But you may be thinking, "Why should Easter matter to me? After all, I am not a religious person, and I'm not a regular attender at church."
Easter is the time of year when Christians remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The death of loved ones is something that most people have already had to deal with and is always a salutary reminder of the fragility of life itself. Thankfully, there are times when we can celebrate the remarkable recovery of a loved one who was seriously ill, but we will never experience someone dying, remaining dead for several days and then coming back to life. If that were to happen, it would be a big deal.
Well, that is exactly what happened with Jesus Christ. He was crucified by Roman soldiers, buried in a tomb by some of his faithful followers and then, on the third day, He rose again from the dead. He was afterwards seen by hundreds of different people at different times over a forty-day period. That was truly amazing.
Actually, everything about the life of Jesus Christ had been amazing, from His birth through His childhood to His teaching ministry and the miracles that He performed. Even in the way He died, despite their confusion as to why this should happen, it seemed clear to some who had come to know Him that He was the promised Messiah, the Son of God.
The Bible itself tells us that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is critical to the Christian message. The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth said, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (I Corinthians 15:17).
Lawyer, journalist and novelist Albert Ross, writing under the pseudonym Frank Morison, set out on an in-depth exploration of what happened in the last few days of Jesus' life, as recorded in the Bible. He planned to write a book that proved there was no resurrection but, on examining all the evidence, concluded that Jesus did rise from the dead and, from that point on, his life was changed and the book took on a new focus. I recommend “Who moved the stone?” to all who are seeking to examine the evidence for themselves.
I believe that an honest consideration of the evidence will lead every enquirer to the same conclusion: Jesus did rise from the dead. And if He rose from the dead, then He was who He said He was and everything He said about life, sin, heaven and hell is true.
Today people look for answers to the big questions of life in all sorts of different places. However, the only place we can find forgiveness of sin and real peace with God is in the person of Jesus Christ, and His life, death, and resurrection.
It is only as we accept that we have broken God’s laws and therefore placed ourselves under His judgement that we can truly appreciate all that God has done for us. The good news of the Christian Message is that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to take the punishment that we all deserve. How much does God love us? We just need to take a long hard look at the cross and see the price that the Lord Jesus Christ had to pay to secure our salvation. How do we know this to be true? By taking a long hard look at the empty tomb where Jesus was buried. As the angel said to the women who came to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus, “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6).
So, as I finish this article, let me ask if you have ever seriously considered the evidence for the resurrection? Many of us who have, have found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ a friend and a Saviour. May God help you to discover the truth of the resurrection for yourself and in so doing, to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ personally. Now, that would be a big deal.
