The most important news story in human history
OPINION:
What would you say if you were asked to name the one news story that changed the course of human history more than any other? Would you cite the “shot heard round the world” that sparked the Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States?
Or would you suggest it was the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, even Mao’s Cultural Revolution, or perhaps the sexual revolution of the 1960s? Or if you’re a millennial or Gen Zer, would you argue it was the killing of George Floyd and the rise of Black Lives Matter and the consequent march of “social justice” across the modern-day globe?
What would you say?
Well, if statistics mean anything, the No. 1 news story in all of recorded history is none of these. No, the news event that has affected more lives than any other is not a revolution but a resurrection: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Currently, over 2.2 billion people define themselves as Christians. With numbers that huge, we can safely assume Christianity is history’s dominant worldview. And what is the one non-negotiable that defines Christians? It is that Jesus rose from the dead.
For Christians, the resurrection of Christ has never been considered a fairy tale or religious metaphor. The Resurrection is and always has been considered an actual event.
The earliest of creeds affirm this. Here’s what St. Paul wrote to the first-century church just a handful of years after the Crucifixion that literally shook the earth, darkened the sun, and rent the veil in two.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: That Christ died for our sins … that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day … and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive. … Last of al l… he appeared also to me.”
Notice the simplicity and lack of equivocation. Hear the clarity of Paul’s words: This is of first importance. Christ died. He was buried. He was raised! And I, as well as hundreds of others, can attest that this is not “fake news.”
The Resurrection is a fact. It is not a fable. It is not just wishful thinking. It is true.
Hundreds of witnesses initially attested to it, and billions of believers have subsequently affirmed it throughout the millenniums. Stated simply, the Resurrection is the core of Christianity. Without it, there is no such thing as a Christian.
In fact, the Apostle Paul goes on and adds, “If Christ has not been raised [our] faith is futile. … If [Christianity gives us] hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Can it be any clearer? Without the Resurrection, Christianity is a pointless waste of time. Or, as Adrian Rogers said, “The resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith; there would be no Christianity without it.”
“Whoever reads the New Testament seriously,” said Erling C. Olsen, “must acknowledge that one outstanding historic event alone spurred that small band of ordinary men to an amazing task. … Defying every obstacle, [suffering] loss of home, persecution, even death itself, they evidenced the supreme relevance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
In short, Christians don’t claim Christianity because God promises we will live a more pleasant life than the atheist. God makes no such promises. Rather, as Lee Strobel writes, we “become Christian because the evidence is so compelling that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by rising from the dead.”
“Because of the empty tomb, we have peace,” Paul Chappell says. “Because of His resurrection, we can have [hope] during even the most troubling of times…”
Charles Surgeon proclaimed, “We believe that every deathbed is a resurrection … that God is with us … in our grave; and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection!”
Charles Swindoll adds: “The benefits [of the resurrection] are innumerable. To list a few: Our illnesses don’t seem nearly so final; Our fears fade and lose their grip; Our grief over those who have gone on is diminished; Our desires to press on despite the obstacles are rejuvenated. … Our identity, as Christians, is strengthened as we stand in the lengthening shadows of saints down through the centuries, who have always answered back in antiphonal voice: ‘He is risen, indeed!’”
“Christ the Lord is risen today, Sons of men and angels say. Raise your joys and triumphs high; Sing, ye heavens and earth reply. Hallelujah!”
Happy Easter. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host.
