The Easter story is astounding. It is also an essential and core belief in the life and work of the church and the faith of Christians. If anybody came up with credible evidence showing that Jesus was never raised from the dead on Easter Sunday, the worldwide church would collapse. And many people have attempted to do just that.
A lawyer called Frank Morrison was one of them. Using his clever legal skills, he examined all the evidence he could find, including the writings of eye witness accounts, and the testimony of ancient historians writing at the time of Christ. He ended up publishing his findings in a book called, “Who Moved The Stone?” in which he confesses that he had become a Christian after being convinced from the evidence that Jesus did actually come back to life again on Easter Sunday.
Lee Strobel is a top flight investigative journalist. He also set out to disprove Christianity and interviewed scientists, archaeologists, historians and theologians in his quest to discredit Christian belief. He also ended up becoming a Christian and has since written a series of books the first of which was entitled, “The Case For Christ.”
Whatever view you take on the issue, Easter time is a great opportunity to explore the facts. It’s not just about cute Easter bunnies and Easter eggs, although we use these symbols of new life to remind us of the resurrection of Christ. It’s also a time for reflection, because if it’s all true, that has a huge implication for us today. It means that there is a way of life that brings eternal hope to the world.
When times are tough, we look for solid, unchangeable things to base our lives on: the love of those closest to us, good friends, work which satisfies and fulfils us. These give us footholds when our world is rocking: anchor points that help us through the challenges of life – illness, redundancy, bereavement, debt, broken relationships and more. The Christian faith is based on the death and the return to life of Jesus, and Easter is the time that the Church marks these two pivotal events in world history. Christianity is less about religion, with its rules and rituals, than about relationship – a vital, living, two-way friendship with Jesus. Not a long-dead figure from a dusty book, with no relevance to our lives today, but someone who knows us inside out, yet still loves us, and longs for us to become the people we were made to be. The one who said: “I am the resurrection and the life…” (John 11: 25).
Happy Easter!
Revd Steve