Each terrible, reverberating ring of the mallet against the nails impaling Jesus’ flesh and bones. Each sweat line of agony on His face. Each drop of blood that trickled. The death of hope itself.

Nothing appeared good about that Friday when Jesus willingly suffered on the cross for the sake of all humanity.

The crucifixion felt like a humiliation and an utter defeat for Jesus’ followers, says Pastor Joey Asher Tan, of Grace Assembly of God.

But that was because they did not know that Sunday was coming.

Sabbath Saturday is sandwiched between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, because God knew what He was about to do, says Pastor Tan.

Believers must not forget about the significance of Saturday.

“If you are currently in a Saturday season in your life, if you think your darkness is overwhelming, if you’re about to be consumed by what feels like failure, I pray that you’ll find rest in this: Friday has passed, but Sunday is coming!”

What else might we have forgotten about Easter that makes this more than a long weekend, more than the season of hot cross buns, more even than the exhilarating outreach programmes and poignant hymns we sing at Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday services?

Salt&Light spoke to pastors to uncover the significant ways Christ’s death and resurrection have changed us forever.

5 Truths about Easter to remember 

#1 Death is not the last word. The cross is.

“When you pray for healing for someone, there must be no question of whether God can heal that person,” says Missions Pastor Richard Wee, from Grace Assembly of God.

Pastor Wee has spent more than two decades growing disciples in the mission field and has prayed countless prayers for healing.

“But many questions will be raised when healing does not come through. How do you answer that?

“The cross is the only answer and the work of the cross is complete. God has bought the full redemption of man – body, soul and spirit.”

Bethesda Frankel Estate Church Elder Jimmy Tan agrees. “The moment we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit guarantees life to our dead, mortal bodies. (Romans 8:11)

“Putting this together with other promises (1 Corinthians 15:42; 1 Thessalonians 4:13), we can be fully assured why we need not grieve as people without hope and can take heart even if a close Christian family member or friend dies.

“Christ’s resurrection guarantees their [resurrection] and yours too, by the power of that same Holy Spirit!”

#2 There is meaning in our own crosses.

“The cross is a very personal thing for me and a reminder of how much Jesus has done, and the assurance of how much he has overcome for us,” says Pastor Esther Lim, of Victory Family Centre.  

“It reminds me of the call and the work I have ahead of me, and the reason why I do what I do. It gives me a lot of meaning in terms of the investment of my time and the decisions that I have made.

“In the ministry, the work can get tiring and arduous. Sometimes, the involvement can pull you down, but when you look to the finished work of the cross, you remember that He is in control and has the victory. That gives me the strength to push on. 

“As I learn to look to the finished work of the cross and what He has done, I am also on the journey of taking up my own cross.  There is a level of dying to myself, knowing that I, too, need to emulate my Lord and Saviour.

“The work on the cross is also about the love of God that is sometimes difficult to be described in words. The way that love was shown reveals the many levels and layers of His love. Every day I have more revelation of His love for us, for our generation and for the people around us.”

#3 When Christ was resurrected, so were we.

Our identification with Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection should change the way we see and live life (Romans 6:4), reminds Pastor George Chua of SonShip church.

“It is easy to overlook this truth and see His resurrection as an event that happened in history apart from us,” says Pastor Chua.

But the fact that believers were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20) should spur us to live in the new life, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that God has given us.

“It helps to remember that Jesus Christ was selfless,” adds Reverend Leonard Chong, Senior Pastor at All Saints Presbyterian Church.

Jesus came to live among humans, suffered and sacrificed himself for their sins though he was sinless, and rose again in His own power. 

As Christians who identify with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:4-6), we are “reminded to be selfless disciples (and) live for God and others, not just ourselves (Luke 9:23)”, says Reverend Chong. 

“Commit [yourselves] to His passionate commitment of life, [and] take action by laying down the sins that so easily ensnare us. You don’t have to live that old life ever again. His throne of grace is available for you. Repent from lukewarmness and invite him into your life to fellowship with Him daily (Revelation 3:20)!”

#4 Suffering is not in vain.

“The apostle Paul deeply desired to know the power of [Jesus Christ’s] resurrection personally,” says Reverend Dr Dev Menon, pastor at Zion Bishan Bible-Presbyterian Church. “He found it by actively pursuing Christ-like sufferings, while rubbishing his worldly gains.” (Phil 3:10)

This resulted in Paul having a “holy indifference” to his present circumstances, where it didn’t matter to Paul whether he was rich or poor, because he had achieved the secret of contentment (Philippians 4:11-12), adds Reverend Menon.

“It’s as though the more Paul ‘became like Christ in His death’ (Philippians 3:10), the more the reality of things beyond the grave took hold.”

To be counted with Christ means suffering with Christ. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Philippians 1:29

But the suffering of this life is of this world. As believers, we can look beyond the grave.

#5 Easter is as important as Christmas.

Easter is the most significant event in Christian history, reminds Pastor Norman Ng of 3:16 church.

“The resurrection of Christ was the act that destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light.”

Some Christians don’t celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday as much as Christmas, but “if we [did], it could make the power of the Gospel a lot more evident to a curious world”, says Pastor Ng.

“To many, Easter is not as associated with a man who came back from the dead as much as Christmas is synonymous with a God who was born to the living.

“If everyone is getting a public holiday on behalf of Jesus, they deserve to know why. Let’s celebrate the biggest win for humanity like it was the biggest win for humanity!”