If you haven't read and/or seen The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, then stop. Stop reading this and go fix that. Preferably go and read it. Then come back. :)
Now hopefully everyone still reading at this point has read and/or seen it.
Before getting married, I lived with my grandma for almost two years. And last Easter, we started a tradition, one that my husband is happy to continue. We watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on Easter Sunday. If you've read or seen the movie, I think it is pretty easy to figure out why.
Some may be wondering, "why not The Passion of the Christ?" Well, we watch that on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. So, it's not being skipped.
In the story Edmund betrays his siblings to the evil white witch who calls herself the queen of Narnia (the magical land that the kids end up in). He thinks he will become a king and that his siblings will be his servants (he doesn't much like his siblings, so this sounds pretty great to him). It turns out the witch had no desire to make him a king. She would eventually kill him and his siblings, because their existence threatened her reign of sorts. When Edmund goes to the witch to tell her where his siblings are, she takes Edmund and heads out to catch up with them. Eventually Edmund is saved and brought to the camp where his siblings and many new friends are. Also there is the great lion, Aslan. The witch eventually comes and talks to Aslan. There is a deep magic that rules over Narnia and according to that, Edmund must die, because of his betrayal. She has the right to kill him. Aslan talks alone with the witch and she leaves, without Edmund in tow. Everybody rejoices.
That night, Aslan goes off and meets up with the witch and all her cronies. They mock him, shave him, tie him up, muzzle him, and then the witch lifts up her knife, and murders him. Edmunds two sisters witness this. Once the witch and her cronies are gone the sisters go up to Aslan's lifeless body. They are in tears. They don't understand what is happening. When morning comes they decide to take a walk, but as they are walking away, they hear a huge crack. Aslan had been killed on a huge table made of stone and when the girls turn around, the table is torn in two, and Aslan's body was no longer on it. Of course the girls are frightened, but then they see him. Aslan, standing in all his glory, very much alive.
Aslan then goes on to explain what happened. The witch only knew the deep magic. She didn't know the deeper magic. "She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.” (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis)
This is what happened with Jesus. We were all traitors against the very God of the universe and against each other. Satan had rights to take us. Death had rights to grab us. Jesus looked them both in the eye. He was One who had committed no treachery. He took the death we deserved and died it. Then He was laid in a stone tomb with another stone in front of it. But three days later, the stone in front of the tomb was moved away, and He was no longer there. He was alive! Death started working backwards.
We are forgiven of our treachery. Death is slapped in the face. The devil has no power. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Death is working backwards!
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