Last week, I shared this quote: “Christmas makes Easter possible, but Easter makes Christmas meaningful.”

Last week, it was all about the birth and life of Jesus. If Jesus had not been born, Easter would never have happened. But the two are interchangeably intertwined. It’s like the age-old question, what came first – the chicken or the egg? Which holiday is most important – Christmas or Easter? Easter needs Christmas in order to be a holiday, but without Easter, Christmas would just be a story of a birth.

Jesus walked on this earth, teaching us that He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). He did it because He loved us. He did it because He knew the only way for us to get to Eternity was if he were to take on our debts.

In college, I learned The Bridge illustration.

Imagine there is a canyon. Man (as in mankind) is on one side and God is on the other side. It is connected. But then sin entered into the world as stated in Genesis. When sin entered the world, it caused an earthquake and the canyon split into two causing a physical separation between Man and God. Man can’t jump across to God nor can Man fly across to God. Instead he has to take out his rock climbing gear or build his own bridge making the once so easy pathway to God treacherous. Sounds a little scary right? Perhaps a bit dangerous? But then Jesus came down, knowing of a way that would lead us to God safely and easily – The Cross.

In The Bridge Illustration, I was taught to then draw a cross between the two cliffs which would then literally bridge the gap, the gap that sin had created between God and us. In the middle of the cross, the illustrator will write John 14:6: Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light and no one can come to the Father except through me.” Below the cross, one will write the Romans Roads, a series of scripture in Romans that are instructions on how to receive salvation.

Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but hte gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.”

Romans 10:9 – “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I recently stumbled upon this podcast, where the host answers questions that kids have. Some are silly and others are serious. A more serious question was, “Why did Jesus have to die?” The host shared a story about the first time she had to teach kids about the Cross. She was nervous about how it would go. She shared how the kids were so concerned and sad when they learned Jesus died and one little girl asked, “Is Jesus really gone?” The little girl’s friend rolled her eyes and in immediate response said, “I know this story. He’s fine.”

“I know this story. He’s fine.”

The podcast host noted how when we talk about Easter, we talk about the Cross. The two are connected in ways that we can barely fathom. Think about it, if Jesus had been just a regular old carpenter’s son who rose from the dead. That would’ve been still a miracle, but more a mystery. People would be vying to know how he rose from the dead. Scientists would be studying it and conspiracy theorists would have a heyday.

But we have the story of Christmas. We have the immaculate conception and the birth that was joined by a host of heavenly angels. A birth that had a bright start that signified that a king had been born. Because of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, we have the life and ministry of Jesus to follow which leads us to the Cross and then to the resurrection (Easter) three days later.

Without Christmas, Easter would not possible.

But with Christmas, Easter is meaningful. It is a story of a sinless savior who took our debt onto himself, died for us, and conquered death ultimately bridging the gap between God and us.

Happy Easter.

He is risen, He is risen indeed.

Elizabeth