1. The most obvious reason of course is that Easter Sunday is that day on the Christian calendar that we all celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. The fact that billions of Christians around the world will be celebrating the occasion all at the same time I see as a powerful demonstration of the global dimensions of our faith. Since the beginnings of the Christian church in the first century the resurrection event has been celebrated this time of year as the central most important fact of human history. In fact in the early church tradition Easter Sunday was often the day that large numbers of converts were baptized and became a part of the church.
After the resurrection of Christ, the church began the tradition of meeting on the first day of the week instead of the seventh (sabbath) day as a way of celebrating His resurrection (Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2) So it is perhaps the most important date on the Christian calendar for all those reasons- because of the global nature of the celebration, the incredible history of Easter and because His death and resurrection are of ultimate importance to us.
2. A second less obvious reason it is so important is that it is a great opportunity for witness. People who don't otherwise have an interest in Christianity will have an interest this weekend just because of the holiday. I hope you are inviting everyone you meet to come to church this Sunday. One of the most natural and powerful ways for us to share our faith is to simply invite people to come to church. To love people to Christ is to open up your life and welcome others into your community. Most people come to Christ because they have been welcomed in by the infectious love of Christ experienced within biblical community. As Charles Spurgeon once said "Most people come to Christ not because of a push, but because of a pull."
A couple of weeks ago I read the incredible story of Mosab Hassan Yousef in the book "Son of Hamas". Mosab is the son of the spiritual leader of the terrorist group Hamas in the West Bank of Israel in Palestine. The story is how this radical Muslim converted to Christianity after meeting a group of Christians in Jerusalem. This community of believers opened up the scriptures to him, befriended him and prayed for him, answered his questions and literally loved him to Christ over the course of several years.
It was another reminder to me that the Christian church has always grown in this way. People are not argued into Christianity. They are not bullied into Christianity. People are loved into Christianity by the incredible grace of God through His gospel. It is life on life- one person sharing his or her life with another and bringing people to the best news they could ever hear- that the God of the universe has given His life as a ransom for sin.
The gospel spreads as we love people to Christ. A great picture of Christian witness is one blind beggar showing another blind beggar where to find the bread.
A fact that is especially true this weekend.
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