Have you ever wondered why Jesus’ resurrection is so important? Christians the world over claim Easter as their most important holiday, and they commemorate annually the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But why does His resurrection matter so much?
Writing midway through the first century A.D., the Apostle Paul asserted to the Christians at Corinth that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
Paul was echoing a similar sentiment to that expressed by two of Jesus’ disciples on the very first Easter Sunday. These two men – who had heard that Jesus might be alive but hadn’t confirmed it yet – were walking the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus when Jesus Himself began to walk with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. Their strange new traveling companion asked them what they were discussing as they walked, and they replied with astonishment at this stranger’s ignorance:
“…‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel…’” (Luke 24:18-21a).
“We had hoped,” they said. The weight of their disappointment must’ve hung so heavily on their words. They had such great expectations that God’s Messiah would come and rescue God’s people from the unrelenting oppression they were facing. They thought that Jesus was that Messiah, but their great expectations had been seemingly destroyed when Jesus had been crucified. The one they thought was their Redeemer was dead and buried, and so was their hope.
You and I can relate to their feeling of intense disappointment, can’t we? We know what it is to have such high hopes, such great expectations for our lives, only to see our dreams dashed by a reality we desperately do not want. We know the disappointment, the discouragement, the despair. What now? What do you do when everything upon which you had built your future crumbles beneath you? That’s what these two men were experiencing that day when Jesus showed up. They were sad, confused, and trying to sort things out on their seven-mile walk to Emmaus.
Jesus, still hidden from their recognition, responded to them by saying, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).
In what had to be the greatest Bible study of all time, Jesus Himself taught them everything the Hebrew Scriptures had to say about the Messiah. He told them all about Himself and all the ways in which He fulfilled the more than 300 messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. They still did not know that it was Jesus, but their hearts burned within them as Jesus taught them these amazing truths.
That evening at dinner, Jesus broke bread and gave it to them, and in that instant, their eyes were opened to recognize Him. As soon as they realized that they were with Jesus, He disappeared from their sight. In what had to be the strangest moment of their lives, these men went from dejection to elation, and they went back to Jerusalem immediately. The found the other disciples, and they rejoiced together that it was true – Jesus had risen from the grave! This changed everything! Their hope had not only been restored; it had been confirmed. Because Jesus had defeated death, so also would they! Not only that, but Jesus told them that they would spend the rest of their lives on earth proclaiming the message of everlasting hope in Him to the whole world, meaning that anyone who turned from sin to trust and follow Jesus would receive that same undying hope in Him.
Why is Jesus’ resurrection so important? Because those who turn away from their sin to trust and follow Jesus receive hope that defeats death. Those who place their faith in Jesus are forgiven of their sin, restored to a right relationship with God, welcomed into God’s family as His children, and given everlasting life in Him. For those who trust and follow Jesus, nothing can take their hope from them, for not even death can ultimately overcome their Lord and Savior. Do you have this hope? It’s available to you now through Jesus Christ, the risen Savior!
For more information, visit www.firstbaptistbg.org.
Scripture quotations taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
-by Dr. Jeff Reynolds, First Baptist Church Bowling Green
