CENTRAL EVENT OF ALL OF HISTORY

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“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
– C. S. Lewis

These words capture, with piercing clarity, the significance of the central event of all history: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be Israel’s longed-for Messiah, the one who would raise those who believed in him from the dead. They would live in resurrected bodies, in his glorious kingdom, forever.

That’s why Jesus said he was the “resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Bold claims. Huge claims, in fact.

After Jesus was crucified, his disciples — distraught, disoriented, and devastated — lost all hope (Luke 24:21). Their question was brutal and urgent: How could a dead man be “the resurrection and the life”? Dead men don’t do anything, let alone raise others from the dead.

This is why the resurrection is the linchpin of the Christian faith. Without it, everything collapses: No Messiah. No resurrection of believers. No coming kingdom. Nothing.

As Paul powerfully puts it,

“If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless… all who have died believing in Christ are lost!” (1 Corinthians 15:17–18).

As astounding as it might sound, Jesus’ resurrection is as certain a fact as any other historical event. Be encouraged as apologist Wes Huff presents some of the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection in the video below.

The Resurrection Is Everything

Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. It means: Jesus is the Messiah. His kingdom and our resurrection is certain. God’s love for us is proven by the bloodied, beaten man gruesomely crucified on a Roman cross (Romans 5:8).

Easter presents a unique opportunity to share the risen Saviour with others. Consider this: 40% of Australians say they would attend a church gathering if invited by a trusted friend or family member. That’s hardly surprising, given that over 40% of Australians identify as Christian. The openness is there — we simply need to extend the invitation.

To rephrase evangelist Michael Harvey, let’s pray: “Lord, this Easter, is there someone you want me to connect with outside the church?” What a powerful question to carry into this season.

To equip you in sharing the risen Christ, Canberra Declaration curated a powerful resource by Kurt Mahlburg. The short brochure “10 Reasons to Believe Easter Really Happened” is perfect for handing to friends and family, or placing in letterboxes and on church noticeboards.

CHRISTIANS MUST BELIEVE 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-19

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In reality, Christians must believe all of Scripture as it is all God’s Word but if someone calls himself a ‘Christian’ while denying that God raised Jesus from the dead bodily and historically, then he is deluding himself.

The Resurrection of Christ: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

“1. Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel  I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

“For the Lord, himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:29-31