Easter 2014

Dear Neighbor,

When Jesus yielded up His spirit on the cross, the veil of the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and rocks were split (Matthew 27:51). These earthly events wonderfully symbolized what was happening spiritually.

The veil of the temple was a curtain made of blue, and crimson, and scarlet, and fine, white linen, with cherubim woven into it in gold. It hid the Ark of the Covenant, containing the Ten Commandments, which stood in complete darkness. No one ever saw the Ark except the high priest, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, when he went in amidst thick clouds of incense.

This gives us a picture of how God was hidden from our sight before Jesus came. Mankind had lost sight of who God is and what He is like. For example, the mythology of the Greeks and Romans contains some truths, but there are a lot of confused ideas mixed in. Although the Israelites had the Old Testament, they still couldn’t see God clearly because the scribes and Pharisees had made the Word of no effect by their traditions. They made a big deal out of trivial things while neglecting the weightier things of the law: judgment, mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42).

So the Lord came into the world to restore the true meaning of the Word. He was the Word made flesh, so that we could again behold His glory, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He put on an ordinary human nature around His Divine Love so that He could be with us. Through the course of His life, He got rid of all the weaknesses of that human nature, and replaced it with a Divinely Human nature from within. He showed us and taught us who He really is, and how to rightly understand His Word, and so how to follow His example.

When Jesus let forth His spirit on the cross, He completed the task of putting off the mortal human nature, so that He could rise again, fully God and fully Man. Now the veil is parted. We can see God, in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). This is one of the wonderful things we celebrate on Easter: that we can see God again, and follow Him. You are welcome to come worship Him at 10:00 a.m. on Easter, and every Sunday.

Happy Easter!

Rev. Lawson M. Smith