Even while a woefully secular culture tries to neutralize Easter, Christians can stand in bold confidence that the resurrection truth is undeniable. ♦

Amazing that as a culture we’ve become so secular that some public schools and city institutions now refer to Easter Egg Hunts as Spring Egg Hunts. That some people think this clever twist is necessary is disheartening in itself. That so many people now think nothing of it and readily accept the removal of the term “Easter” is both sad and disappointing. Like the Hebrews in the Old Testament we’re reflective of a Jewish nation that so infiltrated itself with surrounding pagan culture that it lost its identity, faith and knowledge of God.

Just Another Easter Week?
Easter week culminates with Good Friday, the afternoon Christ was crucified, and His resurrection on Sunday. This weekend the Easter story from the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John will be recited from pulpits around the world. While this nation’s highest court deliberates this week on definitions of marriage (to be clear, God initiated and ordained marriage in Genesis 2 to be between a man and a woman), a rattled Christian community buckles under the continued onslaught of a growing anti-Christian national media and public administration. All this can lead one to feel defeated and succumb to taking Easter in casual stride or even questioning the validity of it all.

Early Christian Creed Proves Easter
Stand in confidence with a truth that cannot be refuted and will never die. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 there is a profound statement or creed by the apostle Paul transmitting recent oral history. Through his use of unusual words and phrasing for him, scholars view this as evidence that Paul is passing along information already accurately codified and well-defined in 4 parts:

1. Christ was crucified – that he died definitively through crucifixion is no longer disputed by scholars and skeptics alike.
2. Christ was buried – Joseph of Arimathea, a known and honorable man, is named in all four gospel accounts as the one who claimed the body and supplied the tomb.
3. Christ was resurrected – the tomb by all accounts was empty; extensive analyses of all possible scenarios (stolen, wrong tomb, dogs, etc.) have been conducted and documented – even skeptics and atheists cannot honestly account for the missing body.
4. Christ was seen – the clincher: not only Peter and the apostles interacted with a risen Christ, but over 500 people saw Him before He ascended, many who were still alive to testify to this reality.

There are ample reasons why Christianity grew and changed the world. From a startup team of a small band of disciples who witnessed a spectacular miracle consistent with Biblical scripture and prophecy, these devotees went to their death testifying not to what they merely believed, but to what they knew because of what they saw.

Truth trumps all things. Many zealots have died for wrong beliefs; no zealots would die for a known lie. The proven Easter resurrection started the revolution that changed the Roman Empire and ultimately the whole world. It was significant then and it is significant today. Confidently believe and celebrate Easter!
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“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.” – I Corinthians 15:3-6

Categories: Easter, Evidence, Faith, Jesus, Theology

Tags: Apostle Paul, creed, culture, Easter, religion, Resurrection, secularism