In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Philippians 2:5 NIVUK
For many people, the relevance of Easter starts and ends with the cross.
Actually, scratch that. For most people the relevance of Easter starts and ends with chocolate. For Christians, it starts and ends with the cross.
At Easter we see Jesus crucified for us: paying the terrible price that we deserve for our sins. It is both awe-inspiring and deeply challenging. For on the cross, the awfulness of our deepest, darkest, most hidden sins are exposed, and met with overwhelming love.
It is, to quote a Christmas song, ‘a most wonderful time of the year’.
I do not want to detract from that in any way, shape or form. Jesus sacrificing Himself for our sins and beating death for us is the heart of the Gospel. It is what lies at the centre of Christianity. It is everything to us.
But what it absolutely is not is a cosy little factoid to make us feel warm inside. It is not an insurance policy to guarantee heaven. It is not a free licence for us to live however we like.
There is a side to Easter that shakes us and challenges us to live differently.
Paul outlines one aspect of that challenge in Philippians 2:5. Here he appeals for the Philippian church, divided by strong personalities, to be united and to think differently of themselves and other people. Why?
Because of what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross.
You see, Christianity is not about a nice narrative that we tell our children.
No, at its heart is a God who sends His Son to die on the cross for our sins, and a Son who does so willingly out of love.
And this sacrifice means something because we, as Christians, are expected to do likewise. We are expected to follow Jesus. That means having the same mindset that drove Him to give Himself on the cross for us.
But what does that really mean?
In these weeks leading up to Easter, we will explore this and apply it to our everyday life.
Questions
1. What does Easter mean to you?
2. Is Paul correct to use the self-sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross to change the mindset of the Philippians? Why/why not?
3. ‘We are expected to follow Jesus’. What do you think this will mean for you, as we study Christ's journey to the cross?
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