Happy Easter weekend everyone! Now of course we realize that Easter is a pagan holiday and many people still celebrate some pagan rituals, however, it does fall on the day that Christ resurrected from the dead in circa A.D. 30, and I want to share some things from that time that are encouraging not only to the whole world such as Salvation from sin but is also especially encouraging for survivors of abuse and trauma.
This is actually a three-part blog, first I want to look at the week leading up to Christ’s crucifixion, in fact nearly two thousand years before Christ even came to earth. Our blog takes us to the land of Egypt circa 1445 B.C. The Israelites had gone to Egypt when Joseph was governor (Genesis 46:5), but over time, as the Israelites increased in number and strength and the Egyptians who knew Joseph died, the next generation began to fear Israel and put them under bondage (Exodus 1:8-11).
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the story, Moses was born, hidden by his mother, became a prince in Pharaoh’s palace until he murdered an Egyptian and fled for his life and subsequently lived in the mountains tending sheep for the next 40 years. This is of course an extreme summary, but what I want to focus on is the week that Israel was set free. After Moses had come back to lead the people up, after all but one of the plagues had fallen on Egypt. I want to talk about the Passover.
You can read about the Institution of this in Exodus chapter 12 but basically, Pharaoh would not let the people go, even after 9 plagues. So God sent one final plague to convince the proud King to let His people go. The LORD would kill all the firstborn sons. So that the Israelites’ children would not be affected by the plague, they were to take a lamb, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on their doorposts.
In the book of Exodus, there’s a lot of ceremony and religious services, but these all pointed toward something. The lamb that they were to kill, pointed to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). By killing the lamb and putting its blood on their doors they were symbolizing how Christ laid down His life, gave His blood for us, and took away our sins. And it wasn’t enough just to kill one lamb for all of Israel, each family had to have their own. The book Patriarchs and Prophets says that it wasn’t enough to believe that He (Jesus) “died for the world, but that He died for us individually.”
So this Passover lamb, represented Jesus and how He became a sacrifice for us, to take away our sins and pardon us.
But this is part of something even larger, remember, the Israelites are in bondage and are wanting to be free. We are also in bondage, we’re in the slavery of sin. Jesus said in John 8:34, “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin,” and Paul says that he was “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). 2nd Corinthians 4:4, calls Satan the “god” of this world, and John 12:31 also refers to Satan as the ruler of this world, or our slave master.
But Jesus came, to break the chains of bondage, to free us from the slavery of sin, to take us back from Satan, make us heirs of the Kingdom of God and to set us free. (James 2:5, John 8:36). This is what the Passover points to! It’s a wonderful message of redemption.
But I think it applies to more than just to the slavery and bondage of sin. Everyone who has experienced trauma has been held captive by their traumatic experiences. So often we are reminded of the events that hurt us, the abuse that took place. Our sleep leaves us, nightmares taunt us, life becomes hard to live because we become slaves to the traumatic memories. But Jesus gave His life for ours, that we might not only have life but have it more abundantly! (John 10:10). Jesus very lovingly and longingly says in Matthew 11:28-30 that He will give rest for our souls if we but come to Him. He offers us freedom not only from our sins but from our sorrows. Jesus has given Himself as a for many and ransomed us (Matthew 20:20, Isaiah 51:11). If we accept Him and His sacrifice when we come to Him and put our burdens on Him, He will give us freedom.
We may not be completely free of our trials and sorrows until Heaven. Healing is a long process but we can begin the journey. We can journey under the newfound freedom from pain and suffering. Though it might be awhile until we find complete freedom and rest, Jesus does promise us ultimate deliverance from our bondage. From whatever is hurting us. We are promised that “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” He says “…I will make all things new.” Revelation 21:4,5.
Stay tuned for our next blog, that talks about the Condemnation of Christ.