Easter is the day we celebrate as the resurrection day of Jesus Christ, our savior, the Son of God.
It wasn’t just a resurrection that happened on the Easter day but something more has happened. To understand what really happened on the Easter Day we should know who Jesus is.
Jesus is his name and Christ is his title. The word Christ means ‘Anointed’. The word Messiah also means the same, ‘the anointed one’. Jesus is the anointed one to lead the people of the Almighty.
Only certain people who are supposed to hold high positions are anointed. Only High Priests, Kings and Prophets are anointed.
Jesus was born in the house of David, a dynasty established by the God himself. In that way he is a King. But Jesus is also described as the King of Kings, the King of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Rev. 17: 14)
Jesus was a prophet in the sense that he has prophesied about the future of mankind, about himself and about the establishment of the Kingdom of God. And many people then and now consider him as a Prophet of God. (Mat 13:57)
Jesus was also a High Priest made by God himself and was in the order of Melchizedek. (Heb 5:10)
To be the Messiah or the anointed one, Jesus had to obey certain laws. God cannot change his own rules for his son. A law is a law. Jesus also obeyed the laws to become the Messiah. All Jewish Priests, Prophets and Kings had to obey this law given to them by God.
The main laws regarding anointment are:
1. They should be chosen by God, (Exo. 28:1)
2. They should sanctify themselves; should cleanse themselves, (Exo. 28: 41)
3. They should be given special garments, (Exo. 28: 2)
4. They should be anointed with oil, and, (Exo. 29: 7)
5. They should perform sacrifice. (Exo. 29: 10-14)
The violation of any of the laws was punishable by eternal damnation.
The birth of Jesus was prophesied by God himself to the Jewish people as the savior, not just to the Jewish people but to the whole world. (Psalm 132:17). Thus Jesus has fulfilled the first condition as he was chosen by God to lead his people.
Regarding sanctification and cleansing, God has specifically told Mosses what to do. The chosen one had to wash their hands and feet. (Exo. 30: 19) And God wanted them only to do wash their hands and feet and nothing more. He wanted them to obey it true to the word so that they may not die. (Exo. 30: 21)
And this washing of Jesus’ feet and hands happened in the River of Jordan. Jesus was not baptized in the River of Jordan but he washed his hands and feet as per the law.
Jesus needed special garments which would identify him as a Priest. He did have one. It is this same special garments which was taken by the soldiers who crucified Jesus by putting lots. The plural ‘garments’ was used when the gospel writers narrated the scene and that means he had several layers of garments as per the law.
Another example of his special garments were narrated in the story where a lady, supposed to be Mary Magdalene, touched and got healed. She touched on the ‘fringe’ of Jesus’ garment. (Mrk 5:27). Also many people has touched the ‘hem’ or ‘fringe’ of his clothes to get cleansed. (Mat 14:36)
The fringe of a priest’s garment represents ‘the law’ or ‘the commandments’ of God. (Deut. 22:12). When a person touches the fringe of a priests garment, it means, they have disobeyed the law and seeks redemption for his sins. And that was why people touched the fringe of Jesus’ garments.
Now Jesus needed to be anointed before he becomes the Christ. For anointing, two things are necessary. An anointer and oil. The anointer should have been anointed earlier and the oil represents the Holy Spirit of God.
Aaron, the first priest of God was anointed by Mosses, and Mosses was a prophet chosen by God himself. Here there are no high priests or prophets to anoint Jesus. We may think that John the Baptist baptized Jesus there. But baptism was only for those people who has committed sins and wanted redemption and entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus never committed any sin nor he needed any redemption. So he didn’t get baptized nor did he get anointed by John. Then who was the anointer there.
It was God himself who anointed Jesus Christ by sending the holy spirit in the form of a dove on to Jesus. There is no other anointer who is perfect enough to anoint the son of God.
The final law, the sacrifice, was not performed then. But Jesus was prophesied as the ‘Lamb of God’ who is to be sacrificed for the mankind. (Jn 1: 29, 36) In that way, he had given himself as the ultimate sacrifice for his anointment.
Only after the anointment Jesus was known as the Christ. And Satan wanted to prevent his sacrifice. And Satan tried to kill Jesus several times before his sacrifice. Finally on the day of his Crucifixion Jesus fulfilled all that he needed to do. His 6th word from the cross was ‘It is Finished.’ Jesus knew he had fulfilled all laws to be the anointed one of God. And then he gave up his life on his own. In John it clearly says that he gave up his life on his own and no one has taken it, not even the God.
But the savior is not a dead savior. If Jesus needs to save others, then he needs to save himself from death. He needed to conquer death and give the hope of an everlasting life for the mankind. And that happened on the Easter day.
According to Jewish faith, a man’s soul is still in the body till the third day. Until then there is life in the dead body according to the Jewish faith. That is why Jesus waited until the third day to pass before he resurrected himself from the dead, to prove the Jewish faithfuls that he has really conquered death.
The importance of Easter is that only on the Easter day he became the true Messiah of mankind. It is the day on which he gave us hope about an eternal life.
by
Rev. S J Vattappara
