EASTER IS A GERMANIC WORD to denote the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death and the grave. It's date of observance each year is based upon a complicated calculation that settles on a Sunday as early as in March or as late as in May.
Every part of Christianity stands upon the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. If he did not rise from the dead, we will not rise from the dead, and our hope is in vain. If he did not rise, we are yet in our sins and there is no salvation. If he did not rise, then he is a fraud and not a Savior. If he is not alive our prayers are futile and vain; just a conversation with an unhearing dead man. If he did not conquer death and hell in the resurrection then Satan has won the battle of the ages, and we are all doomed to eternal hell. If Christ is not alive then there is no grace, no mercy, no salvation, no hope, no availing blood, no born again experience, and no Christianity. If Christ is not risen then the story of the crucifixion is nothing more than the tragic account of a good, but deluded man, that suffered an injustice; but a story that would hold no significant importance for any man.
But, thank God, Jesus Christ is risen and has conquered death and hell, and therefore all that live godly in Christ Jesus can live and die with the assurance of a glorious resurrection with eternal life to follow in heaven.
I believe in the resurrection for many reasons. First, because he was seen alive by above five hundred people at one time. That ought to be acceptable proof in any court.
I believe because of the numerous personal accounts of individuals that talked to him after his resurrection.
I believe because his closest followers did not believe or expect a resurrection. They had seen him die. They were adamant in their unbelief. They rejected all statements that he was alive as the words of hysterical, overwrought women; they rejected the stories as mere empty rumors. They stood fast in their unbelief until they were confronted with irrefutable evidence, the evidence of a risen Christ standing before them and speaking to them. They were changed from unbelief by a total all consuming undeniable proof that he had indeed risen from the dead. The apostles were not guilty of a delusion. Rather, they were logical steady men that had their faith formed by an experience so great that they later freely gave their lives to preach the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They did not suffer martyrdom for a lie, but for an absolute truth.
I believe because the Roman soldiers obviously lied when they failed in their duty to guard the grave of Jesus. Their story was full of holes.
The disciples would never steal a dead body in order to claim that he lived.
Roman soldiers would have suffered a death penalty had they allowed the body of Jesus to be stolen from the grave by a group of disciples. They would have fought to the death against a group of disciples, but they were all alive and well because there had been no battle. And yet, the soldiers never faced charges of failing in their duty because the Jewish priests interceded for them to compensate them for the lie that his body was stolen. (Soldiers, if his body was stolen where are your wounds from the battle? If his body was stolen why are you not facing court martial and execution for your failure to fulfill your duty?) The truth was that no disciples had anything to do with his resurrection. Angels did, but the soldiers were unable to fight them. The only reason that existed for the obvious lie, is that the truth of the resurrection was a hated truth.
Over five hundred witnesses could testify that it was a lie.
The soldiers had as much power to stop the sun from rising as they did to stop the Son from rising.
I believe because Christianity has spread to the four corners of the earth by men that knew that Jesus lived and gave everything for the certainty of that truth. I believe because I have experienced the risen Christ, because I have communicated with him, because he has heard and answered my prayers, because his Word has always held true, because he has kept every promise, and I believe he lives inside of me today. I believe because he has changed my life from that of a sniveling gutter snipe with low morals to a man made new by his indwelling holy presence in my soul.
Yes, I believe in Easter because the evidence for the resurrection demands belief. I believe in Easter because life would hold no meaning without it.
