His Is Risen Indeed!

April, 2004

by: Brock Bolde

Easter is indeed a time of great rejoicing for those of us who have put our hope and trust in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a time for us to praise our great God for His miraculous work in the resurrection of His son Jesus Christ. For it is the resurrection that allows the believer to boldly proclaim: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

This marvelous truth has been a stumbling block to many however. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, was a man who could not accept the miraculous elements in Scripture. It has been said that he edited his own special version of the Bible in which all references to the supernatural were deleted. This deplorable act left Jefferson with a Gospel that was devoid of any real power and solely confined to the moral teachings of Jesus. As a result, the closing words of Jefferson's Bible were: “There they laid Jesus and rolled a great stone at the mouth of the sepulcher and departed.” What a travesty it would have been if that's where the story really ended. How pitiful it would be for anyone to trust in something or someone that lacked any real power. The Resurrection displays the power and worth of Jesus Christ. If you take away the Resurrection, you take away the very life–blood of Christianity. The Apostle Paul had this to say in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19:16“For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

As parents, it is critical that we help our children to understand this foundational truth. We must do everything in our power to insure that Easter never gets brushed over or treated flippantly. We must help our children to understand that Easter is not about cute fluffy bunnies or cuddly baby chicks; nor is it about jelly beans and chocolate. Easter is all about the validation of Christ's deity. It's all about proving that God still has the last word over His creation and that last word comes forth like a ray of sunlight bursting through the dark clouds. There's a part of me that likes to ponder on how it must have felt to live during the time of Jesus' crucifixion. I can't help but imagine how His disciples must have felt as they watched the events of His death, burial, and resurrection, unfold right before their very eyes. The high of watching the One they had followed enter into Jerusalem with the people shouting “Hosanna!” to the low of watching them brutally beat and torture the One who had done nothing wrong; the low of seeing their beloved Master hanging on a cross; the low of seeing Him placed in a tomb–dead; back to the high of seeing Him raised from the dead — once and for all conquering death! I can't even begin to imagine the roller coaster of emotions that they went through, but I can rejoice with them in knowing that the One who was once laid in a tomb is no longer there. And praise be to God that all who put their faith in Jesus can joyfully respond to the ancient Orthodox greeting of “Christ is risen!” with a resounding “He is risen indeed!” This Easter, may God give us all the resolve to impart this