“He is not here, He has been resurrected! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, “The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day?” And they remembered His words. Luke 24:6-8 HCSB
There are many different religions in the world. All of these religions have one thing in common – the leader who started the religion is now dead and buried. Only one religion, Christianity, claims that the leader not only died and was buried, but that He was resurrected from the dead and lives today. Buddha’s body was cremated and the ashes were placed in monuments; Mohammad’s remains lie in a grave in the city of Medina; Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, is buried at the Smith Family Cemetery in Illinois; Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, is buried is in his home town of Qufu, Shandong Province, China. The body of Jesus Christ was resurrected and is no longer in the grave! He is alive! No other religion can make such a claim.
The resurrection is essential to the Christian faith. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity is like all of the other world religions. The resurrection means that we have hope for the future because death has been conquered. The resurrection means that we have a leader who is alive and giving direction to this world. The resurrection means that someday we will be raised from the dead and have eternal life. The resurrection means that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us as believers. Without the resurrection there would not be any Christian church today.
Challenge: Celebrate the risen Lord this Easter by attending an Easter worship service in your community. Invite someone to go with you who needs to hear the Good News that Jesus is risen and is alive! Because He lives you know that as a believer you will someday have eternal life in heaven.