I love knowing the origins of things, like the word Easter. According to history, it was a much debated word as referenced in the Encyclopedia Britannica. And some scholars say it came from the word for dawn, which was related to the word for east, because the sun rises at dawn in the east.

Some folks only think of Easter when they see the multiple pastel colors of Peeps for sale in grocery and Wal-Mart stores etc. Wikipedia tells us, “Peeps are a marshmallow confection marketed since 1953 in the United States and Canada in the shape of chicks, bunnies, and other animals, as well as holiday shapes, with themes revolving around Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.”

So when the sugary high ends the day after Easter and your basket is empty, what does Easter mean in the world of Christianity, and more specifically what does it mean to me? To Christians throughout the world, Easter is a special and holy time when they remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the world of Christendom, the word Easter is only found once in the entire Bible in Acts 4:12, that is, if you use the King James version.

I don’t have a warm and fuzzy view of Easter because of my own sin, the one I thought I’d never commit. In fact, I really didn’t know what sin was until I committed a particular sin, one of many specific ones that preachers and churches put in the ears of teenagers, including mine many years ago. After sitting in a pew during that time, I even told myself I would never commit any of the taboo sins that got repeated a lot from pulpits.

But when I did fall and fail, I saw an ugliness not seen before inside myself. It was a weird, dark dirty feeling that left a shadow on my soul for a long time. So after eventually confessing it to God, I remember thinking, “You mean, God forgave me for ___________? Even that particular, looked-down-upon sin?!”

When I realized what He forgave, I also experienced the incredible grace of God that overflows like a river overflows its banks. So for me to celebrate Easter by remembering what Christ did on the cross is a solemn remembrance, because the reality is He chose to walk up a hill called Golgatha, where He chose to spill innocent blood for those not innocent like myself. He also took my sin and yours upon Himself and then died.

So what does Easter mean to me?

A. The body of Christ, broken for Nelson. The blood of Christ shed for Nelson.

But this Easter truth goes even deeper. Because God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus is now my advocate. “Nelson what are you talking about?” I’m gonna let author Dane Ortlund handle that question since he devoted an entire chapter to it, titled An Advocate, as found in his #1 bestseller, Gentle and Lowly:

“An intercessor stands between two parties; an advocate doesn’t simply stand in between the two parties but steps over and joins the one party as he approaches the other. Jesus is not only an intercessor but an advocate.” (page 87)

And that word advocate can be found in scripture, specifically I John 2:1.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Ortlund goes deeper explaining the whole concept of an advocate

“All those in Christ have, right now, someone speaking on their behalf. Why is this advocate able to help us? The text tells us: he is “righteous.” He and he alone. We are unrighteous; he is righteous. Even our best repenting of our sin is itself plagued with more sin needing more forgiveness. To come to the Father without an advocate is hopeless.” (page 89)

Yes, Ortlund is correct, without an advocate we are hopeless. And he gets real as he describes real life and what we face as Christians:

“The Bible nowhere teaches that once we have been savingly united with Christ, we will find grievous sins to be a thing of the past. On the contrary, it is our regenerate state that has more deeply sensitized us to the impropriety of our sins. Our sins feel far more sinful after we have become believers than before. And it’s not only our felt perception of our sinfulness; we do indeed continue to sin after becoming believers. Sometimes we sin big sins. And that’s what Christ’s advocacy is for. It’s God’s way of encouraging us not to throw in the towel.” (pages 90-91)

So what else does Easter mean to me?

B. Because of Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross, his redeeming blood, and resurrection power, I have an advocate. When I sin, Jesus goes to the Father on my behalf as my advocate.

Why not put your name in the blanks:

The body of Christ, broken for _____________. The blood of Christ shed for ___________.

And if you can’t put your name in those blanks, or refuse to, the reality is your life is blank, void of any hope or salvation, left to your own demise.

I love the frankness and rawness of author Ann Voskamp. And in her latest 2025 release, Loved to Life, she writes:

“And if you’re not thirsting for God, the question for the soul is, “What are you deathly drunk on that is deceptively destroying you?”

Why not let Jesus represent you as your advocate?

Wooden cross pic courtesy of “Nelson & his Nikon” and dark cross picture of Nancy Silvey