This past week the History Channel has been running a series called “Ten days that shaped America.” None of the events that I thought of such as the invasion of Pearl Harbor or the assassination of John Kennedy made the list. What was on the list made sense once I heard the explanation of the featured event.
I imagine if historians were to list ten days that shaped the world, what happened on that first Easter morning 2000 years ago would be included. Few would dispute that without the resurrection Jesus of Nazareth would be nothing more than a footnote in history. In some volumes of ancient history he would probably be listed along with numerous other religious leaders who simply came and went.
But as you and I know Jesus was different from any religious leader of his time. Undoubtedly, others also suffered martyrdom, maybe even crucifixion, but Jesus stood apart from anyone else. He rose from the dead.
One could argue that no singular event had a greater impact on world history than what happened that morning when Mary Magdalene discovered an empty tomb. She was told that Jesus was not there and that he had been raised. As instructed, she went and told the disciples what happened.
What literally took place cannot be humanly explained. Those who cannot believe what happened will come up with any number of explanations; the body was stolen from the tomb, or Jesus wasn’t really dead when he was taken down from the cross, that somehow he was drugged when he was placed in the tomb. But the story Mary Magdalene tells us has stood the test of time. The Lord has been raised! Those who later saw the risen Christ never altered their testimony even when threatened with death.
Why should such a story even matter to us today? For one thing, what happened to Jesus gives us reason to believe that life is more than that span of time from the womb to the tomb. Until Jesus came on the scene, the Jews envisioned the Messiah as a worldly leader who would liberate them from the oppression of the Romans, but Jesus kept telling them that his kingdom was not of this world. But where else could it be if not here? The notion that we could someday be living in a different dimension had hardly been considered even by the apostles until the resurrection took place.
By his resurrection, Jesus left evidence that our time here would be a stepping stone to a new life beyond the threshold of death. What he said in those few years as he wondered the shores of Galilee and the hills of Judea were not empty promises or false hopes but the good news that he would free us from the oppression of sin and suffering. His resurrection validates his claim.
We are celebrating more than just an historical event that happened 2000 years ago. We are celebrating the impact that event continues to have on our lives today. The awareness that life for us can be renewed, rejuvenated, and made whole. Like Jesus, we can emerge from our tombs, not just the ones that will be someday be our final resting places, but also the tombs we bury ourselves in during this lifetime. We can leave behind the desert experience of our past sins to experience our own resurrection by making the choice to deepen our relationship with God.
The resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our Christian faith. Unable to explain how this happened, all Mark can do is tell us the reaction of those who saw the empty tomb along with the promise that they would see the risen Lord.
Having witnessed the risen Christ, the apostles went forth to proclaim the good news. Nothing could keep them entombed for they had seen firsthand that Jesus had triumphed over death. They were moved to share the news with others at any cost. They passed on the good news that nothing can defeat us any more, not pain, not sorrow, not rejection, not even death.
Most likely you have never heard of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukarin. He was a very powerful man in the early days of the Soviet Union. The story is told that in 1930 he addressed a huge assembly in Kiev on the subject of atheism, with the intent of trying to disprove the premises of Christianity.
When done, he asked if there were any questions. Silence filled the auditorium. Then a man went on the stage and looked over the audience. He then shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church, “Christ is risen!” En masse the crowd arose as one man and responded like a clap of thunder, “He is risen indeed!”
Yes, the ultimate greatness of Easter is “Jesus Christ is risen!” but its greatness is more than a past event. Easter, as shown by that assembly in Kiev, is an unfolding mystery that has touched and will continue to touch countless lives. The real proclamation of the gospel isn’t “Look what happened to Jesus!” No, the real message is “Look at what can happen to us!” for the message of Easter is that the resurrection has the power to transform the lives we are living now.
My friends, a blessed Easter to you! Not just this day, but throughout this season, which lasts until Pentecost on June 4. May you always be filled with the peace of the risen Lord!