The Resurrection: high point, or hoax?

How can a new discovery change life so much? When the significance is huge and so changes everything.

Stories can hit the headlines and have an immediate impact: a person in public office being found guilty of deception; a food scandal that leads to a change in food supply and labelling; the publication of photographs which invade privacy and lead to a tightening in the law. But, despite a high profile in the short term, these are not history-making events. A far greater impact has come from the discovery of penicillin; the splitting of the atom; the decoding of DNA. Life is changed by such breakthroughs.

There is, however, one event that surpasses all others in history: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Easter’s message is either the supreme fact in history or it is a gigantic hoax. The reason is that the implications are far more significant than anything else recorded in our history books. Yet it is quite common for people to say to me that they “don’t believe it happened,” even though they admit to having little knowledge of the evidence. To such people I say, why not examine the evidence, as it is too important to dismiss out of hand? Even a booklet such as: ‘The Evidence For The Resurrection’ by Prof Sir Norman Anderson is vitally important.

But, so what? Isn’t this a private religious view that I don’t happen to buy into? Well…apart from enjoying a few pancakes and some chocolate eggs!

The resurrection establishes the moral order for all people. Jesus’ resurrection is key to his identity: ‘who, as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith’ (Rom 1v3-4). The resurrection shows that Jesus is Lord i.e. we all come under his rightful sovereignty and so we are all to obey him, rather than go our own way in life. He alone provides us with wisdom and freedom that come from knowing eternal life: a true fullness of life now and everlasting life in the future.

This Easter come and investigate Jesus with us. Come and rejoice. For he is risen!

Paul Kingman

Magazine March 2013