What is the message of the Gospel in Easter services?
The Gospel is central in Easter celebrations, as it describes Jesus’ life, death and resurrection – the bread and butter of Christianity. At Holy Week, and particularly on Easter Sunday, we read selected verses from the Gospels that describe what happened before Jesus was beaten and found alive. They focus on the essential climaxes: the Last Supper, the treachery, the cross, the empty tomb, which is about prophecies fulfilled and the possibility of salvation. When Christians listen to the Gospel at Easter services, they are told about the death of Jesus, the triumph of death and the promise of eternal life. Gospel readings exhort Christians to increase their faith and celebrate the Easter tenets: restoration, forgiveness, the victory of life over sin and death.