This beautiful Monday morning has given me a chance to reflect on this past weekend. Easter is a time of remembrance and celebration. It is a time we set aside to remember what Jesus Christ did on the cross 2000 years ago and to celebrate how His actions have given us forgiveness and hope.

When John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29) Some people there at the river would no doubt have been confused. What did John mean?

In understanding the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice, we need to look farther back in history. Hundreds of years before the crucifixion, God told Moses to gather the people of Israel together in preparation for their departure from Egypt. They were to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and without spot, eat the flesh of the lamb, and sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their home.

The lamb was to be set apart four days prior to the feast. Christ was sacrificed at the Passover, and He entered Jerusalem four days before the day the paschal lamb was set apart. The lamb was to be roasted with fire and not a bone of the lamb was to be broken.

Then the people of God were to sprinkle the lamb’s blood on the doorposts of the houses as an open witness to everyone. I’m sure the Jews might have thought, Wouldn’t that give the Egyptians one more thing to ridicule? “What are these crazy Jews doing now?” Some may have been tempted to sprinkle the blood out of sight–the closet door perhaps? Wouldn’t that be just as good? No, it had to be outside for all to see. God was asking them to make a stand and publicly declare their allegiance to God.

This lamb was, of course, a symbol of the Lord Jesus. “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The lamb without blemish and without spot represented Christ’s sinless life, the just one paying the penalty for the unjust.

Just as the Jews had to make a public declaration of their allegiance, the Bible tells us that Christian witness for Him should be public and open for all to see. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” our task began. Easter may have happened 2000 years ago, but the message of the cross continues to declared by His followers and lived out in their lives.

So after we are done with the Easter egg hunts and eating the spoils from them, let’s remember that we have a responsibility to proclaim the Easter story of Christ to the world. May we live lives that express God’s love and hope that were shown to us some 2000 years ago to those whom we interact with.

Easter may be over, but the opportunities to “share the hope within us” with others continues. Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen INDEED!