The Lutheran Hour
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"Christ’s Resurrection Is Faith’s Foundation"
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Text: John 19:30; Matthew 28:20
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PRAYER: Almighty and everlasting God, today is a day of celebration. With great joy, we now recall the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And, just as Jesus was raised, so also shall all those who believe in Him be raised unto life everlasting. Today, blessed Savior, we celebrate Your promise, when You said: “For this is the will of My Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself,” you said O Lord, “will raise Him up on the last day” (John 6:40). O blessed and resurrected Lord, we believe Your Promise. Amen.
Today is the high point of all events celebrated by Christians in every country of the world. Today, we celebrate the climax of life and the defeat of the death. Today, Christians on every continent, believers in every city and village, followers of the Savior in every remote area of the globe rejoice that the foundation of faith, the historic resurrection of Jesus Christ, is not just one among many high points of history. But rather, Christ’s resurrection is the supreme event of history that gives help in illness and hope in the days of controversy. Christ’s resurrection does something no medicine or counseling can ever do. Christ’s resurrection dries the tears of the bereaved at the graveside. Indeed, as St. Paul says, “If Jesus did not rise from the dead, we are then still in our sin.” Yes, we as Christians are then “most to be pitied.” But, the truth is, the apostle Paul states, “Jesus did indeed, after three days in the cold grave, arise from the dead.” Jesus rose from the dead so that all of us can possess a living hope in today’s world that is so often hopeless.
So powerful is the celebration of Easter — so overwhelming has the resurrection of Christ proven to be, that even secular institutions have had no choice but to stand up and take note.
For example, several years ago the secular journal, Newsweek, in a lead story focusing on Easter, gave an almost unbelievable salute to the historical resurrection of Jesus. This is what Newsweek said, “This is the week that Christians around the world gather to remember the passion and the death of Jesus on a criminal’s cross. Once again, the familiar story will be relived in liturgy, sermon, and song. The soberness of Good Friday, the tomblike solemnity of Holy Saturday, is followed by the radiance of Easter Sunday — a proclamation of Christ’s resurrection: New life by the power of God.”
Newsweek then continues to say, “[It is indeed] as the apostle Paul insisted, the risen Christ is the center of the Christian faith, the mystery without which there would be no church, no hope of eternal life, no living Christ to encounter in Eucharistic bread and wine.” “By any measure,” Newsweek states, “the resurrection of Jesus is the most radical of Christian doctrines. Christ’s teachings, His compassion for others, and even His death will find parallels in other stories and other religious traditions. However, for no other historical figure has the claim been made consistently that God raised Jesus from the dead.”
Then Newsweek continues to salute the historical Easter resurrection by saying: “It was the appearances of Christ after His resurrection that lit the flame that fired a motley band of fearful disciples to proclaim the risen Christ, throughout the Greco-Roman empire.”
The article goes on, “According to the late German Marxist Earnest Block, ‘It wasn’t the morality of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount which enabled Christianity to conquer Roman paganism. Rather, the impetus that drove the early Christians was the belief that Jesus had indeed been raised from death back to life!'”
Now, after all these glowing comments about the historic resurrection of Jesus, Newsweek magazine then sadly returns to the typical approach which secular journalism often uses when it speaks about Christ and the Christian faith. After giving a solid salute to the historic facts of the resurrection, Newsweek then says, “Every generation reinterprets for itself the meaning of Jesus.” This implies that the historic account of Christ’s resurrection may not be considered all that reliable or useful for the strengthening of faith. Finally, according to Newsweek, “It then all depends not on the solid rock facts of history, but rather on how you feel about the historic resurrection.”
Newsweek then begins to permit the not-so-subtle undermining of the Easter resurrection by writing, “For the past five years, scholars have published more than two dozen books and scores of footnoted articles initiating a fierce debate over the risen Jesus. In their relentless search for the ‘historical Jesus,’ various Bible scholars argue that the Gospel stories of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection appearances are only fiction devised long after His death. This is all done, they say, to justify claims of divinity. These liberal scholars then consider the resurrection as an embarrassment to the mind of modern man.”
Now it’s interesting that several years ago the Barna Research Group learned that 30 percent of all those who call themselves “born again” Christians, do not believe Jesus came back to physical life after He was crucified on the cross.
But, friends, don’t be a party to this 30 percent who doubt. Instead, celebrate the hope of the resurrection with all those who know from the rock solid record of history that Jesus Christ, crucified on the cross for your sins, rose from the dead. And know also that, as the apostle Paul says, “After His resurrection Jesus was seen by more than 500 people at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Now get this. In a box, by itself to draw attention to the page, Newsweek said: “By itself, the empty tomb, one of Christianity’s most enduring images, does not prove anything.” Excuse me! What does the empty bed of your children mean each morning except that they arose and headed for school or work? In the same way, the empty tomb clearly means Jesus arose from the dead.
This is how the historic, gripping, and faith-forming account is recorded in the Bible. On the first day of the week, at early dawn [followers of Jesus] came to the tomb. But, when they arrived, they found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb. Then, when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
And, while they were perplexed by all this, behold two men [two angels] suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing. The women were terrified. They bowed their faces to the ground. But, the angels said to them, “Why do you seek the living One [Jesus] among the dead? He is not here. He has risen. Remember [the angels said] how Jesus spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again.” Then these women remembered Jesus’ words. They returned from the tomb and reported these things to the 11 disciples and to all the rest” (Luke 24:1-9).
