Scan through the book of Matthew. You'll see His boldness everywhere! One of the first things He does in his first ever sermon is call out the revered and widely respected religious leaders...right in front of them. He says "I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." In other words, He said (with them standing right there!) that if people lived like those leaders, they'd go to hell. And He was flat out telling the great and mighty preachers of the time that they were going to hell.

As you keep reading, you find Him talking about things like how HE is the one who gives the thumbs up or thumbs down on who makes it to heaven (7:22-23; 10:32,33). And He speaks so powerfully that "the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law" (7:28-29). In chapter 8, his disciples are freaking out because they think their all going to drown in a boat at sea when Jesus wakes up and rebukes the winds and waves. "The men were amazed and asked 'What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!'"

He heals two violent scary demon-possessed men as if it was nothing...demons who saw Jesus passing by and shouted out "What do you want with us Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" And of course, He heals people of all kinds of stuff. Oh, and He does tiny little things like forgiving their sins. He condemns whole cities. He corrects the religious leaders about the sabbath and how it works saying that HE Is the "Lord of the Sabbath." He says He has legions of angels at his disposal. He walks on water. He makes a whip and drives people out of the temple. I could go on and on and on...but you get the idea. He's big. He's powerful. He strong. He's bold. And He makes the rules.

And yet, in 26:67 it says "Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, 'Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?" 27:28-31 says "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. 'Hail, king of the Jews!' they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him."

Quite the turn of events. It's like watching a movie without really paying attention only to look up and find the strong, powerful hero of the story (who seems capable of anything) is suddenly getting the crud beat out of him. What? DO SOMETHING! And He could have, of course...but He chose not to. Back when Jesus was being arrested He told Peter, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?" (26:53-54)

But don't worry. There's still chapter 28. I love how the women go to the tomb only to find Jesus' body gone and an angel sitting on top of the stone saying "Don't worry. It's okay. Didn't He tell you? He conquered death! Go tell the disciples!" And as they are running back to town, Jesus shows up and says, "Hey" (vs 9). How cool is that?!!! And before He returns to heaven, He says "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to ME."

Look. Easter comes with a lot of amazing messages and reminders for us. It is a (TRUE) story of hope and redemption and freedom. You can draw a lot of lessons from all that we just read. To me, it's not JUST about salvation (although, that would be more than enough!). It's about power. It's about boldness. The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in YOU. That's insane! So what do you have to be afraid of? Seriously. And are you really still letting your "sinful nature" control you? Really? With the power living inside of you, you STILL think you can't beat it? Come on! Who do you think you're dealing with? Do you think God is weak and unsure and soft. He's the Creator of the Universe who conquered death and redeemed your life. That's the kind of guy I want in MY corner. There is nothing to fear, because He happens to be on YOUR side! There is nothing you can't handle. There is no temptation too strong. No sin too big for Him to forgive.