Christian Living

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Resurrection of Jesus Christ: What it means to Christians.
Taking the bible as any other book of history, the event recorded therein of an empty tomb, well protected by a heavy stone and security guards, is of significance to Christians, especially as Jesus foretold His resurrection.
This empty tomb caused eleven of his closest friends to die as martyrs for the cause of righteousness he preached.
Witnessed by only a chosen few, this tomb is so central to the faith of Christians today—a belief that has not broken down through centuries, when other similar emotive and sensational events had been forgotten by all those who have been moved by it. But Jesus who came to fulfill the Old Testament Bible, dating back several millennia of years, still lives on!
The empty tomb with linen clothes, the first step in recognizing the resurrection, was proof that He did not return to earthly life, as Lazarus, but to a glorified life.
Mary Magdalene and the holy women first encountered the Risen One, then Peter and then, the Twelve. It is noteworthy, everything that happened after His Resurrection, the beginning of a new era on Easter morning, involved each of the apostles.

Together with Thomas, the apostles may have had doubts about the resurrection; but it is by means of touch and the sharing of a meal that the Risen Jesus established direct contact with his disciples: Yet, this real body possesses the new properties of a glorified body; not limited by space and time but able to be present—how, where and when He wills, to awaken our faith—even now as a needy neighbor or that simple Gardner!
In foretelling His resurrection he is singled out from the rest of humanity, even to the extent of being considered an insensible person: but His followers have proved to the contrary in believing Him to be of divine origin; what He foretold did happen; as concluded by millions through out history; among them are such eminent persons as;

Brooke Foss Westcott, an English scholar—taking all evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.
Dr. Paul L. Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, concluded—if all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter.
Dr Simon Greenleaf a person highly skilled at dealing with evidence, a Professor of Law at Harvard University, had this to say in his book, ‘An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice’—that according to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history.
John Singleton Copley, recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in British history had this to say--I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet.
Lord Darling Lord Chief Justice of England once said—that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true.
Dr. Frank Morrison, a lawyer and a well known rationalist had come to the opinion that the resurrection was nothing but a fairy-tale which spoiled the matchless story of Jesus. He felt that he owed it to himself and others to write a book that would present the truth about Jesus and dispel the mythical story of the resurrection.
Upon studying the facts, however, he came to a different conclusion and Morrison wrote his book--but not the one he had planned. It is titled, ‘Who Moved the Stone’; the first chapter, very significantly is, ‘The book that refused to be written’
The scholars had come to these conclusions by reading the bible and taking into consideration the contemporary historical events prevailing at the time of the resurrection.
If the much maligned theory, that Jesus did not really die (disproved by the gush of water when last pierced with a lance), but was surreptitiously taken to India, were to be true, then the guards would have been paid much more than ‘thirty pieces of silver’ (an event impossible in the prevailing enmity against Jesus in that small community), and traveling, for a quick dispatch of Jesus, in the midst of that tumult, should have been swifter and subtler than in this era!
If Christ had not been raised, then the faith of Christians is in vain. Everything Christians believe is based on the validity of the resurrection. Christians believe that by His death He liberated humanity from sin and by his resurrection He opened for mankind the way to a new life: it is also an assurance of a future resurrection for mankind.
Impact of the Resurrection for Christians.
It has a daily message—nay, a moment to moment message, where we use our free will to decide and do whatever confronts us at any given moment.
Jesus said—take up the cross and follow me; He expects Christians to have the cross at hand, use it for their crucifixion every time they decide to do the right thing instead of the wrong thing—by doing the wrong thing they may gain a fleeting happiness, but by doing the right thing they crucify themselves against the worldly desires, and is about to experience an immediate resurrection that is not just fleeting happiness but a joy that surpasses all understanding!
Christ proved it on the cross, by sticking to the cause of righteousness and then experienced the glorified resurrection—but he has promised to us mortals, a joy that surpasses all understanding until we come to the last judgment day when we too shall resurrect with the glorified body and be satiated forever in the presence of that Majestic Beauty all are searching for: being away from this Splendor of Beauty will be that certain burning sensation called hell.
In the Sermon on the Mount Christ says—blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for they shall possess the Kingdom of Heaven—He also said the Kingdom of Heaven is within you—this sensation of heaven within, is the peace that surpasses understanding to those who persecute themselves for righteousness sake.
This then is the lesson of His Crucifixion and His Resurrection.
Oscar E V Fernando—30th March 2006.

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