Today we will be celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the most important event ever in human history. If Jesus did not rise from the dead we would not have any reason to believe in or follow Him. Without the resurrection, there is no Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:14). Without His resurrection, Jesus would be no more significant than any other man who had lived and died. But, God did resurrect Jesus.
The death AND resurrection of the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament and by Jesus himself. Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, “We’re going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day, he will be raised to life!” (Matthew 20:17-19).
After the crucifixion, the disciples of Christ ran away and went back to the normal lives they had before they met Jesus. If something hadn’t happened after that point, they would never have gone forward to preach. Churches would never have been started. There would only be buildings with the law’s message within them. The law is good. It shows us where we miss the mark. But it has no power to help us keep it. There would be no fulfillment of that law—only a high bar that no one can reach. Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope for a new life. A life where the Holy Spirit enables us to follow God’s laws and be forgiven when we can’t do it. God the Father let us know that we can’t keep the law, so He made a way for us to take on His righteousness.
Hallelujah! Let’s remember to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection every day.
