishment and set us free from the tyrannical reign of sin and evil. Christ’s death on the cross is good because by it our great God displayed the profound extent of His love. And, that wasn’t all. 

New Life Replaces Despair with Hope

Jesus rose again. The great hope and joy of Easter–resurrection to new life for all who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. When Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven He demolished death’s sting for all who believe in Him. As the great old hymn lyrics proclaim: “Because He lives, all fear is gone.“

That’s true. It’s true for the Metherells. Though Mark’s family no doubt misses him, Alex and Pam know they’ll see their beloved son again. 

It was also true for me several years ago while being tested for cancer in two different areas of my body. By trusting in the new life provided by Jesus, my Lord, I had hope even if I’d have received that cancer diagnosis. Thankfully I didn’t.

But, my friend Teresa, did. Not once, but twice. And, now she’s on hospice. Barring divine intervention she may be leaving this world soon. Yet, with spiritual insight, she and her husband, Bruce, know God’s peace in the process. They also share the great hope of new life to come with all the glories of heaven. A life where they’ll rejoice together with all their friends and family in the presence of Jesus for all eternity. Free from pain’s tyranny. Free from grief. Free from today’s tears that flow from sorrow.

A Magnificent Mansion

With the Ascension to His Father, Jesus  went ahead of us as our High Priest and King. In John 14:2-3, He said: 

In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so,I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.

New life. Good Friday honors Christ’s incredible sacrifice on our behalf. However, Jesus didn’t only come as our Savior. He came as Lord of all creation, the Lord who conquered death. After that victory, He ascended on High to usher us into the kingdom where He rules and reigns and sin no longer has a place. That’s a far better reason to celebrate than hunting chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and Peeps. 

Happy Easter.