Fact or Fable
by Kathy Brown on April 2nd, 2010 | 0 comments
There are some things that just aren’t believable. The Easter bunny never hops out in the open where everyone sees how the baskets of eggs are delivered. Santa’s sled hasn’t been observed flying around the world in one night dropping presents down chimneys. The Tooth Fairy merely has the reputation as an identifiable molar snatcher. But what about the Easter Jesus . . . is He fact or fable?
That is another question entirely. The account of the resurrection is either another fable, or it is historical and the best news we can possibly hear. If Jesus did not live after the crucifixion, then the entire Christian faith is worthless. Either He came to accomplish the job of redeeming sinners, as He claimed; or He is a liar, crazy or a cultural fabrication.
What evidence is there that Jesus is who He claims to be?
First, the unbelievable account of the Old Testament, so carefully copied by Scribes, builds a crescendo of events and prophecy that culminates in the birth of the Man God. He lives out perfectly the forecast in all its terrible and wonderful detail.
Second, everyone dies. This fact incites within us something profoundly anticipatory. There can be no doubt that the end of life drama ignites wonder for those who think. Even children want to know: what happens afterwards? The solution to the puzzle is either: nothing or something. The demonstration of an empty tomb, as witnesses affirmed it, means that sitting on the throne of the universal mystery is Someone. He is the visible, logical answer woven into our deepest question.
Third, this Christ doesn’t promise little goodies. He neither hops nor flies. He has undertaken a much more relevant and impossible task. His testimony is that He changes hearts. If His body was molding in the tomb, if His Spirit was in the grave still, and if His power had not overcome death, then what could be accomplished for a sinner? The proof for the Risen Savior is all around us. It’s in those who follow Him, whose desires and habits have been transformed.
He is risen; yes, He is alive indeed.
From 1 Thessalonians 4:16
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
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