By JUDD MATSUNAGA, ESQ.
I’ve become an old man now, i.e., I just got my first Social Security check!!! And the older I get, the more I cling to the hope of eternal life. That’s why Easter has become (and has been for many years) more meaningful to me than Christmas.
It wasn’t always that way. As a child, Christmas was always my favorite holiday. Christmas would bring the hope of new toys and presents, like a new bicycle.
But now, I don’t need a new bike, and I can afford to buy my own new toys (e.g., golf clubs and bowling balls). Easter, however, brings the hope of eternal life in Heaven. This Easter, I want to write a Rafu Shimpoarticle (for those who don’t go to church) about the true meaning of Easter. And, believe it or not, the true meaning of Easter has nothing to do with the Easter Bunny or chocolate eggs.
In case you’re wondering, the Easter Bunny and eggs are believed to have originated from pagan celebrations of the spring goddess Eostre (aka Ostara), where rabbits and eggs were symbols of fertility and new life. In the 6th century, Pope Gregory I (c. 590 to 604) sent missionaries to the British Isles to convert the Anglo-Saxons. He recognized that pagan traditions were deeply ingrained and instructed missionaries to subtly integrate Christian teachings with them.
In his efforts to “Christianize” the Anglo-Saxons, Pope Gregory I, also known as Saint Gregory the Great, recognized the importance of incorporating local pagan traditions into the Christian narrative. Missionaries, therefore, created a Christian celebration during the same time of year as the pagan spring festival of Eostre, which they called “Easter.” Over time, pagan traditions, like the celebration of spring, were gradually incorporated into the Christian holiday of Easter.
The Bible says, “There’s a time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). My Issei grandfather, Jiro Morita, was 17 years old when he came to America in 1909. However, he died at 87. My Nisei uncle outlived my grandfather by 10 years! He lived to 97, but he died. Last July, the oldest living Japanese American, Yoshiko Miwa, was honored at the Dodgers’ Japanese Heritage Night. She lived to be 110 years old, but she died.
That’s exactly where we’re all headed. “It is appointed unto man once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). So the big question is, “If a man die, shall he live again?” Haven’t you ever thought about that? Perhaps you’ve been to a funeral for a few moments you think about it, “One of these days it’s going to be me lying in that casket and I’m going to meet God.” The Bible says, “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1)
It’s instinctive for man to believe in life after death. You look at creation and you see design. God created the Heavens and the Eearth. He put the Earth 93 million miles away from the Sun, ideal for human habitation. If it were less, we would burn up. If it were more, the Earth would turn to ice and life would not survive. Also, God caused the Earth to rotate around the Sun at a 23.5-degree tilt. The tilt of the Earth is what causes the four seasons and makes the cultivation of the land possible. Without it, most of the surface of the Earth would be a vast desert.
Even the simple understanding of a child would say, “If there is design, there must be a designer.” In fact, you’ll never find a tribe, culture or civilization anywhere in history that didn’t believe in some form of life after death. The early pilgrims came to this country and thought they had found some Indian tribes that didn’t believe in life after death. However, they soon discovered after communicating with them better that they did believe in life after death, i.e, the “Happy Hunting Grounds.”
Throughout human history, all the major religions around the world (except Christianity) are man’s endeavors to reach God. Religions say you have to be good enough and worthy enough for God to accept you. The religious systems point and say, “Now this is the way you must live if you want God to accept you.” In other words, in all major religions in the world you must earn your way into Heaven.
So, if I were to draw a cartoon to represent religion, I would draw a circle to represent the Earth. Then, since my artistic abilities are limited, I would put a little stick man on top of the Earth. I’d put him on his tiptoes with hands lifted up trying to reach Heaven, trying to reach infinity, trying to reach God. But no matter how tall he may stretch, the finite cannot reach the infinite. It’s an impossibility.
However, Christianity is not like that. If I were to draw a picture of Christianity, I would have the round circle (the Earth), and hands coming down out of Heaven towards that little man on Earth. Christianity is God’s endeavor to reach man. With Christianity, the infinite has reached the finite. Now, I can accept that the infinite can reach down and touch the finite, that’s no problem for the infinite God. And so with Christianity I have no problem and all.
