Why is the resurrection so important?

On a barren hill outside of Jerusalem three men hang on crosses. The man in the middle draws the most attention for many reasons. The least of which is that he has been flogged to near death, beaten, a crown of thorns push on his head and a sign above him reads “the King of the Jews.”

“It is finished,” the man in the middle says, then he dies.

A loud tearing noise comes from the nearby temple as a veil 4-inches thick and 30 feet long tears from top to bottom. A centurion that was nearby said “truly this man was the son of God.” His friends and mother weep for him then slowly one by one turn and walk away. The man who seemed to be the savior of the Jews is dead. All hope is lost that he would deliver the Jews out of the hands of the oppressive Roman Empire. But just when it appeared that he had all he needed to accomplish the task, he was murdered. This is the point where most stories end; the hero is dead, the story is over.

To fully understand why it is not over a person must travel back through the annuals of time back to the beginning. Back to Genesis with the first prophecy that Jesus would be born of a virgin woman (Isaiah 7:14: Genesis 3:15) from there, nearly every book of the Old Testament revels some prophecies of the birth, life and death of Jesus.

For example, it was foretold the family line he would come from, his name, where he would be born, that he would live in Egypt for a season, that he would heal, that he would be rejected by one of his own, that he would be betrayed by someone he called friend for 30 pieces of silver, that his friends would abandon him, that he would be crucified between two thieves, that his clothing would be gambled for, that he would never have a broken bone and that he would be raised from the dead.

Virtually every detail of his birth, life and death was predicted in more than 100 different prophecies spanning more than 4,000 years about the man called Jesus. Still the people of his own time had trouble believing that he was the Messiah.

During his life there are a further 22 prophecies made by Jesus, six of which are yet to be fulfilled. There are more than 1,817 prophecies covering 8,352 verses of the Bible 1,239 in the Old Testament, most of which are already fulfilled. The odds of the prophecy in the Old Testament being filled by one man at the time and place specified in the Bible are approximately one in 84 followed by 134 zeros.

Still the question remains what does this dying man have to do with all those prophecies? Why should I care today? How does this one naked, beaten dying man affect me?

Because he was exactly what he stated he was, the Messiah. No other man has done what he did. Need more evidence? How about healing the sick and raising the dead without touching them just by saying they are healed, or arise. He walked on water and beckoned another to walk on water with him (the only two people in the history of the world to walk on water). He calmed violent storms with the spoken word (didn’t the spoken word create the world?). From not only fulfilling prophesies about his life but his prophecy about his own death that by no natural means he could have known. But then this man Jesus went on to prophesy about events that would occur thousands of years later. He came back from the dead in three days as he said he would and appeared at least 17 times to more than 500 people.

Why should you care today? How does this one naked, beaten, dying man affect you?

In the words of this one man the question can be answered by John 3:3-5 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Some people only worship God at times of the year like Easter or Christmas. Then they go on their way feeling that they have performed their duty. Their support for their God is minimal and yet they wonder why God gives minimal care of their problems. The relationship with God is reciprocal. He listens to those who give him their time and attention. Many a Christian ponders God, yet rarely opens his book. They quote his words, yet do not live their meaning. They use his name in vain, rarely in thanksgiving for the blessing he has given. In short, they claim Christianity and do not live it.

Matthew 22:36-38 says, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

If some people treated their spouse the way they treat God they probably would not have a spouse long.

Two thousand years ago Jesus stretched out his hands and died for us. That is why you should care about the man who hung on that barren hill so long ago.

Mike Blodgett is the chaplain at Lighthouse Chapel. Contact him at 373-5866, or lighthouse_chapelak@yahoo.com.

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