What was Easter all about for you? Was it about eggs, pastel colors, frilly dresses, and ham? Was it about getting together with family and friends to enjoy each others company? Was it about going to church very early in the morning, going to breakfast, and then going back to bed? Or was there more to it than that? What is Easter really all about?
Easter Sunday, or as it is more properly known, The Resurrection of Our Lord Sunday, may be considered the most important festival day in all of Christianity. It is the day that we celebrate the fact that Christ rose from the dead. The day of the year on which we celebrate changes every year, but the purpose and importance of it stays the same.
Unfortunately even people who call themselves Christians are believing in it less and less. Since it was 2,000 years ago, and since it is such a far-fetched story people just have a hard time believing it. It doesn't fit into people's brains. People just can't fathom a man rising from the dead. Besides isn't it all just made up anyway?
My friends, it doesn't take faith to believe in the resurrection. The resurrection is a true historical fact. Just like we have as fact that George Washington was the first President of the United States, or that Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address. It is not faith that believes in the resurrection. It actually really happened and there are more than 500 witnesses to back it up.
What takes faith is to believe that Christ's death and resurrection were for you. Here's an example of what I am trying to say. One day I decide that I am going to work all day and give my paycheck to you. I have told you that I am going to do so. It doesn't take faith to see me working all day. You can go to where I am working and verify that I am working. It does take faith in me that I am actually going to give you my day's wages.
It is the same with faith in the resurrection. You could simply deny that the resurrection happened, which is just silly nonsense. The claims and facts of the resurrection would stand up in any and every court of law. To say that you have to have faith that the resurrection happened is nonsense. It is one of the most attested to events in all of human history.
Paul said it best when he wrote to the Corinthians. He said,
"If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians. 15:17-22)
This passage from Paul answers everything. It gives another attestation to the truth of the resurrection, and it tells us how the resurrection benefits us. My prayer for you is that you not only believe that the resurrection actually happened just as the witnesses said, but also that you believe that the historical and real resurrection was for you, so that you may hold to its truth all the way to everlasting life. My other prayer for you is that you share this Gospel truth with all people so that He may hasten His second coming to restore that complete and total peace that He has promised.
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