3 Things You Should Know About Easter
Itās that time of year again, when Cadbury Chocolate Eggs are sold by the millions and the History Channel starts airing a yearās worth of planned specials repackaging the same āshockingā and ānewly-unearthedā claims riffing off of the same tired themes popularized by Dan Brown inĀ The Da Vinci Code.Ā With so many confusing messages about what Easter is all about, itās no wonder we so easily miss the very reasons our broader society universally recognizes it as a holiday (even if many do not believe those reasons). As a helpful reminder and refresher, hereās why marking and celebrating the anniversary ofĀ Christās resurrection is so importantā¦
1)Ā Ā The Resurrection was a Historical Event Why did the Christian faith spread across and subsequently transform historyās greatest empire in just a few hundred years if Jesus didnāt actually rise from the dead? Israel was theĀ onlyĀ nation/culture conquered by the Roman Empire that wasĀ notĀ forced to worship the emperor as divine. Why? Because their commitment to not worshippingĀ anyĀ man as God was so zealous that Rome, the most powerful empire the Western world has seen before or since,Ā realized they would rather die than compromiseā¦ Israelites would not worship anyone they did not believe was the Creator God.Ā SomethingĀ as game-changing as the Resurrection would have to happen for such a dramatic reversal. As Tim Keller states inĀ The Reason for GodĀ (p.209-210):Ā āIt was absolute blasphemy to propose that any human should be worshipped. Yet hundreds of Jews began worshipping Jesus literally overnight. The hymn to Christ as God that Paul quotes in Philippians 2 is generally recognized to have been written just a few years after the crucifixion. What enormous event broke through all Jewish resistance?ā
2)Ā Ā The Resurrection is Essential to the Christian Faith Christians believe that sin (rebellion from God ā the Source of all Life) is the source of all death. If Christ remained dead ā both physically and spiritually ā then He could not have been the Source of all Life (i.e. God incarnate). And if He was not God, then His death could not have possibly satisfied the justice we deserve. It is for this reason that humanityās greatest theologians like C.S. Lewis have claimed that the truth of Christianity does not rest on whether we like or agree with JesusāĀ teachings, but on the reality of HisĀ resurrection. If you do not believe He rose from the dead, then you shouldn'tĀ give His teachings an ounce of authority or credibility. That would be the epitome of foolishness!
3)Ā Ā The Resurrection Foreshadows the Conclusion of our Redemption Easter does not merely demonstrate Christās divinity and power over death (though it certainly does), it is also a down payment on the promise He made to restoreĀ everything. The Gospel isĀ notĀ a āget out of jail free card,ā but a trustworthy promise that God will be faithful to bringing about the renewal of all things ā not merely ourĀ soulsĀ and not merely ourĀ selves, but nothing less thanĀ all of creation. He declared the physical world is good at the beginning of history, and He will settle for nothing less than itās full restoration at the end of history. N.T. Wright beautifully articulates these dramatic implications in his bookĀ Surprised by Hope: āThe point of the resurrectionā¦is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will dieā¦ What you do in the presentāby painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourselfāwill last into Godās future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts itā¦). They are part of what we may call building for Godās kingdom.ā
For further study and exploration of Easter and the Resurrection, check out these recommendations:
1)Ā Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of RedemptionĀ by Michael Williams 2)Ā The Reason for GodĀ by Tim Keller 3)Ā Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Churchby N.T. WrightĀ
