Chaplain’s Corner

Easter Reflection

By Sophie Gates, Jack Powell and Hannah Vos (Year 12)

Easter is celebrated by a lot of people all around the world. Most people would associate Easter with hot cross buns, rabbits delivering eggs and eating Chocolate eggs. Yet it is so much more!

As Christians, we are constantly grateful and mostly overwhelmed, with the amazing gift of grace which we have been given and accepted in our life. Through the sacrifice which Jesus made, we, along with all who accept His free gift, are sanctified and declared holy, we are no longer separated by sin, but instead are able to have a relationship with the King of Kings and Creator of the universe. Sounds like a good deal to us!

Jesus died so we could be reunited with God. By sacrificing Himself on the cross, He took the punishment of all our sin upon Himself. Imagine, for a moment, the weight of the sin of the whole world on your shoulders while hanging upon a cross; bloody, beaten, injured, hurt and in so much pain. Jesus faced gruesome punishments before being hung on the cross. 

They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.

Matthew 27:28-31 

When I hear the idea of twisting a crown of thorns upon His head, I used to think that some pretty flowers were placed around Him, and it looked nice. But no, I was very wrong. A crown of thorns was so sharp and pointed, that it would have caused so much pain. A crown of thorns means a painful burden, as of suffering, guilt, anxiety. However, Jesus committed no crime. He was undeserving of this punishment. 

Yet, even after Jesus faced this hardship from people, He still willingly died for us, to forgive these sins and allow us to have relationship with God. 

When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. ‘He Himself bore our sins’ in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds you have been healed’. For ‘you were like sheep going astray’, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:23-25 

After death, Jesus rose, alive again, three days later. Just think about that for a minute. Jesus had died, witnessed by many people, yet three days later He walked among the community and went back to His disciples before ascending into heaven. 

John Piper explains -

So, the resurrection of Jesus is all-important because His death would be ineffective without it; and because we would have no hope of resurrection without it; and because the ministry of Jesus that He is performing right now, and will perform forever for our everlasting joy, would not exist without the resurrection. Together with the death of Jesus, His resurrection is the all-important event in the history of the world.

We have a living hope that through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we have an inheritance in heaven. Jesus died on that cross, because it was God’s divine plan to save you and me and restore the broken relationship that was with God, because He loves us so much.

So we encourage you today, to go into Easter enjoying a break, time with family and eat lots of yum food. But don’t forget to remember the sacrifice made for every single individual upon that cross and proclaim the real celebration of Easter. 

What a pleasure it was to have Year 12 students host a special Easter service this week for Senior Chapel, including a time of communion. A big thank you to Sophie, Jack and Hannah and the team for leading us! 

With holidays replacing Holy Days, we, as a society, continue to lose the significance and meaning of these important spiritual observances and connections. I praise God that as a Christian school we can teach and recognise the true meaning of Easter – the opportunity to worship our eternally perfect God, who separated Himself from every other deity by choosing to give up His own rights and life to restore and save the rights and lives of His creation!

I pray for a blessed Easter season for you and your family, for safety in travel and for quality family time.

Ps Matt Daly

Chaplain