We will gather at our churches this Sunday morning to celebrate the greatest event in the Christian faith—the physical resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
While you and I will gather to celebrate an event that we believe really happened, there will be thousands upon thousands of people who will attend resurrection services who either do not believe that the resurrection actually happened or are unsure that it happened in the literal way that the Gospels describe. They go to church on that day in order to observe a religious custom. That’s what good, decent, moral people do on Easter Sunday.
So does the resurrection really matter? And if it does, how do we actually go about confirming that it really matters?
The Importance of the Resurrection
Without a doubt, the New Testament writers argued that the resurrection was of supreme importance. In fact, Paul argued that if you deny that Christ rose again, you can’t have a Christianity that is truly Christian in a biblical sense (1 Cor. 15).
The reason the resurrection is so important is related to the claims made by Jesus Christ Himself. On multiple occasions, He predicted the Jews would deliver Him to the Romans, who would crucify Him, and then on the third day He would rise from the dead (Matt. 20:17–19).
So the resurrection is the single greatest proof of His claim to be Messiah, the Son of God. But what is the single greatest proof that the resurrection is true?
The Proof of the Resurrection
There are many ways in which Christians have tried to make the case for Christ’s rising again. But there is one undeniable way in which the Apostles and the early Christians made the case for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They pointed to the lives of people who had been radically transformed by the power of the resurrected Christ!
The greatest evidence of the reality of the resurrection is a life that has been genuinely transformed by the power of the resurrected Lord!
We will gather this Sunday as Christians to testify of His power and celebrate His rising from the dead.
When we do that, we must remember that the single greatest evidence we can offer the world to back up our claim that Jesus is alive and Lord over all is the evidence of a radically transformed life!
That is exactly what Peter and John do in Acts 3 and 4. The religious leaders call them to give an account for proclaiming the resurrection of the dead after healing the lame man. Before this hostile crowd, they point to the powerful, resurrecting work of God in Christ that healed the lame man.
If He raised up His own Son, then He would raise up those who believe on His name. And those people who believe on His name are marked in this life by a radically transformed life!
At some point in every person’s life, it comes down to one decisive question. What will you decide about the person and work of Jesus Christ? Will you believe in His death and resurrection?
This Sunday, we have the opportunity to show people that our answer is yes. Christ has risen from the dead. We believe it is true.
What is our proof? The transformed lives all over our congregation.
