Jesus had been looking forward to the first Easter morning, this day we are celebrating, for a long time. He was looking forward to it in Isaiah’s time, 700 years before He was born. And in David’s time, 1000 years before. And in Moses time, 1400 years before. And in Abraham’s time, 1800 years before. In fact, Jesus had been looking forward to this morning since before the foundations of the world were laid, before any person had been created.

As God, Jesus knew that people would sin, how the creation would be twisted, how there would be the need for a Savior. And He was willing to be that Savior.   He was willing to suffer in many ways so that we might be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of light.  Let’s remind ourselves of some of the ways Jesus led Himself through suffering to redeem us.

Jesus as God was present everywhere in the universe all the time, but he was willing to be confined to a body.

He who lived outside of time was willing to be limited  to the present minute.

He who lived in pure and beautiful perfection of Heaven was willing to live in a world with lice and fleas, where people rarely bathed, smelled bad and were hungry, sick and many demon possessed.

He who is sinless and righteous was willing to live amongst rebellious, evil, godless and destructive people—people naturally just like me and you.

He who had the power to speak stars into existence and the right to judge all creation perfectly, was willing to submit himself to the attacks of unjust, selfish and cruel men.

He who was holy, was willing to become sin and be crushed under the wrath of God to pay the debt for all his enemies.

He who was without fault was willing to put himself under the curse of Adam.

And most powerfully and painfully, He who had enjoyed the perfect fellowship and community of the Trinity, was willing to have that relationship ripped apart.  When Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” the sinless Father and Holy Spirit had turned away from the Son who had become sin.  Jesus was left completely and utterly alone.

This tearing of the fabric of the Trinity was, I believe, the most painful part of all the suffering that Christ endured. Since God is love Himself, this relationship of love among the Trinity was the essence of His being, and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all willing to have that destroyed for a time to save their enemies.

Jesus had not been looking forward to suffering this immense, immeasurable, excruciating pain. However, He faced it with determination, courage and love, thinking of how it would glorify the Father, redeem mankind and bring an end to evil.

He who was life itself was willing suffer death, to die as a man, to be killed cruelly so the price of redemption could be paid and the resurrection occur.

He who created the beauty and peace of heaven was willing, after he died, to descend to the lower parts of the earth, perhaps into Hell where all is fire and fear and futility. He descended there to fight and defeat the devil and death in order that the universe might be renewed and all his enemies who are willing would be swept into the Family of God.

That is why Jesus was looking forward to this morning, for it marked the beginning of the great reversal of the great rebellion.  It marked the start of the indwelling of every believer by the Holy Spirit. It marked the beginning of the church, of the revelation of the Mystery of the indwelling Christ.  It marked the beginning of every child of God being able to walk in the power of the Spirit so we can live a godly life that brings joy to the heart of God. It marked the possibility of the end of slavery to sin and the beginning of freedom to live in Truth.

Jesus was looking forward to this morning  of His resurrection because it was the most powerful pivotal point of all history.  It should also be the most important pivotal point for us every day as we remind ourselves of the gospel: that is,

–We only deserved hell, but He has given us heaven.

–We only deserved condemnation, but He has given us forgiveness.

–We only deserved death, but He has given us eternal life.

Let us profit from this pivatol point of Easter to live in the light of truth, basking daily in the love of Jesus, choosing to respond in our love for Him by obedience.

Let’s live in a way so that Jesus looks forward to each morning when He can spend the whole day with us, where we walk in the light of His presence, living in a way that brings pleasure to His heart.

And how do we do that? Primarily by praising Him in and for everything that comes to us. Praise is the power to please God. May He look forward to each morning with you.