The Cross and the Ultimate Easter Egg

I enjoy Easter eggs – not the kind you crack open and get candy, but the ones you find in movies or shows. If you are unfamiliar with the term, Urbandictionary.com defines “Easter egg” as “A hidden item placed in a movie, television show, or otherwise visual media for close watchers.” In other words, an Easter Egg is a something you don’t catch at first glance but if you take the time to slow down and look closer, you see something unexpected you missed the first time.

When it comes to celebrating Easter, the resurrection is the clue to look back at the cross more closely. While to the normal bystander the whole scene looked like the tragic end to an otherwise promising itinerant rabbi’s ministry, it was so much more for those who slow down and look deeper. Countless people saw Jesus crucified but missed the biggest “Easter egg” ever.

  • What looked like a man on a cross dying as a common criminal was, in reality, the eternal Son of God in human form.

  • What looked like just nail marks in his hands and feet were actually the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…”

  • What looked like a “death blow” to Jesus’ hope to save the world became the very means for God’s life-giving plan for humanity.

The clues were all there for those who could look past the surface and see what so many missed. One of the Roman soldiers who oversaw Jesus’ crucifixion saw it: “And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)

What we celebrate in Easter is not simply Jesus’ resurrection but the completion of God’s plan to bring eternal life to all of us. For those very familiar with the holiday it can be easy to not take the time to really look and see all Jesus did for you through the cross and resurrection. For those who are exploring Christianity, I want to encourage you to focus on the meaning of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. They are the core of what Christianity is all about.

City on a Hill Brookline