The Easter story is kind of unbelievable. But that doesn’t make it false.
The Easter story is kind of unbelievable.
As the story goes, on this day about two thousand years ago Jesus defeated death and escaped from an earthly grave.
An angel might have been involved.
Jesus then visited hundreds of people from beyond the grave.
The whole thing was prophesied hundreds of years before.
But the most far-fetched part of this story is that this execution – in which Jesus was tortured, ridiculed, and crucified – was all part of God’s plan to give His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
Unbelievable indeed.
But that doesn’t make it false.
For years, I didn’t believe it – but I wanted to.
I wanted Jesus to have risen from the dead and for His death to have saved us.
I wanted Him to have the power to transform lives and perform miracles.
I wanted Him to love us and to want relationships with us. With me.
But I couldn’t be saved because I didn’t believe I needed a savior. I was lost.
Sure, I had friends and material success. I even believed in a god of some kind and described myself as “spiritual.”
But I felt alone and directionless much of the time. I was consumed with fear – that the world was falling apart, that I would die alone, that there wouldn’t be enough for me and so on.
I spent much of my time chasing what I thought would make me feel better, only to feel emptier each time I got what I thought I wanted.
When COVID came, the darkness was infinitely darker (forced seclusion will do that). My vague conception of God was insufficient.
I don’t remember why I started watching church services online. Like everyone else sheltering at home, I had lots of free time. I also wanted positivity in my life, but I had tried church before and Jesus did not seem like the answer.
What started as a curious cure for boredom quickly became oddly nourishing.
At the same time, I was having regular conversations about spirituality with a Christian colleague and I reached out to a friendly local pastor who answered questions and ultimately showed me how to accept Jesus.
He said if I was ready, I could start with this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
I did not feel differently immediately after saying that prayer, and while a part of me was sure nothing would happen, another part desperately hoped it would.
What I didn’t know was that in saying that prayer, published by Bill Bright, I was joining countless people who had taken the same leap of faith.
From that point, I have been on a journey, led by – and called to – Jesus.
With an open mind, I read the Gospel of John at the suggestion of Pastor Frank Erb, who ministers to the state Legislature. Surprisingly to me, it made sense.
Some passages were hard to believe. But I found myself asking two questions: If Jesus was at least a real person, and there is little historical doubt about that, then who was He really? If at least some of the story was true, why not all of it?
My little “mustard seed” of faith grew the more I read scripture and sought Jesus. By accepting Jesus into my heart, I found forgiveness. I found purpose. I have found some peace.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still a sinner in need of a savior. And some parts of the Bible remain challenging. But one of the prevailing themes is that humans have always been in rebellion against God. Always.
People were doing whatever they wanted, which was pretty wicked at times. They were living their truth, to use a modern term.
But as long as everyone is acting purely as they see fit, one person’s self-interest will always grind against the self-interest of others.
Jesus, on the other hand, stressed loving God and others, but He was also no pushover. He was always calling out the hypocrisy of religious leaders who had forgotten those two commandments – love God above all others and love your neighbors as you love yourself – and who were more concerned with the trappings of high society than helping the marginalized.
One day, those religious leaders asked Jesus why He ate with sinners and tax collectors. Tax collectors have always been the worst, apparently.
“Those who are well have no need of a physician,” Jesus replied.
In other words, Jesus is for people who need Jesus. He wants us precisely because we are broken, not despite our brokenness.
This brings us back to the wild Easter story. Before he sentenced Jesus to death, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor overseeing His trial, tried to release Him.
Pilate had serious doubts about Jesus’ guilt, but the crowd, egged on by the religious leaders who saw Him as a threat, demanded that Pilate release a murderer instead.
If this was God’s plan, why would God want a murderer released instead of Jesus?
Because this is the story of the cross. The innocent One suffered so that the guilty – you, me, that murderer – could be set free.
And for that, thank you, Jesus.
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