What do Bono, Easter eggs and Jesus have in common? No, it’s not an Irish joke. After reading a quote from U2s front man, I wondered if there was indeed a connection.

In a recent interview Bono says, I quote:

Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take... We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word!

Pretty insightful words from a rock star. There’s always been a certain anxiety about this person called Christ. And maybe that’s why we’ve chosen an egg as a symbol of the Easter season.

At first glance he looked like a young middle-eastern tradesperson, this Jesus of ours—a carpenter, a Jew, the boy next door. But as he walked the earth, it was soon discovered he was this and more. Because into this human body the Creator of the cosmos had squeezed Himself—on a mission to find us, to lead us back home after we’d turned our back on him.

And so he lived, laughed, and led a band of motley followers around his country; he healed, he befriended, at times he scolded; and finally he walked into an unfair trial. More than a travesty of justice, this fate had been sealed eons before— in fact, before time had begun. Back then, as the frameworks and designs of the world were being drawn up, the rebellion of God’s creatures was foreseen, and their punishment a necessary forgone conclusion. And at that moment, when God could’ve spared himself the abuse and disrespect of a disloyal and unthankful people, He chose to go ahead with the plan. He’d form the universe. Humanity would spit in his face. Yet their punishment he would one day shoulder.

And so as Jesus hung there, pinned to two pieces of wood, blood on his body and spit on his face, he was taking the blows for us. Ironic—we, the ones guilty of betraying the Creator, inflicting on him the penalty he should’ve been inflicting on us.

But an empty tomb means the crucified God was indeed still in control. It means the penalty of our rebellion and God-free living can be settled. It means a new power can raise us to a life of eternal quality. If we accept it.

If we accept him.

Easter eggs may speak of life…. But they say nothing of whips, nails and sacrificial suffering—and that’s why they will always be a curious choice for an Easter symbol—perhaps a sign of a society still nervous about a working-class middle-eastern boy next door who turned out to be the Creator in disguise.