Pastor's Article 03-29-26

Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. My family enjoys celebrating spring, the Easter egg hunt, Good Friday, and sharing a meal together with meaningful fellowship. However, when I reflect on why we celebrate, I realize it's a bittersweet occasion. For Jewish people, this period marks Passover, a festival commemorating the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. During the first Passover, the lamb's blood was placed on doorposts so that the death angel would pass over their homes, sparing their firstborn and allowing them to escape Egyptian bondage. This marked a great blessing for Israel as they were freed from oppression and began their journey to the promised land.
Yet, for the lamb, Passover represented the ultimate sacrifice. The innocent lamb was killed, roasted, and eaten, its life given as an act of grace and redemption—much like what Jesus faced before His death. As people brought sacrifices to Jerusalem, debating over lambs without blemish, Jesus understood that He Himself was the perfect Lamb offered by God as the supreme sacrifice. He knew His blood would be shed, and He would endure agony on Calvary. Good Friday is meaningful to us, but for Jesus, it was a day of brutality and suffering: He was falsely accused, whipped, mocked, denied, and crucified. What makes this day "good" for us is that through Jesus' death over 2,000 years ago, our impossible debt of sin was paid by God's grace and the sacrifice of His only Son on the cross. Because of this, we have the freedom to choose life and serve the Lord. Let us remember that we have Good Friday because we have a good God, a wonderful Savior, and a hopeful future through the power of the resurrection.
Pastor,
Rev. Wayne Marcus