Another Easter weekend is upon us, starting with the somber Good Friday observance and concluding with the celebration of Easter. Can you imagine what the world would be like – indeed, what life would be like – if Jesus Christ had not come? If He had not be crucified? If He had not risen from the grave?
Some “what if” ramifications immediately come to mind: There’d be no Christmas. Or Good Friday. Or Easter. Calendars wouldn’t be divided according to B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini).
But those are just the start. We wouldn’t have Jesus’ teachings, such as the “Golden Rule” – “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31) – or His declaration of the second greatest commandment, to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31). Who would have told us, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)?
We wouldn’t have His teachings and parables, which not only imparted wonderful life principles but also enriched our language with such common phrases as the “good Samaritan,” “prodigal son,” and “born again.” There would be no references to “walking on water,” “doubting Thomas,” “salt of the earth,” “light of the world,” or “judge not lest you be judged.”
Some of the greatest works of art never would have been created – Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, “The Last Supper,” Michelangelo’s “Pieta,” and many others depicting the life and passion of Christ. Crosses, prominently displayed at churches around the world and worn as symbols of faith by Jesus’ fervent followers, likely would have had no meaning.
The significance of Jesus’ life is beyond measure: His feedings of the multitudes. Changing water into wine and raising Lazarus from the dead. His unforgettable “sermon on the mount,” including the Beatitudes and its paradoxical declarations that “the poor in spirit…those who mourn…the meek…the merciful…the peacemakers” and others are “blessed.” The name Judas wouldn’t have become synonymous with betrayal. The Virgin Mary wouldn’t be revered by millions around the globe.
As impressive as all of these are, they barely begin to answer the question, “What if He had not come?” Because the influence of Jesus’ life, teachings, death, burial, resurrection and ascension transcends the physical world. His most life-changing, transformational impact is found deeply rooted in the unseen spiritual realm.
Countless books have been written about this, but consider the following: Were it not for Jesus, what definitive answers would we have for the problems of sin, guilt, justice, and ultimately, separation from God? Where would we find the capacity for genuine, complete forgiveness? How could we experience the hope (not “hope-so”) of eternal life, the assurance that we’re not moving from the land of the living to the land of the dead, but from the land of the dying to the land of those who live eternally?
Central to the Gospel is Jesus’ familiar promise of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” As the apostle Paul asserted in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we still sinners, Christ died for us.”
But we know that Jesus’ death – commemorated on Good Friday – was not His final act. As each of the gospels confirms, He arose on the third day, as He had promised. When Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with traditional burial spices, they encountered not a corpse but an angel, who declared, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:5-6).
How important is this claim? Paul didn’t mince words when he stated, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” But then he gave an immediate reminder, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:17-22).
No leader of any other religion or belief system could make such a claim. As the old hymn affirms, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.”
Best of all, we don’t have to wait until the moment of death to enjoy the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. When He ascended from earth, He left His Holy Spirit not only to guide His people, but also to live in them: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy…through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Paul in Galatians 2:20 expresses it this way: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me.”
Literally hundreds of other Bible passages support and expand on these truths. Some might immediately come to your mind. The bottom line is this: Jesus did come. He was crucified. He did rise from the dead. And to this day, millions of men, women and children can experience the assurance we find in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” And in response, we can all add a hearty “Hallelujah!”
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