And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1: 17-18

Easter is a day of celebration. On Friday we take time to remember our Lord’s suffering and sacrifice. On Easter morning, we remember that He was and is victorious! We dress up in our best, and celebrate new life. We sing the songs that remind us that His resurrection guarantees ours, if we have placed our faith in trust in Him. Imagine how the disciples felt as they realized the truth of so many of the things that he taught them. Perhaps they couldn’t understand it at the time, when he said, “Destroy this temple and I will build it up again in three days.” I think they understood on that first Easter morning. Imagine our hearts burning as those men on the road to Emmaus as Christ Himself opened their minds to the truths of the scriptures. (He still does that, you know, open our hearts and minds to the truth of the scriptures!) Those men, who saw Him after His resurrection, who experienced that first hand, were changed forever. When we’re saved, when the truth of our need for Him and His power in our lives is finally recognized and we surrender, we’re similarly changed forever.

Victorious… think about it. How do we celebrate victors? I remember fondly watching our hometown boy, Tanner Hudson, celebrate after his team won the Superbowl. The victory boat parade was fabulous. The celebration went on for days. Think about what we’ve seen of the homecoming of the troops from WWII. A reported 7 million people came out to watch the parade led by the 101st Airborne through New York City streets. The entire free world celebrated the end of that great war. Now turn your mind to the celebration we have awaiting us. We have a celebration to end all celebrations coming!

Our Lord, Our Savior, the One who knows us as well as or better than we know ourselves has conquered Hell, death, and the grave. He came because He loves us and wanted to exact our freedom from sin and made the ultimate sacrifice. What kind of celebration will it be when we all stand before Him in the expanse of Heaven and We all proclaim His glory for eternity. We have no idea what it will be like when every knee ever formed flexes in the presence of His glory. Those who turned their head at the offer of His salvation will leave us and spend eternity reaping the punishment for their choices. Those of us in Christ, will remain, and all of the bad in us or about us will be burned away leaving only the perfection created by Christ. We will be thrilled to be in His presence, there’ll be no need for light because He will be the light. Can you imagine the celebration we will be part of as we spend eternity celebrating Him?

Who is this Jesus that we’ll be celebrating?

He is:

Saviour of the World

Immanuel - God with us!

He is the Lamb of God - the perfect and unblemished sacrifice to pay the sin debt of all of humanity!

He’s the Good Shepherd - leading His sheep who know and follow His voice throughout our lives!

Our Wonderful Counselor - understanding our hearts and giving wise counsel,

He is our Great High Priest - the only mediator we need between us and God!

He is the Word - God’s Truth come to earth!

The Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end!

Prince of Peace, and the Lord of Glory!

Lord of Lords, and King of Kings!

He is the Chief Cornerstone - sturdy and true, to build our lives upon!

He is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star!

He is the Bread of Life and Living Water - satisfying our needs forevermore!

He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life - the only path to salvation!

He is the Holy and Righteous One and our Messiah!

If that doesn’t make you feel like celebrating, I don’t know what will. We serve a Lord who fills every need we have. We should be proclaiming His truth from the highest hills, to every one we see in need, and in every circumstance. Happy Easter, brothers and sisters! Let’s celebrate our Victorious King!