When I was a junior in college, I studied in London for a semester.  During my time over there, I remember watching a three-episode BBC series on who Jesus really was, and watched as historian after historian dismissed Jesus as just another Jew, as nothing special.  They talked about how there were other first-century people who were thought to be the Messiah, other miracle-workers in the time of Jesus, and how there are other myths throughout history of god-men who rise from the dead. 

I will never forget the narrator’s conclusion as he wrapped up the series.  He said, “we have heard about how Jesus was just an ordinary Jew, how there was nothing special or unique about him.  Having considered all that has been said, I believe that Jesus must have risen from the dead.  How else would you explain how a normal Jew with average followers who was crucified as a criminal could completely transform the world?”  I remember sitting upright, stunned at the narrator’s completely unexpected conclusion.  But he was right, and what he said made perfect sense.  If Jesus was just one of many would-be Messiahs who was killed, why didn’t faith in Jesus die off when his dead body was laid in the tomb (according to the Bible, it did… until Sunday), like it did for ever other would-be Messiah?  And if Christianity is just one of a number of myths including god-men who rise from the dead, then why hasn’t it gone the way of all the other myths?  Why has this Jesus-thing exploded all over the world?  Why are people’s lives still being transformed by an average Jew who was crucified 2000 years ago?  As the narrator said, the best explanation for the empty tomb, the post-mortem appearances, the changed lives of the disciples, the rise of the church, is that Jesus really rose from the dead. 

 There are so many reasons to reject God and the church.  You may distrust the supernatural aspect of the Bible, or be confused by the existence of so many different churches saying so many different things.  You may reject God because of the suffering you’ve experienced, or because you can not believe that one religion could be right and all the rest wrong.  But in the end, it all boils down to one question:  did God raise Jesus Christ from the dead 2000 years ago?  Was there one person in the history of mankind who was killed, only to be resurrected from the dead three days later, to never ever die again but to ascend into heaven?  Because if the resurrection of Jesus is not mere philosophy but historical fact, then everything changes.  There are countless religions and philosophies in this world, but only one that claims as a historical fact that a man who was also divine died, rose bodily from the grave to overcome sin and death, and is alive forever.

 If the resurrection is true, then you need to drop what you are doing and listen to this man who could not be defeated by death.  Think of how much credence is given to people who have near-death experiences and then write a book about it.  How much more should we listen to someone who spent three days in the grave, only to be resurrected to life?

 The apostle Paul put it this way:

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also 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. (1 Corinthians 15:14-15;17-20)

There is one thing more than anything else that would cause me to quit my job and go do something else.  If Christ has not been raised, if the resurrection is a sham, then I will quit my job tomorrow and find something else to do with my time. 

But the resurrection is true.  If you have any doubts, or if you have not been transformed by the power of the resurrection, come to NewLife this Sunday.  Or, if you don’t live near NewLife, find another Bible-believing church and allow the power and glory of the resurrection to transform your life.  Let us never lose the wonder at what occurred that first Easter Sunday, 2000 years ago.

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