Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter: An Historical Falsehood or a Pivotal Truth?

We, that is, we humans, humanity as a whole, cannot have it both ways.  Either there was or there was no resurrection.  Was Jesus literally and actually resurrected from the dead or was he not?  And yes, the answer to this question should make a huge difference to us.

If Jesus was NOT raised from the dead, Christianity is basically a falsehood at its core, and the Christian lacks any real substance for believing IN Jesus.  Sure, as a religion it may still serve a purpose for teaching morality and good citizenship, as much as any religion does: Do not lie, cheat or steal.  Do not covet your neighbor’s property.  Be kind, generous, and nice, and so-on and so-forth.  Nevertheless, Christianity did not spread like wildfire in the early centuries of this era because of its moral teachings.  Without a true resurrection, Christianity lacks real power, offering nothing more than an empty hope with a vacuous future.

Death and taxes, this is what’s real, injustice, misfortune, crime, hatred, racism, ethnic cleansings, natural disasters, hunger, thirst, war, famine, survival of the fittest.  The haves versus the have-nots, competition for limited resources, the rich getting richer, the misery of the destitute and the poor, disease and sickness, cancer, children dying before they’ve had a chance to live, pain, loss, suffering, and severe heartache, this is Truth.  If there is no resurrection and Jesus was not raised from the dead, then there is no real, substantial, life changing hope.  We die.  And that’s all there is to it.  So, “eat drink and be merry….”

Enter Jesus: Moral teacher, good man, great communicator, spiritual leader?  Yes, not unlike many great leaders of the world (think Mahatma Gandhi, the Buddha, or the Dalai Lama).  Is that all?  “Well, yes, isn’t that enough?” one might say.  No, it is not.  Not, that is, if Jesus were really and truly raised from the dead.  If Jesus were actually raised, truly resurrected from the dead, that truth would put us on an altogether different playing field, a new level of “Truth and Consequences.”  And it is this claimed truth that Christianity is founded upon.

Eyewitnesses claimed as much: “He is Risen, come and see!”  Individuals and groups of individuals were killed and martyred, willingly gave up their lives—for making this claim: Jesus was put to death on a cross, died and was buried, and on the third day, was raised from the dead.  He is Risen!  Okay, so let’s ask.  If this were true, really, literally, matter-of-factly true, Jesus-raised-from-the-dead, what does it mean for humanity?  To say the least, it means everything!

It means that Jesus really is someone to reckon with.  It means Jesus’ words are to be taken quite seriously, more seriously than the most devout practitioner of his followers.  It means that what He said about God, himself, eternal life, future judgment, salvation and redemption, is all quite true.  It means that Jesus really is Lord, has power and authority over all humanity.  It means that He is alive even now.  He lives today, and we owe him.  We owe him our trust, faith, obedience, our very lives.  It means that someday we will be called upon to give account to Him.  But most importantly, it means there really is something better, beyond the misery and heartache of this life.  There is real hope.  It means that there is a truly substantial and eternal future IN Jesus.  It means that Jesus actually is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus Rocks!  Uh, I mean, Rules.  May His Kingdom come quickly!

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