I grew up in a Christian home, and I’ve been to many Easter celebrations in my lifetime. My father was a preacher, and he was a good teacher, but I did not have a full understanding of the priority of the Resurrection until I was a second-year student in seminary.

It's always about a lamb—a substitute. The blood on the doorposts was the sign that a death had already occurred in that house and the penalty for sin had been meted out, allowing the wrath of God to be turned away. The cross is the sign that payment has been made for sin, because the Lamb of God has taken our punishment upon Himself.

Jesus personally chose 12 disciples whom He poured Himself into. These men could almost be considered His earthly family, surrounding Him, learning from Him, and serving in His ministry. Jesus loved them, and yet He knew—long before they did, in fact—that a couple of these men would publicly betray Him.

The 66 books in the Bible tell a story, a narrative. There is a plot with a story of promise and fulfillment, and it all points to Jesus.

I live with no fear or worry about my eternal existence, because Jesus became flesh and died for my sins. In doing that, He destroyed the true power of death—the death of the soul.

As God’s Son, God’s only Son, the Son He loved, hung on the Cross, the knife of God’s fierce wrath against sin was lifted, and there was no one to stay the Father’s hand.

Have you ever pondered over the striking paradox that the Messiah, the mighty ruler, was also prophesied to be a man of sorrows in Isaiah 53? Why was the expected deliverer, portrayed as the suffering servant?

When you read the Old Testament with Jesus in mind, everything is different. It’s impossible to miss it. We realize the Hebrew Scriptures are more than a collection of stories; they present the portrait of the coming Messiah.

We can learn a lot from a man on a cross. This individual’s name is only known to God. We find this man—a criminal sentenced to death—hanging beside Jesus in Luke 23:39-43.

Think about those around you who have not made a decision for Christ. Think about your mom or dad, your brother or sister, your neighbor, your co-worker. Tell me—are they worth it?

She was an outcast. She was a damaged good. She was rejected. But because of her love and dedication to Jesus, we all know about Magdala today.

The cross was intended to not just bring agony and death, but to do so in such an obscene, traumatic, humiliating, and public fashion that everybody knew the punishment they would receive should they disobey Rome.

In the gloom of Good Friday, the disciples could only read: “Jesus defeated!” But in the bright light of Easter morning, the glorious truth of Jesus’ resurrection shone into their despair.

If Jesus was not raised from the dead, Christianity isn’t true, no one makes it to heaven, and this life is all there is. It’s every man for himself. Christianity stands or falls with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But to fully understand Christ’s finished work on the cross, we must equally consider each of these pivotal moments. Combined, they change history, life, and eternity.

What possible benefit could either the Roman or the Jewish leaders have gained by stealing Jesus’ body, furthering the belief in his resurrection and triggering the greatest movement in rebellion against their power?

As the day of Jesus’ appearing approaches, it’s critical that you know for sure that you belong to Jesus and possess eternal life.

For those who call on the name of Jesus as Savior and Lord—like my grandfather—death is now the friend that opens the door and introduces us to eternity with Jesus in Heaven.