By Nancy Guthrie
I’m not exactly sure what I was so annoyed about on that Easter Sunday, 1965, when I was two years old. Perhaps that new poofy dress was uncomfortable, or maybe my Easter basket in a bucket lacked my preferred treats. Maybe I was just tired of posing for Easter morning photos. Somehow this photo captures the sense that I think many people share with me who have known too many Easter Sunday celebrations that were more about a new outfit and some chocolate eggs than any sense of the significance of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
J.C. Ryle helps us to see that significance in the piece from his commentary on Matthew that I included in Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross. He writes:
“Was he flogged? It was done so that ‘by his wounds we are healed’ (Isaiah 53:5). Was he condemned though innocent? It was done so that we might be acquitted, though guilty. Did he wear a crown of thorns? It was done so that we might wear the crown of glory. Was he stripped of his clothes? It was done so that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness. Was he mocked and reviled? It was done so that we might be honored and blessed. Was he reckoned a criminal, and counted among those who have done wrong? It was done so that we might be reckoned innocent, and declared free from all sin. Was he declared unable to save himself? It was so that he might be able to save others to the uttermost. Did he die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful death? It was done so that we might live forevermore, and be exalted to the highest glory.
Let us ponder these things well: they are worth remembering.”
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