7 Easter Meditations to Rejoice in the Resurrection

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
 and between your offspring and her Offspring;
 He shall bruise your head,
 and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Adam’s sin plunged all his descendants into a desire to sin. Sadly, we all share in Adam’s guilt and receive death as our due penalty (Romans 5:12).

But God…

In Genesis 3:15, God gave us the “first gospel,” the protoevangelium, when He told the devil the Offspring to come (Jesus Christ) would crush him. When Jesus went to the cross, He defeated death and Satan. 

Christ’s atoning sacrifice happened about four thousand years after Adam’s death-knell for humanity. Every sin of every person who has ever lived and surrendered in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and is no longer condemned (Romans 8:1). Jesus, the Last Adam, is a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45).

As you consider God’s perfect righteousness in Christ and how He paid for all your sins, consider God’s patience and perseverance to ensure the lifeline to His Son was never broken. Praise Him with thanksgiving for His glorious plan of redemption.

New Testament parallel: Revelation 1:17-18

Prayer:

Father God,

Thank You for Your love for us even while we were apart from You. Thank You for sending Jesus to die in our place according to Your perfect will and timing. I love You, Father, and I praise You. In Jesus’ matchless name I pray, Amen.

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“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1) and “These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed” (Genesis 9:19).

The whole world was filled with wicked people (Genesis 6:5), and God decreed He would “make an end of all flesh” (Genesis 6:13). But Noah found favor in God’s sight, for the Bible describes Noah as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). God used Noah as a deliverer, and God made sure a remnant remained and even flourished through his sons.

One of Noah’s sons, Shem, is listed in the genealogy of Christ (Luke 3:36). God inspired Noah’s faith, and by faith, Noah obeyed God and is called “a herald of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). God ordained that from a family of eight, the world would be re-populated, especially with the continuation of the line of people leading to Christ.

As you ponder God’s unbroken redemptive plan that culminated in Christ, remember that nothing wicked will ever thwart His sovereignty. Satan and his demons will continue to influence men to wickedness, but the people he “wins” to his dark kingdom were already consigned to him by God’s sovereign election. Satan gains nothing outside of God’s rule and reign, and God turns what Satan thinks is a victory (Jesus’ death on the cross) into his defeat and ongoing shame.

New Testament parallels: Luke 3:36; Hebrews 11:7

Prayer:

Lord God, I praise You for Your perfect plan of redemption and for Your Word, which reveals whom You used and how You used them. When I consider Your ways, I bow in awe and wonder. Thank You for using Noah as a herald of righteousness to demonstrate Your awesome nature. I praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8).
 “You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and you shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall separate for you the holy place and the Holy of Holies” (Exodus 26:33).

God gave Moses the plans and procedures for the Tabernacle (Sanctuary) when the Hebrews were in their exodus from Egyptian slavery. From the outside in, the rectangular tabernacle complex encompassed a courtyard, where anyone who was ceremonially clean could go and where sacrifices were offered at the altar of burnt offerings. Going further west, only priests were allowed to enter the holy place, which was separated from the courtyard by a very thick curtain.

The Holy of Holies was located on the far west end of the Tabernacle and contained only the ark of the covenant. The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the Tabernacle by a veil through which only one specially selected high priest could enter each day (1 Chronicles 24:19; Luke 1:8-9). The holiness of the Temple magnifies as one gets closer to the Holy of Holies, and the conditions for entry are greater. Entering the holy of Holies was akin to entering the highest heaven to talk with God. This place is the very center of God’s presence on earth.

When Jesus breathed His last on the cross, the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom, signifying all people in Christ now have access to the Lord God. Jesus’ resurrection “sealed the deal,” and His victory over death means we can enjoy the same outcome as we join Christ in His triumphal procession (2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 15:2).

As you reflect on how Jesus conquered death and gained access to the Father for His church, praise God for how He completes every Old Testament promise and fulfills every prophecy.

New Testament parallels: John 1:14; Mark 15:38

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for Who You are and for what You have done. I pray You get all the glory as we magnify Your name this Easter season and all year round. In Your name I pray. Amen.

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“For You will not forsake my soul to Sheol;
You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10).

King David wrote a large number of the psalms, and many of his psalms are understood to apply to him and also to Jesus in a prophetic sense. Psalm 16:10 is no exception. Jesus is our perfect uncorrupted and incorruptible Savior—perfect in every way. 

Our sinless Savior died, and His body was placed in a new, clean tomb (John 19:41). But three days later, before corruption could infect His glorious body (for He was raised incorruptible), He rose from the grave. His tomb is empty because death could not hold the Author of life (Acts 2:24).

