The Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything!
Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
If the resurrection is true; if Jesus died and was buried; and on the third day the tomb was empty because He rose from the dead; and if He appeared alive by many convincing proofs; and, of course, if His body was never found because it could not be found because He rose from the dead – then the resurrection of Jesus is true, and this changes everything!
It is true. He was resurrected, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ does change everything.
Here are seven simple but important ways everything has changed.
Since Jesus rose from the dead, this means that Christianity is true. All other religions, spiritualities, and philosophies will contain some truth. Only Christianity is true. Whatever partial truths exist in other “ways” are only true to the extent they conform to biblical Christianity. Why? He is risen!
You may have intellectual problems and doubts with parts of the Christian faith. Evolution? The problem of evil? Divine sovereignty? The dependability of the Bible? Slavery? Holy war? Divine hiddenness? Miracles? Sexuality and sexual identity? If you do have problems and doubts, you can rest assured that the big intellectual issues will have good answers. I am not saying that you “rest” by stopping thinking. Far from it! But it is the case that you can have a firm foundation to wrestle, search, and think. Read, question, puzzle, ponder, and think, but know that there will be a “best of available answers” within Christianity and nowhere else. Why? He is risen!
Human death is odd. On one hand, it is completely natural. On the other hand, most human beings, when confronting it at a personal level, see something wrong about death – something that is not natural and does not fit. We have a powerful intuition that death cannot and should not win – that death should not have the final word. Your intuitions and longings that death will not be the final word are correct, but not in some generic sense or “natural process.” All natural processes will come to an end, but death does not win. In a sense, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, human intuitions and longings took on flesh and became fact. In Christ, and in Christ alone, you can share in His victory over death. Why is all of this true? He is risen!
Jesus is no longer just one sage or teacher among hundreds and thousands. His teaching alone is above all others. Why? He is vindicated! He is risen!
If you look at the world and if you look at yourself, seeing the wrong that is done, and the wrong that you have done, it will be obvious that humans are far from God, and you, like all other humans, are far from God. But if you listen to the teaching of Jesus, and come to Him as your Saviour and Lord, you will be saved. You can have the gift of union with the Triune God through His grace alone, by faith alone in Christ alone. Why? He is risen!
You might worry about the future. You might struggle with many things. Your life might be hard right now. You may have had many bad and hard things happen to you in the past. But one thing you should remember is that the end of the story changes the story. If your life is all earthly success and happiness, but it ends in death, your life is only unrequited loss – a tragedy. If, after a hard life, you are welcomed into eternity right with the Triune God and made His precious child, well, the end of the story changes the whole story. Why? He is risen!
If you are in Jesus, these momentary afflictions are preparing you for an eternal weight of glory where everything sad will become untrue. Why? He is risen!
Let us celebrate together! He is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
