The Joy of Easter--God did not Want to be Separated From Us

What is the joy of Easter? God did not want to be separated from us.

 

Matthew 27:50-51a: And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

 

Max Lucado, in his Book Unshakeable Hope, says that the curtain which separated people from the Most Holy Place in the temple was a handbreadth in thickness. When Jesus died, this wall was torn from top to bottom. God tore it away, so there need no longer be a separation between him and us.

 

Jesus offers us that assurance if we follow him. And he promises that still now, he is tearing down any separation between us and God.

 

Hebrews 7:25: Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

 

1 John 2:1-2: My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

Romans 8: 34,38-39:  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Oh, what joy! Thank you, Lord.