This week I have the privilege of sharing a post from a friend of mine, Heather Johnson. Heather reflects on Passover, Easter, and the COVID-19 pandemic and what lessons God has for us in this season. I pray you’re encouraged and Christ is glorified. Thank you, Heather!
John
Two Passovers, Two Plagues
They were informed to go into their houses and shut the doors behind them. “Wait there, until the plague has passed over,” they were told. It looked bleak. They didn’t know what the plague would be, how soon it would pass, or if they would really be safe. As it rolled through the land, it looked upon the homes of the children of God, and they were found impenetrable.
What was it that caused the plague to pass over their homes? Was it their security gates? Their double-locked doors? Their political positions? Their anxiety? Was it the research they did to mask their fear with knowledge?
No.
It was simply the power of the blood of a lamb, dripping down the wood of their doorposts. The plague passed over them because of their obedience and trust in God. We still remember that Passover today. But that wasn’t the only Passover.
The second Passover celebration would come with more confusion, uncertainty, and fear. A man who came into the world proclaiming victory over death, died. A man who came into the world heralding love was taken to a cross by the hands of hate. A man whose whole mission was salvation, suffered destruction, his blood dripping down the wood of another post.
The faithful few who remained with this man to the end walked back to their homes, shut the doors behind them, and waited for this plague-like fear to pass. Their hope dwindled, their disappointment rose. How could this man who spoke only of life, and love, and salvation, be gone? He promised things that now seemed impossible. He said things that now seemed foolhardy.
As the dust settled and the images of his crucifixion replayed through their minds like a nightmare, they sat in their homes wondering how this could get better. Wondering if his promises were true. Wondering if anything he ever said could be trusted.
And then dawn came on that third day.
His tomb was empty. “Did someone take him?” they wondered. “No, he has risen, just as he said.” Suddenly, all of his words came rushing back to their minds. In an instant, upon the fulfillment of his words, they realized, “Maybe everything he ever promised was true after all!”
The first Passover began with the blood of a lamb. Blood that was painted on the doorposts of the homes belonging to the children of God. That blood would prove to be the defeat of a plague and the beginning of life and freedom for the Israelites. The final Passover saw the Lamb of God sacrificed as the ultimate lamb; his blood shed for the world. That blood defeated death forever, and was the gateway of eternal life and freedom for all who believe in him.
Today we find ourselves with a plague called Coronavirus passing over our doors. We can be sure that we are living in the middle of God’s story for our time on earth. We live in the Saturday before the resurrection. The late-night hours of waiting in our homes for the plague to pass over. The time of confusion, uncertainty and, for some, fear. We might find ourselves questioning the things God had spoken to us prior to this. Wondering if the promises he made will come true. We’re probably wondering how long this will last or if we’re going to get out of it unharmed. But our third day is coming. And our proof that Jesus can be trusted to do what he said will come. The question is, will we be able to say we trusted him while we waited?
This is not a time to grow weary or hopeless, confused, or outraged. We have spent enough time dwelling on the past, looking at the negative and wondering about our future as if we ever held it in our hands to begin with. It’s not a time to focus on the politics, statistics, or our theological differences. We’ve spent enough time divided over issues that don’t really matter, separating ourselves from one another.
This is a time to remember everything God has done in our lives, and to hold fast to the truth that he will do greater things still. This is a time to reflect on the cross, and rejoice in the sacrifice, resurrection, and redemption of our Lord. It’s a time to press pause on the things we thought mattered and focus on our relationship with Jesus, the only thing that does.
It’s time to focus on our families, whom we may have taken for granted. It’s time to focus on the lives we were living and the lives that we should have been living.
Christ died for us. The Lamb paid the ultimate price, a price that none of us could pay, or would even be willing to pay. It was not shed in vain. It was shed for you.
May we not be so quick to get through this season that we miss our opportunity to grow through it. May we not be so focused on what’s been taken away from us that we miss what’s been given. May we not be so consumed with how bad things are for us that we ignore the needs of the ones who have it much worse. Most importantly, may we all take this quarantined, middle-of-the-story time, to refocus, realign and reset our hearts on the one who created them.
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash