Easter is this Sunday. There are many things to emphasize about Christ’s resurrection but today I’ll emphasize just one: that Christ’s resurrection solves the problem of human death.
Humanity has a way of making too much of small things and not enough of big things.
Like revolutions. Historians identify some things that happened that were ‘big deals’. They call them “revolutions”, like the agricultural revolution, the mechanical revolution, and the information revolution. Admittedly, those were big changes. But they came went and humanity was left with same basic needs and problems as before.
And there are philosophies. Platonism, Aristotelianism, Existentialism, Materialism, etc. Some things are said by philosophers. Some of those things are helpful and thought-provoking. But afterwards humanity was still the same.
None of the revolutions and philosophies have solved the biggest problem: the problem of death. They all fall short on that one.
Some had tried to solve the problem of death by searching for the fountain of youth, like Ponce de Leon in Florida. Or they have tried modern versions of that, like generic modifications and hormone therapy. In the end, the finish line is still going to be there.
Physical death cannot be avoided, but it can be solved. The sting can be taken from it.
People do not pay enough attention to this. They plan for retirement, and that’s good as far as it goes. The retirement planning experts like to emphasize ways you could be a millionaire when you retire. Then you could go on cruises, live a carefree life, etc. But what good is that when you die?
People might prepare for end-of-life care. They might even have a burial site picked out. That’s good too, but what about the bigger issue: what about your existence after death?
The problem has been solved! It just comes to us in a humbling way, not through human efforts or intelligence. It comes from God Himself. He has provided a way to escape the sting of death, to find both present peace of mind about it and future rescue from it: through Christ’s death and resurrection. This is the greatest thing–we are offered eternal life. For those who receive this gift, physical death is no longer a terror but a gateway to something much better.
For them, death can (in a way, without being morbid) actually be something to look forward to because it is no longer a threat, it is a gateway to something better.
And access to it is universal. It is accessed through repentance of sin and acceptance of Christ as Savior.
The Bible presents this gift as kind of a military victory. Death is called an “enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death”) and victory over it is likened to the spoils of war. In Isaiah 53 there is a prophecy of a coming Savior. This Savior dies but rises from death–he “will see the light of life” again (vs. 11). And then, after rising from the dead, he does something else: God give him “a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors,” (vs. 12). He divides the spoils (eternal life) of his victory (rising from the dead) with those who believe in Him.
Where human technology and intelligence has failed, God has succeeded. But we have to receive it.
Churches should emphasize this more. The early church certainly did. The death and resurrection of Christ was at the forefront. The resurrection was a big common denominator for the sermons recorded in the Book of Acts:
– 2:32, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Peter in Jerusalem, at Pentecost)
– 3:15, “…God raised him from the dead” (Peter, after a crippled beggar was healed)
– 4:10, “…whom God raised from the dead.” (Peter, before the Jewish rulers)
– 10:39-40, “They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen” (Peter at Cornelius’ house–the gospel given to Gentiles)
– 13:30, “…God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem” (Paul in Pisidian Antioch)
– 17:31 “He [God] has given proof of this [coming world judgment by Christ] to all men by raising him from the dead” (Paul in Athens)
We could learn from the example of the early church. The death and resurrection of Christ was on their minds. It was central. They knew what was important, they knew what people needed to hear about the most.
It was an answer for the universal problem of death. The remedy was accessible to rich and poor alike.
No wonder the early church made the resurrection so central in it preaching!