Christianity says there’s not a single work you can do that God would accept. The Bible says, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags (menstrual rags)” (Isaiah 64:6). We are all infected and impure with sin. You cannot be saved by your good works, e.g., giving to the poor, going to church, teaching Sunday school, etc. No matter how hard you try, your “good” is not good enough for the perfectly holy and completely righteous God. ?
God, through the cross, is saying to you, “I’ll pardon you. I’ll forget your sins. I’ll never hold you accountable for your sin again. You can enter the Kingdom of God and have eternal life.” But first, somebody’s got to pay for your sins. And that’s what Christ did on the cross. He made “atonement,” paid for your sins and my sins. He reconciled us to God on that cross. God was laying on Jesus our sins. Jesus shed His blood, and the shedding of that blood carries with it God’s very life, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22)
Jesus died for our sins. But He was raised from the dead by God. And if Christ is alive, there is hope in the world. Yes, Jesus Christ is alive! He rose from the dead in that day, that first Easter Sunday morning. When Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to the grave expecting to anoint a dead body, they saw an empty tomb and an angel sitting on the stone he had rolled away. And they asked, “Where is Jesus?” The angel said, “He is not here. He is risen.” (Matthew 28:6)
I submit to you that this is the greatest news the world has ever heard – “He is not here. He is risen.” He has conquered the grave. He’s alive! Think of it — the real purpose for Jesus Christ coming to Earth was to die. He was nailed to the cross and shed His blood for our sins. The cross and the resurrection of Christ offers you eternal life. There is no other way of salvation except through the cross of Christ, i.e., “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Now, I can’t take you to a scientific laboratory and prove eternal life to you. If I could, you wouldn’t need faith. The Bible says, “you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).
In other words, you must believe. So the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation that this life is only a preparation room for eternity. The Old Testament teaches it, the New Testament teaches it, Jesus taught it and the apostles taught it. If a man die shall he live again? That’s the question and the answer from the Bible is a resounding YES!!!
That’s the true meaning of Easter — it brings the hope of eternal life in Heaven. On the authority of the Bible, I know my sins are forgiven. I know I’m going to Heaven. Not because of any goodness of my own. I’m not going to Heaven because I’ve lived a good life. I’m not going to Heaven because of anything I’ve done. I’m going to Heaven because I believe Jesus Christ, God’s son, died on that cross for my sins. All I have to do is believe, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
You might say, “Say Judd, do you think you’re not going to die?” The Bible teaches that you and I have a physical body that will one day die. But, living inside my physical body is my soul, i.e., the real me (i.e., my intelligence, my memory, my personality). The soul is that part of you that lives forever. One day, your body is going to go to the grave. But your soul is going to live forever and ever. So according to the Bible, you will never die. And you’re going to spend a million years, a billion years in one of two places, i.e., Heaven or Hell.
My mom once told me, “I don’t believe that a loving God would send anyone to Hell.” I agree. Jesus talked a great deal about Heaven. But, Jesus talked three times more about Hell. The other writers of the Bible don’t have too much to say about Hell, but Jesus talked about it all the time. Why? Because Hell is a real place, a place of torment, a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12), and Jesus doesn’t want you to go there.
?? ?
My mom was right. A loving God does not send a man to Hell. If man goes to Hell, he goes there by his own free choice. When God made you, He made you a free moral agent. You can live any kind of life you want. You can live a good life or you can live a bad life. You can break God’s laws or you can obey them. You can shake your fist in God’s face and there’s nothing God can do because when He created you, He gave you a gift of free choice. You’re not a robot, He doesn’t push a button and force you to obey. You’ve got a right to resist God, to reject God.
God never meant that a man should go to Hell. Hell was created for the Devil and his angels, not for man. “Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.” (Matthew 25:41) If a man ends up in Hell, he got there of his own free will. God has done everything within His power to keep you out of Hell. He even gave His son to die on that cross to keep you out of Hell.
The Bible says, in spite of our rebellion and rejection, God loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His son to die for your sins. And when Christ died on that cross, He took the Hell and the judgment that you and I deserved. Are you ready to meet God? Are you sure you’re going to Heaven? If there’s even the slightest doubt in your heart, I found the following prayer from Billy Graham’s “Last Message to America” on YouTube:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I know that I’m a sinner and I asked for your forgiveness.
I believe you’ve died for my sins and rose from the dead.
I turn from my sins I repent of my sins.
I invite you to come into my heart and life.
I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.