There are many traditional Scripture passages that are used at Easter to tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Passages from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the Beloved. Beautiful passages full of meaning and passion.
Today, however, I would like to share the story of Easter from 1 Corinthians 13, commonly known as The Love Chapter. Because the entirety of Scripture is a means of pointing the nation of Israel and Gentiles like you and me, to Jesus, the Easter story can be found in many places. Let’s see how beautifully it fits into this famous passage.
1 Corinthians 13:
4 ~ Love is patient ~ In the fullness of time, and not one moment before, God sent Jesus to earth on a mission. Had I been God, my patience would have been exhausted about two minutes after Eve bit the apple. Not God! God’s love was and is patient, not wanting anyone to perish. He could have ditched all two of his creations and started over at that point, but He did not.
4 ~ Love is kind ~ All throughout His ministry there were times when Jesus the Man could have chosen the un-kind way ~ The Pharisees, the multitudes pulling at Him, the lame, the blind, the sick, and the lost demanding His attention. Yet, He was always kind. He was kind to the woman caught in adultery. He was kind to Judas, for heaven’s sake. He is kind to you and me.
4 ~ Love does not boast; it is not arrogant ~ He was the SON. OF. GOD. for pity sake!! He had every right to be boastful. There had never been anyone like Him. He was royalty of the highest order, yet He took the attitude of a servant. He was beaten and stripped naked by men whom He had created. He was crucified like a common criminal. He could have pulled rank, but He did not.
5 ~ Love is not rude; it does not insist on its own way ~ Jesus said that He did nothing of His own accord. He did only what the Father instructed Him to do. You and I (probably more I than you) would have gone into control freak mode and decided that I had a better way, a less painful way. Better yet, I would have decided that humans were not worth the price. Yet, Jesus never did. He was kind and gracious, always obedient to the Father.
7 ~ Love bears all things ~ Jesus bore every stinkin’ sin that I have ever committed on Himself as He hung on that cross. Every hateful word I have spoken, every sexual sin I committed, every greedy desire, every prideful attitude, every lie I have ever told. I could go on for hours with the list of my sins, but I assume you get the point. Jesus bore it all because of love. LOVE for me. It slays me.
7 ~ Love endures all things ~ Not only did He endure having all the sins of all the people in the world heaped upon Him, Jesus endured being separated from His Father. Yes, He had been physically separated from God for 33 years, but suddenly, the Father could no longer look upon Him. It was the ultimate in rejection. When all the sin of the world was laid on Jesus, the Father had to look away. He could not fellowship with sin because of His ultimate holiness, and in that moment, Jesus was suddenly eaten up with sin. God turned away. It was the worst break-up in history, and Jesus knew it would happen. He endured it anyway.
7 ~ Love hopes all things ~ Hope. The hope of the resurrection that would, once and for all, defeat eternal death for all who would believe on Jesus. Hope of heaven. Hope of restoration. Hope of purity and holiness for anyone and everyone who will believe. Hope for you. Hope for me.
8 ~ Love never ends ~ The love that Jesus displayed on the cross is a love that never ends. It is a love that offers eternal life to all who will believe. It is a love that heals and restores and elevates and renews. The never-ending love of Jesus Christ is available to all who seek it. That same love will bring us forth from the grave one day, clothed in holiness and purity. That is the love that we will be enveloped by for all eternity…..if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and the payment for our sin.
Love is…..Easter. Love is…..Jesus. Do you know Jesus today?
