The Easter of the First Church

Trial and glory through the heart of Hebrews and the hope of the church.

An immersive study of Hebrews 2:10-18 as we prepare for Holy Week.

A Story Written in Scars

When we think of Easter, we often picture empty tombs, sunrise services, and the triumph of resurrection. And rightly so. But nestled deep in the second chapter of Hebrews is a version of the Easter story that feels less like a celebration and more like a quiet testimony—one told among the people of the early Church, people who knew what it meant to suffer.

The Easter story in Hebrews doesn’t begin with angels rolling stones away or disciples sprinting to examine a tomb. It begins with the eternal Son stepping into skin and sorrow, walking the road of obedience all the way to a cross. In just a few verses, the writer of Hebrews draws our eyes to the mystery of salvation through suffering and shows us a Savior who didn’t just defeat death—He entered into it with us, for us.

“It was fitting,” the writer says, “that God… should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10, NRSV). Fitting. Not accidental. Not a divine Plan B. Fitting. As if the only path from heaven to glory must pass through Gethsemane and Golgotha first.

The early church would have heard these words differently than we do. Many of them had lost homes, friends, even feared for their lives for believing in a crucified Messiah. They didn’t need reminders that life could be painful. They needed to know that Jesus had walked that same road—and that His suffering wasn’t a sign of failure, but of faithfulness.