But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
When Grandma came to visit, she and Layla made Easter Story Cookies.
Grandma placed pecans in a zipper baggie, then Layla beat the nuts with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. While Layla worked, Grandma said, “I love you so much, Layla. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could love you any more than I do, but God does. He wants you—and me and everyone—to live in heaven with Him forever, but our sin keeps us separated from Him. So He came up with a plan. God sent Jesus to die for our sins. When Jesus came, He taught and showed the love of God. This made some people angry and jealous. They had Him arrested. Beating the nuts reminds us that Jesus was beaten by the Roman soldiers” (John 19:1-3).
Next, Grandma put a teaspoon of vinegar into a mixing bowl. “The Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. When Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink” (John 19:28-30).
Layla tasted the vinegar. “Yuck!”
Then Grandma helped Layla add egg whites to the bowl. “Eggs represent new life. Jesus gave His life to give us new life and a forever home in heaven” (John 10:10-11).
Grandma sprinkled a little salt into Layla’s hand, then Layla sprinkled it into the bowl. “The salt represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers,” Grandma said. “They were sad that Jesus was crucified” (Luke 23:27).
Next, Layla poured in a cup of sugar. Grandma said, “The sugar represents the sweetest part of the story. Remember, Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know Him and to belong to His family” (Psalm 34:8; John 3:16).
Layla helped Grandma beat the ingredients with a mixer. Grandma explained, “The color white represents how pure we look to God when our sins have been cleansed by Jesus” (Isaiah 1:18).
Grandma let Layla fold in the broken nuts, then they dropped teaspoons of mix onto cookie sheets. Each mound represented the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid (Matthew 27:57-60). They put the cookie sheets in the oven, closed the door and turned the oven off. Layla put a piece of tape across the oven door to symbolize how Jesus’ tomb was sealed (Matthew 27:65-66). Then they went to bed. Layla was sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were sad too when the tomb was sealed (John 16:20, 22).
On Easter morning, Grandma opened the oven. She and Layla each got a cookie. They noticed the cracked surface and took a bite. The cookies were hollow!
At sunrise on the first Easter, Jesus' followers went to the tomb and were amazed to find it open and empty, hollow just like the cookies. The angel told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen” (Matthew 28:1-8).
The followers were filled with joy and ran to tell others (vs. 8).
Layla and Grandma enjoyed their Easter visit and making cookies to tell the story of our risen Savior. How can you tell others that He is risen?
Dear God, Thank You for Your great love and for sending Jesus to make a way for me to belong to Your family. Thank You also for the love of my earthly family and for giving us time to make special memories. Help me as I use my creativity in sharing with others the greatest love story ever told. Amen.
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