Oh, this Good News of the empty tomb clutched the emotions of Christ’s followers. It totally transformed them. Their life was never the same again. Their life was changed; their attitude was changed; and their view of all of life was totally transformed! Every difficult problem now became a surmountable challenge. Every discouraging moment became an opportunity and each temptation to tears was transformed into a foundation of faith and a fountain of joy.
So, readers and friends, don’t relegate or limit the resurrection of Jesus to one day a year. Stop categorizing the Easter celebration as something that affects you in only a “peripheral” religious way. Instead, with your eyes of faith, be assured the resurrection guarantees you and your children a living hope and your grandchildren a certain future.
The rock-like hope of Christ’s resurrection remains unchanged, even if your closest friends turn against you. Christ’s resurrection gives you a reason to go to church each Sunday even though your church council may be embroiled in controversy or divided by differences. The proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection towers above and even overcomes all of this.
Ten years ago, my family buried our father. This last August, we buried our mother next to him. This cemetery next to my home church in rural South Dakota is filled with crosses. The Bible passages chiseled on many tombstones speak again and again of the hope of the resurrection. These crosses are no mere decoration. The sin-cleansing death of Christ and the hope of the resurrection is what binds our family’s hearts together.
Let the cross and the empty tomb be the spiritual glue that binds your family and marriage together. Why not begin today? Don’t celebrate Easter as a mere continuation of a tradition. Instead, celebrate Easter as the greatest event in history. Because Jesus was raised from the dead unto eternal life, so also you can have eternal hope. In Hebrews, chapter two, we read that Jesus left His throne in heaven. He took on flesh and blood. He died on the cross and He did this, the Bible says, “So that He might render powerless [the devil] who had the power of death.” Then the Bible points out, Jesus did this; He died on the cross and rose again, “so that He might free those who through the fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Celebrate the resurrection today. Instead, of looking down in daily discouragement, look up in hope. Don’t consider each day as another step toward the end of all things. Instead, look at each day as a journey based on the resurrection. This blessed journey will soon end in that place, where according to the Bible, “God will be among His people and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” This blessed Paradise is a place where “there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; behold all things will be new” (Revelations 21:3-4).
O Lord, we pray, open the ears and the hearts of all that hear Your life-giving word today. Enable all our listeners to keep the resurrection of Jesus in the center of their lives. In this Easter Resurrection celebration, strengthen the weak, console the hurting, lift up the weary, and give Your eternal hope to the dying. In Jesus’ resurrection name. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for March 31, 2002 (Easter)
ANNOUNCER: I’m Mark Eischer for Lutheran Hour Ministries. Dr. Schulz, for over 70 years now, this program has broadcast the Gospel and the Good News of God’s forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. It’s important to remember this forgiveness is built upon the foundation of Christ’s death and His resurrection.
SCHULZ: Mark, I join you in thanking God we’ve had the privilege of broadcasting Jesus’ forgiveness, built on the foundation of His resurrection. We thank God we’ve had the permission of our government to broadcast such a powerful message of grace and mercy and people have listened to this broadcast over the years, and have supported it so faithfully.
ANNOUNCER: But as you pointed out, there are some that take great issue with the Biblical teaching of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Why is the resurrection such a problem for them?
SCHULZ: To answer that, I’m going to refer you and our readers to the words of the apostle Paul when he says, “If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15). Then a little later he says, “But Christ has been raised from the dead.” Then later he says, “All those who are in Christ shall be made alive.” You see, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the lynchpin or the key to all of history. This is true not only for Christians or believers in the Scriptures, but for all people.
ANNOUNCER: Why do you say this is for all people?
SCHULZ: I say this because on the final Day of Judgment, everybody is going to be gathered together before the great judgment throne of God. Those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and also those who have not believed in Him, or even those who have worked against Him — they too will be there. Then, the great and final judgment will take place.
ANNOUNCER: So the teaching of the resurrection is really what could be called the watershed teaching of the Scriptures?
SCHULZ: This is certainly the case. If the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, then the Christian faith is the one and only true religion. This then also validates the words of the book of Acts, chapter 4, “There is no other name except the name of Jesus under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved.” And, of course, Jesus Himself said, “No man comes to the Father but by Me.”
ANNOUNCER: I can see how this teaching could be considered offensive.
SCHULZ: It certainly could. However, we don’t preach the Gospel to give offense. We preach the Gospel of God in Jesus Christ to all people as an invitation from a loving and gracious God to repent and be truly sorry for their sins and return to their heavenly Father. God is a gracious God. The psalmist reminds us that, “God does not treat us as we deserve.”
ANNOUNCER: So when we celebrate the resurrection, we want to present Christianity for what it really is — a positive invitation from our heavenly Father based on Jesus’ death and resurrection.
SCHULZ: Absolutely, Mark. The apostle Paul says it like this: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.” This means that because of our sin, we have alienated or separated ourselves from God. Now, however, God in His mercy, put the punishment for our sins on the back of Jesus. Jesus bled and died for our sins. In this way God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
ANNOUNCER: That’s the message we want the whole world to hear. The Good News of God’s Gospel. Right?
SCHULZ: Absolutely. This is also what the apostle Paul says, “We beg of you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” That simply means we are asking people who hear this good news message to believe it, to live it, and to return regularly to a church where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached clearly. And then, to all our listeners today, we say, “Happy Easter in Jesus Christ.”
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Dr. Schulz. The next Lutheran Hour message is titled, “Encounter with the Risen Christ.”