Maudeline shares what Easter means in Haiti—and for Christ followers all over the world

The word for Easter in Haiti, Pak, comes from the French word Pâques, which traces its origin back to the Hebrew word Pesach—Passover.

According to what is written in the Bible, the first Passover did not happen by chance, but was planned by God. Exodus 12 tells us how God prepared to save Israel from the Egyptians. He sent ten plagues on that country, and the tenth plague brought about the need for the first Passover.

Passover literally means “to pass over.” God gave instructions for His people to follow in order to protect them from the plague of death He was about to send through an angel who would kill all the firstborn of Egypt. He told the Israelites to take a 1-year-old lamb without blemish, kill it, and take the blood and put it over their doorframes. Then when the angel saw the mark of the blood of the lamb, he would “pass over” their house and their firstborn would be spared from death.

The Passover became a celebration set apart for God (Lev. 23:4-8).

In Luke 22, we see Jesus participating in this feast with His disciples before He died. After His death, this feast came to have a greater meaning and came to be called the Lord’s Supper (1 Co. 11:17), signifying that whenever we eat the bread, it is a symbol of the body of Jesus who died for us, and whenever we drink the cup, we are reminded of His death until He returns, and we participate in the new covenant that was made with His blood.

Easter, our Passover, is a very critical moment for all Christians, because we know exactly what it represents in our lives: Jesus Himself is our Passover lamb (1 Co. 5:7).

While the world may remember this holiday only once a year with its own traditions and special foods, for us Easter is the assurance that Jesus is present in our daily life, in everything we do. Easter allows us to rest in doing good because we know He will return for us to live with Him for eternity.

Jesus carried our burdens on His back, humiliated, mistreated, and tortured to reconcile us from the separation we had with God. It wasn’t possible for death to hold someone like Him. He remains the only advocate for us when we sin against God. He assures us that He will be with us every day.

This sacrifice is a great thing in our lives because we know He gave His life to save us. It proves that He loves us and does not want us to be lost. His sacrifice shows us the way to find our Father and then, just like He promised, He gives in the life of every Christian a Companion to guide us in all that we do: the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). Through Him, we come to understand that we are the people He has set apart, and we can obey what He says, because He tells us if we love Him, we will obey His commandments.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35