Is It True? by Greg Albrecht
The next time you are in the checkout line at the grocery store imagine turning to the person next to you and joyfully announcing โChrist is risen!โ Can you picture the bewildered expressions of your fellow shoppers?
Imagine you are taking a walk and when someone passes by you greet them by saying, โChrist is risen!โ Some of those people would ignore you, and perhaps walk a little faster to put more distance between them and you.
Is it true that Jesus was resurrected? Is it true that Jesus is now alive, with his same physical body made immortal, a body that is incorruptible, impervious to aging, disease and death?
Did you know itโs easier and far more comfortable to think of Jesus as dead than alive? People dying and staying dead means life goes on the way we experience it…every one eventually dies. When people die they are buried or cremated…and they stay where they are placed. Thatโs how life and death work.
But, if the dead donโt stay dead, what can you count on? If only one person never stayed dead, then that changes everything, doesnโt it? Jesus died, but he didnโt stay dead.
In the 27th chapter of Matthew we read about Jesus appearing before Pilate, the Roman governor. It was the custom at the Jewish Passover, which was all about their deliverance from Egypt, that the Roman governor would release one prisoner, chosen by the crowd assembled before him.
Before Pilate asked the crowd if they wanted him to release Jesus, or Barabbas, a notorious prisoner according to Matthew, hereโs what we read in Matthew 27:19:
โWhile Pilate was sitting on the judgeโs seat, his wife sent him this message: โDonโt have anything to do with this innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.โโ
In his drama, โThe Trial of Jesusโ English poet and playwright John Masefield built a fictitious discussion based on this verseโa dialogue he imagined between the Roman centurion who was in charge of the crucifixion, and Pilateโs wife. Masefield has the centurion returning to report to Pilate that Jesus had been crucified and was dead. When Pilateโs wife sees the centurion she draws him aside and asks, โDo you think he is dead?โ
The centurion replies, โNo, lady, I donโt.โ
Pilateโs wife is now more fearful than ever, and apprehensively asks the centurion, โThen where is he?โ
The centurion answers, โLet loose in the world, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.โ
When we say IT IS TRUE that Jesus is risen, many in our world will say, โI donโt believe it. Thatโs just a part of your faith, but not mine.โ
We might be tempted to conclude that our modern generation is skeptical and lacks faith. But no, such is not the case. Faith and belief are alive and wellโitโs just that they have been transferred to other sources of power than God.
In our modern world, we believe when we flip the switch in our apartment or home the lights will go on…we believe when we turn the key or push the button the car will start…and we believe when we turn the handle on the faucet water will come out. Our modern world universally believes in the power of the Internet and Google, but many people donโt believe Jesus was resurrected.
Sometimes people believe what they want to believe. Many people then wanted Jesus dead. Many people today want to believe Jesus is still dead. But Jesus didnโt remain where they put him.
Itโs far easier and far more comfortable to think of Jesus as neatly tucked away in a tomb somewhere, because if he is risen that means he is alive. He died, but he didnโt stay dead.
Matthew 27:21 says when Pilate asked the crowds which of the prisonersโBarabbas or Jesusโhe should releaseโthe crowds chose Barabbas, a notorious prisoner. When Pilate asked the crowd what they advised him to do with Jesus, the crowds screamed, โCrucify him.โ
Is it true that he is alive?
The truth is, as we read in 1 Peter1:3-4, The resurrection of Jesus gives us new birthโnew lifeโinto a living hope and an eternal inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade.
Since it is true that JESUS IS RISEN you and I have a living hope beyond whatever best life we can find, build attain or hope for nowโand our living hope will never perish, spoil or fade!
Since it is true that JESUS IS RISEN, he has conquered death and the grave, and he lives now and foreverโand so can you and I! His resurrection changes everything, for the better, forever!