Life, Death, and Resurrection

Audio By Carbonatix

Some years, Easter matches up with the weather and everything seems perfectly timed. Every now and then, the week leading up to Easter really is the first hint that spring is on the way, so the celebration of new life in nature and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus fit together completely naturally. Then, there are years where winter has been pretty mild, but the transition into springtime has been full of stops and starts.

But for those of us who are Christians, even dreary weather on Easter won’t put a damper on what we’re gathering together to celebrate this Sunday! In many ways, Easter is the pinnacle of the Christian calendar. I know Christmas has more parties and bigger family gatherings, and it’s a great celebration as we commemorate Jesus’ birth. But on Easter, we gather together to celebrate something that is beyond imagination—we celebrate that God raised Jesus from the dead! We celebrate that Jesus’ teachings and His life received the ultimate validation when He defeated death.

If you are a Christian or grew up around faith, this all makes sense to you. But if you didn’t, it must seem strange, so let me explain. The reason that Christianity has had such staying power century after century is because the earliest followers of Jesus insisted that He rose from the dead and that they had spent time with Him after He was executed by the Roman government that ruled over their region at the time. As Jesus gained popularity and attention from His ministry throughout the region, His message about God’s Kingdom inspired many people who were on the low end of the power structure. And that meant that it also shook things up for those who held the power. So, the religious and political leaders saw Jesus as a problem to be solved while many people who had lived under the thumb of power saw Him as a leader, teacher, and healer to be followed and emulated.

This ultimately came to a head with Jesus being executed as a way to consolidate power for the political and religious leaders. But the story doesn’t end there. After His execution on Friday, Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday. And in many ways, the rest is history. His followers were rejuvenated by this miracle and went all through the region sharing His message and telling His story. Over the centuries to follow, the message made its way all around the world, with Easter (or Resurrection Sunday) being celebrated worldwide as the day we remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

For my fellow Christians, Easter is a day for us to stand in awe of this power and to delight in the promise this gives us of life beyond death. For those who aren’t Christians but are interested to know more about Jesus and His message, I’d encourage you to find a local church to attend this Sunday to experience the celebration for yourself. Or you could pick up a Bible and read Jesus’ story in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. My belief is that your exploration will lead you to find what people have found for generations and generations—that Jesus is somebody you want to follow!