Invariably, right before Easter, you will hear a seminary professor on the radio or a Bishop from some church on TV say, “It really doesn’t matter if Jesus rose from the dead, or not. What really matters is the Golden Rule that he taught us – ‘to do unto others as you would have them do to you.’ Or you might hear them say something like, ‘Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter if Jesus rose from the dead, or if his body’s still in the grave. What matters is Jesus’ example of non-violence which is so desperately needed in our war-torn world today’.”

The Golden Rule is important. And so is Jesus’ example of non-violence. But is it the case that the resurrection of Jesus is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition? Or to put it more plainly, does it matter if Jesus of Nazareth is currently alive or if he died 2000 years ago and stayed dead?

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then we likely would never have heard of him. The resurrection of Jesus Christ distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. Jesus is different than every other religious founder because of his resurrection. The bones of Abraham, Muhammad, the Buddha, Confucius, Joseph Smith, and the founder of every other religion are still here on earth. Jesus’ tomb is empty because he bodily rose from the dead. Jesus is unique. Jesus is in a category of one!

What many folks don’t realize is that very few people outside of historians would have even heard of Jesus or what he taught about the Golden Rule, if he didn’t rise from the dead. Historically, there were a number of Jews who claimed to be the Messiah in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. One of the most famous was a man named Simon bar-Giora.

Simon bar-Giora tried to lead a Jewish rebellion against Rome, which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD. He was put to death in front of a cheering Roman crowd in the city of Rome. Almost no one knows even one thing that Simon bar-Giora ever said or have even heard of him.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then he simply would have been one of more than a dozen Jewish Messianic pretenders who were consigned to the dust bin of history. What made the Christian faith different from all the other messianic movements of the 1st and 2nd century AD, was what happened after the leader of the Christian movement was killed. What happened was Jesus didn’t stay dead. That’s why we remember his words. So when people say what matters is not whether Jesus rose from the dead, what matters is what he said, the appropriate response is “If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, you wouldn’t know what he said because nobody would have written it down.” Jesus would not have had his followers writing Gospels about his statements and spreading his message all over the world.

Does it matter if Jesus rose from the dead or not?

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then Jesus’ death on the cross does not save us from our sins.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:17:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

How do we know that Jesus’ death on a cross really paid for our sins and that the guilt of our sins can be transferred from us to him? After all, thousands of Jews were crucified by Rome. How do we know that the death of this one Jewish man, Jesus of Nazareth, paid for our sins? Because of his resurrection!

Jesus’ resurrection was God’s Certificate of Approval in which God in essence said, “I accept the sacrifice of Jesus as the full and final payment for all of your sins.”

Romans 4:25 says:

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then Christian funerals are a tragic joke.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:18:

[If Jesus did not rise from the dead] then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

Imagine a Christian funeral in which a singer gets up and sings Julie Miller’s gospel song, “All My Tears.”

When I die, don't cry for me

In my Father's arms, I'll be

And wounds this world left on my soul

Will all be healed and I'll be whole

It don't matter where you bury me

I'll be home and I'll be free

It don't matter where I lay

All my tears, be washed away

So weep not for me, my friends

When my time below does end

For my life belongs to Him

Who will raise the dead again

And then after they are done singing “All My Tears” the funeral closes with Amazing Grace. The last verse of Amazing Grace states:

When we’ve been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we first begun

What do these songs mean, if Jesus did not come back to life? How will we be with God for eternity, bright shining as the sun, unless the dead are raised? What sense does it make to sing “For my life belongs to him, who will raise the dead again,” if there is no resurrection?

But because Jesus was raised from the dead, death is not the last word. The last word is resurrection! Death is not the final page. Death is simply the turning of the page. Because Jesus was raised from the dead there will be a great reunion. If your loved one was attached to Jesus, and you place your faith in Christ, you will see one another again. There will be a great reunion and a great homecoming. Because of the resurrection, we meet Jesus not just as a person who lived 2,000 years ago but as a person who is alive today and who will change the lives of all who turn to him in faith.

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