Of all of the issues of life that we must deal with, there is one that stands out as the most important issue of all time. It is more important than our personal problems and struggles. It is the supreme fact above our ambitions, hopes, and fears. It is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, never to die again. Why is this issue so important? Why does it stand supreme over everything else?
The Resurrection of Jesus is Simple
Either it happened or it didn’t happen. All other issues we deal with in life have great complications. But the resurrection of Jesus is simple. It happened or it didn’t happen. If it happened, then that means something. It says something about Jesus’ death and life and teachings. The resurrection puts all other issues of life in proper perspective.
Other Issues are Complicated
Take God’s love as an example. There are many things that people struggle with about the concept of God’s love. God loves me, or he doesn’t. God loves others but not me. God loves us just the way we are, or he doesn’t. If God loves us, why does he tolerate evil in the world? Why can’t I experience his love? What are the limits of God’s love, and so on? Many issues in the Bible have multiple facets, and we should explore them. But the resurrection isn’t complicated. It’s simple.
People don’t just rise up from the dead. It’s one thing to be resuscitated by a doctor or a paramedic. But it’s another thing to be brutalized and violently murdered, lie dead for three days, and get up again. In one sense, we can understand why some people refuse to believe in the resurrection of Christ. Resurrection is impossible. People don’t just rise from the dead. It doesn’t happen. But with Jesus, it is different, because he was different. He was not an ordinary man.
The Resurrection is the Impossible Becoming Possible
There are a lot of crazy things the world believes without proof or with dubious proof: flat earth, Bigfoot, aliens, conspiracy theories, etc. But the resurrection is unique in that it is an impossible thing for which there is ample evidence that it is an actual, true, historical event that really took place.
First, the resurrection is impossible because people just don’t rise from the dead. But Jesus countered this in advance by predicting his own resurrection. Jesus said in John 10:17-18, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”
Second, the resurrection is impossible because Jesus suffered physical abuse and brutality that could not simply be healed over time, much less in three days. Jesus’ flesh was stripped from his back, his muscles exposed. He suffered extreme blood loss from the whipping. He was without food and water during his trial, suffering, and crucifixion. He was crucified in a weakened state, suffering more blood loss. After death, he was stabbed with a spear, piercing his pericardium and his heart.
The testimonies of the eyewitnesses are resounding and solid. More than 500 people witnessed the resurrected Christ. But it goes further.
The Resurrection was the Central Fact the Disciples Witnessed to
All of the apostles gave their primary testimony to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Paul notes in I Corinthians 15 that if the resurrection never happened, then Christianity cannot be true. “We are of all men, most to be pitied” (I Corinthians 15:19). It’s almost as if all of the other issues that the disciples dealt with were an afterthought compared to the resurrection. It is the central truth of our faith.
The disciples were so convinced that Jesus rose from the dead bodily that all of them suffered brutality and death for their testimony. Only John died a natural death, but even he was boiled in oil. The rest endured extreme pain and abuse, being stabbed, crucified, beheaded, and even flayed alive for their testimony about Jesus. And not a single one of them recanted their faith in their 40 years of testimony. No matter what extreme pain, suffering, and brutality they faced, none of them changed their testimony. None watered it down. None avoided it. None denied it. They held to the resurrection in spite of all they suffered. Liars don’t die for what they know to be a lie.
Why You Must Deal With the Resurrection
There are many facts and truths about Christianity and the Bible. But all of it stands or falls on the resurrection of Christ. Therefore, it is the central fact that every person must deal with. There is no eternal life without believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, never to die again, then we can dismiss him as a footnote in history. Without his resurrection, he may have taught some good things, but he was just a man like any other. In fact, without his resurrection, we cannot even say that he would have been a good man. Good men don’t predict their resurrection and demand exclusive obedience and worship. The resurrection is the proof that Jesus is who he claimed to be—the unique Son of the Living God.
What issues do you struggle with in the Bible? The existence of evil? The poor behavior of the saints? The demands of a moral life? The existence of hell? Whatever your issues are, the first issue you must deal with is the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus puts everything else in its place. The resurrection is the answer to evil, because Jesus overcame it and promises we will overcome it in the future with our own resurrection. It is the answer to the poor testimony of the saints who often acted badly, because God forgives because of the death and resurrection of Christ. The resurrection makes the moral life possible. Therefore, when faced with our sin, the death and resurrection of Christ is the first and foremost thing we should come to grips with when it comes to the most important issues of life.
Conclusion
What will you do with the resurrection of Jesus? Will you ignore it or believe it? Will your belief lead to obedience to God and his word in the Bible? To face the resurrection is to face the most difficult and challenging thing in life. It is the impossible made possible. It is the absurd made real.
Deal with the resurrection. Place all other issues of life under the covering of the resurrection, and your doubts and fears will find their resolution over time as you grow in faith. Deal with the resurrection today.
