Easter Devotion #10 – Feasting on a New Life

Scripture: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Examination: Paul begins this chapter speaking about the “groaning” of the mortal body, that is, the desire to be changed into the immortal bodies all will have in heaven. He reminds the Corinthian believers that it will happen one day, and until then, they have been given the Holy Spirit, which is God’s promise of that which is to come. Lastly, he reminds the Corinthian church that by placing their trust in Christ, they are “new” in Him now and able to serve Him in the present day until they are called to their heavenly home.

Application: Spring is a time of new birth. Flowers are beginning to blossom, trees begin to sprout tiny green leaves, birds are building their nests, and there is warmth in the breeze. It is only appropriate that the resurrection of Jesus occurred in this season because it is He who gives us new life!

One of the most amazing parallels in the Bible is how the Jewish feasts are related to the Lord Jesus Christ and the new life He has provided for us.

• Passover is a springtime holiday that remembers the Israelites’ exodus from Egyptian bondage. It commemorates God’s angel of death’s “passing over” the houses whose doors were marked with the blood of a slain lamb.
  • Jesus was proclaimed to be the “Lamb of God” by John the Baptist. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John1:29).  Jesus was crucified at the same time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in Jerusalem, and it was His shed blood that freed us from the bondage of sin. Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
• The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins the day after Passover. It represents the hurried fleeing of the Israelites from Egypt, which didn’t allow for bread to be made with leaven as there was no time to allow it to rise. Spiritually speaking, it represents striving to live a righteous life without sin.
  • Jesus is our “Bread of Life”. John 6:48 records the Lord’s words, “I am that bread of life.” Jesus lived a sinless life to become the perfect sacrifice required for our salvation. It is only through Him that our sins can be removed “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). When we accept Christ as our personal Saviour, we can stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus without the shame and guilt of our sins! “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10).
• The Feast of Firstfruits is celebrated the day after the first Sunday of Passover. It is a time when the best of the first barley harvest is offered to God, and represents thanksgiving and trust in His provisions.
  • Jesus rose on this day, becoming the “firstfruits from the dead” signifying that a resurrection to eternal life through Him will occur one day for all who have accepted Him as their personal Saviour. 1 Corinthians 15:20 states, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” We are raised to new life in Jesus upon salvation as it states in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” This empowers us to serve Him here, but it is also the guarantee that we will be resurrected to eternal life with Him… following still in His footsteps.

The new life that we live in Christ on this earth is just the beginning of our new life in Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 promises that that one day, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Because Jesus lives, so shall we, and one day, He will call us home, where we will be with Him forever!

Memory Verse: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” – Colossians 3:1

Stretching your thoughts:

1. How does the knowledge that the Old Testament is so tightly interwoven with the truth of Jesus and the New Testament impact your faith?

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy; I hear His voice of cheer;
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

(from “He Lives” by Alfred Ackley)