John 11:25-26 (KJV) 
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever liveth an

Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is the sole real purpose of the "holiday." Because the Resurrection points to the fact that Jesus is alive and not in the grave, for a person who "believes this," every day is Easter.

Of course, not everyone believes this. First there are the majority of people in the world who, in one form or another, do not believe in God or, more precisely, do not believe that God as described in the Bible is the true God. As such, this group does not believe Jesus is God.

Unfortunately, there is a second group who does not believe in the physical Resurrection of Jesus. This group professes to be Christians, but they do not believe in a lot of supernatural stuff, including the physical movement out of the grave by Christ. This group views life from a "spiritual" perspective.

There was an interesting short article on the front page of the Wasthington Post's Metro section Easter morning (April 16, 2006). The online version may be found here.

Entitled Is Jesus Risen? Literal View Gains Ground, the article discusses a trend amongst Christians back to a literal view of the Resurrection, a view that says Jesus physically arose from the grave on Easter morning. If the information is true, this is a great change in the Christian population.  Starting around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, a strong thread of liberalism invaded American Christianity. This thread watered down people's theological foundations of their faith. This allowed non-believers to plant a substantional number of positions within the church which either weaken or disagree with Biblical truths. 

As a result of this weakened posture, the church became susceptible to accepting a variety of practical views that are unbiblical. The church began to look a lot like the world, and as a result, the church lost its influence on the world. Evil and sin took control. This may be seen in areas such as the divorce rates, people's views on abortion and homosexuality, the use of politics to accomplish moral change, and a number of similar areas.

The Washington Post article contains a quote that demonstrates how the weakened church thinks and acts.

The Rev. Steve Huber of St. Columba's Episcopal Church in the District said he sees a "deep spiritual hunger afloat in our culture" but isn't sure whether that translates into more people believing in the physical Resurrection -- or whether it matters.

"The truth of the Resurrection shouldn't be the real battleground. I think what we want to do is try and rise above that and ask, 'What is the metaphoric truth of Easter?' " he said. "The real power of Easter is the transformation that, as Christians, we believe continues to happen in people's lives.

Certainly, the power of Easter should transform people's lives. Just look at what it did for the Apostles! However, it does matter. Consider the simple question of what happens to YOU when you die. The promise of Scripture is that since Jesus arose physically from the grave, someday you will arise from the grave as well. However, if Jesus did not arise physically, but only spiritually, then what does that mean for you/ What is a spiritual resurrection? Does your soul change? If so, how will you be recognized? What will the change be like? Life as a spirit must be much different than life in a physical body.

Further, as reflected in the news article, a literal reading of the Gospels spells out the fact that Jesus arose physically. He was seen by the Apostles and other disciples. Paul records that Christ was physically seen by over 500 disciples. If Jesus did not arise physically, then these eye witness accounts are wrong. The Gosple writers must then be viewed as lying. If they are lying about this fact, what else are they lying about? How truthful is your faith if these accounts are wromg?

I believe the Bible is the Word of God. God controlled the writing of the Gospels. God is truthful and cannot lie, therefore, the Bible is truth and there are no lies within its pages. Thnis does mean that we must understand the literary context of the various passages. Satan lies and when his words are recorded in Scripture, they are lies just as he spoke them.  They are truthfully recorded, but the statements of Satan are not truth.

Given that the Bible is truth, then when Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us Jesus arose physically, this is an important statement. It is true for Christ and someday will be true for each person who believes in Jesus. Elsewhere, in John's Gospel, Jesus says:

John 14:6 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus is the Resurrection, the way, the truth, the life.

Believest thou this?

I do.

Jim A