And now, King Jesus reigns in perfect holiness and righteousness at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33). He has called us to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). Scripture tells us to “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Yes, we are prone to corruption outside of Christ. But thanks be to God, we are covered by Christ’s blood (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 1:5), and when the Lord God looks at us, He sees Christ’s righteousness. Because of Christ, we are now incorruptible, sealed by His Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30), and eagerly awaiting His return (2 Timothy 4:8).

New Testament parallels: Acts 2:27-31; 13:35-38; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You are worthy to receive all glory and honor and power. Thank You for saving us unto eternal, incorruptible life. Thank You that You are all and in all. I praise You. Amen.

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“For the earth will be filled
 with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD
 as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14)

The prophet Habakkuk questioned God when He used a nation much wickeder to punish one less evil (Judah). We may not understand many of God’s plans, but He of infinite wisdom and justice knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). He knows our hearts and those of the evil ones He will one day vanquish. 

Jesus Christ was pierced and crushed and scourged by evil men. Yet, “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Ephesians 2:9-11). 

When Jesus returns to make a final end of Satan and his demons and all the wicked, He will bring Habakkuk’s prophecy to fulfillment. Every knee will bow to Jesus. Every tongue will confess that He is Lord, and no one will be ignorant of Him or of His glory.

As you think about the Lord this day, reflect on how He will get the glory due His name from every tribe and people and tongue and nation (Revelation 5:9; 13:7; 14:6).

New Testament parallels: Hebrews 10:4-10; Revelation 5:12

Prayer:

Magnificent and glorious Lord Jesus, how I praise You. I am impatient for You to return and for everyone everywhere to bow to You as Lord. You are worthy, Lord. You are worthy. In Your name I pray. Amen.

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“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'” (John 1:29).

Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, is the last of the Old Testament prophets. John preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). John knew his baptism was not for peoples’ salvation, but instead for repentance and turning peoples’ hearts to God (Isaiah 40:3). John prepared the way for Jesus (the Lamb of God) who would take away the sins of the world. John said, “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). 

The Lamb of God—Jesus Christ, was known by John the Baptist, and He was proclaimed as the One who takes away the sins of the world. John did not shy away from what He knew to be true. In the face of adversity, he held a firm conviction of righteousness. 

Do you know Jesus? Who has drawn your attention to our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah? We can be like John the Baptist and proclaim Him. If you know Him as Lord and Savior, do your best to share the good news (gospel) about Him with those you love. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; in Jesus alone is eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). 

Old Testament parallel: Genesis 22:8

Prayer:

Father, help me be the person You created me to be. Help me point others to Jesus with boldness and love. Thank You for sending Your Son to take away my sins. I am a new creation in Christ! Hallelujah! In His name I pray. Amen.

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“When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

Jesus knew His hour was coming to go to the cross and take on the sins of every human—past, present, and future. The Old Testament passage includes this verse, 

“But the Lord GOD helps me;
 therefore I have not been disgraced;
 therefore I have set my face like a flint,
 and I know that I shall not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:7).

Jesus’ face was set like flint to go to Jerusalem. Because flint is such a hard and extremely dense rock, it is used to hammer other materials. Jesus, in complete submission to God, is steadfast as flint in His resistance to temptation and resolution to fulfill God's plan of redempotion.

Jesus knows God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13), and the cup He would drink on the cross was filled with God’s wrath (Jeremiah 25:15; Isaiah 51:17; Matthew 26:39; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But He, the Suffering Servant, obeyed God’s will to the utmost (Galatians 3:13-14; Colossians 1:14). Indeed, Jesus willingly paid it all. 

Jesus endured the shame (Isaiah 53:3-6) and bore the Father’s wrath with unwavering obedience. Throughout His life on earth, He never faltered in His purpose. The Lord God never left Him, and He never leaves us who love Him. Jesus Christ is our example of faith, but more than that, He is the Founder and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). From Him we draw life (John 4:10, 14).

As you reflect on Christ this Easter season, remember all He has done for us and for His glory. Because of Jesus, because of what He has done and is doing, we who are His can set our faces like flint and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Old Testament parallel: Isaiah 50:5-9

Prayer:

Lord Jesus. You are my Redeemer. You are my Rock and my Fortress. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords and You alone deserve all praise and glory. Thank You for putting on flesh and for going to the cross and atoning for all the sins of the world, even mine! I love You. I worship You. I praise You and ask for Your help to magnify Your name so You get all the glory in this life You have given me. For it’s in Your holy and precious name I pray. Amen.

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