Easter is upon us, a time of chocolate overload, excited
children hunting for eggs and shoppers bargain-hunting at the sales.
But is this really what Easter is about?
Essentially Easter is when Christians remember that Jesus,
the Son of God, died on the cross, and came alive again three days later so
that we can be forgiven for our sins and restored to friendship with God. The bible says “For God so loved the world
that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.” John 3:16.
This astonishing Christian belief is a claim that everyone
needs to consider and decide if they believe it. As a Christian I believe it to be true based
on faith and my own experiences of God’s work in my life, but also on facts. So I would like to share with you some of the
evidence supporting Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and the truth of the
Resurrection.
For starters the events we now call Easter are recorded in
the Bible, which is a collection of texts written by over 39 authors over a
period of 1,500 years, and in other historical works. More than a history book, the Bible reveals
the God who created us, loves us and who gave us the choice to know and love Him. God didn’t want robots or slaves – He wanted
friends and family. The Bible explains
that God, being holy, cannot be in the presence of sin – all those things we do
wrong – and therefore sin needs to be paid for. “For
the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ” Romans 6:23. Initially people sacrificed animals for
their sins, while priests prayed on their behalf, but God promised to send a
Messiah, a saviour, to reconcile us with Him.
The Bible contains over 300 prophecies predicting the
Messiah, prophecies which state that He would be the Son of God, and which contain
details of his birth, ministry and death.
According to Peter Stoner in “Science Speaks” for one person to fulfil
just eight of the major prophecies would be 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000,
and yet Jesus fulfilled all of them. This
fact alone is convincing evidence that Jesus was who He claimed to be. The bible, backed up by other historical
documents, also records numerous miracles including Jesus walking on water,
raising the dead, and healing people which show him to have the power of
God. So why did He die?
Jesus’ death was orchestrated by the religious leaders who
were angered by his controversial teachings and by his claims that He was the
Son of God. Based on the evidence of
his power He could easily have escaped from the cross. But He didn’t save himself because He
wanted to save us. So whipped and
beaten, Jesus died a slow agonising death with nails driven through his hands
and feet into a wooden cross. Jesus
died “so that … He might free those who all their lives were held in slavery by
their fear of death” Hebrews 2:15.
Jesus’ body was then placed in a cave which was sealed with
a huge stone and guarded by Roman soldiers to ensure that his body was not
stolen. And yet three days later the
body was gone! Jesus then appeared
alive to over 500 followers over a period of 40 days before ascending to
heaven. The behaviour of these followers is one of the most
convincing arguments for the resurrection.
For Jesus’ followers, his death was a tragedy and disappointment. They had believed him to be the Messiah and
yet He had died. The Bible records that
the disciples hid in fear following his death and yet in the following years
they boldly told the world of his teachings, death and resurrection, often
suffering torture and death for doing so.
Only the resurrection of Jesus could have sparked such determination and
courage within people who had previously run in fear.
So based on this evidence we can believe that Jesus is the
Son of God and that the resurrection did happen. And we can therefore believe that Jesus is
the fulfilment of promises that out of love God would send His Son, and that in
spite of his power to save himself He would die, then rise again. “For
God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. Consider the evidence, investigate for
yourself, seek the truth. God promises
that when we seek him He will be found (Matthew 7:7).
Believing that through great sacrifice Jesus has given us
full access to a loving God has the power to change our lives.
This is what Easter is really about.
Larisa Hockey -
Mangapapa Church
For more information please see http://hopeproject.co.nz/
Published in the Gisborne Herald 26 March, Easter 2016
