My friend dropped my wife and I at my sister’s home in Hawaii. We were there for a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law that would be held the next day. As part of the surprise, my sister concocted an elaborate ruse. My wife and I were to arrive one day early, surprising my brother-in-law that we had come to celebrate his birthday by taking him out to lunch the next day. Since my sister and he had already spent the prior weekend at a resort, celebrating his birthday, he would not be suspicious when we arrived. I would inform him that I was able to get away for that weekend and wanted to celebrate with just the four of us.
It seemed simple enough but even keeping this event a secret was a struggle. My brother-in-law had installed security cameras around the house. When I rang the doorbell, it triggered an app on his cell phone alerting him there was a visitor. Thankfully, by the time he viewed it, all he saw was my friend’s car driving away and not me. When we came home a few hours later, we successfully surprised him, but we had another close call when my sister stumbled by casually wondering if another relative would be showing up for our lunch! Ouch! I had to quickly divert the conversation to continue the deception.
The surprise birthday party was a success, but it was a reminder how difficult it was to keep a simple secret. Some cynics of Christianity state that the resurrection of Jesus Christ never happened. The disciples of Jesus went to the tomb and stole His body. They then kept their actions a secret, claiming that Jesus was resurrected. Chuck Colson, former Watergate conspirator, eloquently stated in his personal testimony, his reason why he believed the resurrection of Jesus Christ was true and disciples were not covering up an elaborate lie.
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in history. If it was a lie, certainly one of the disciples would have slipped up and revealed it was an elaborate plot to hide the truth about His death. My sister and I could barely keep a simple secret from her husband. With the Resurrection, the stakes were immensely higher and the consequences of it being exposed as a massive deception would result in a sentence of death. The Apostle Paul put this in its proper perspective.
But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (NLT)
If the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a lie, then all Christians are living a lie and they deserve all the pity of the world. There would be no hope in this world and certainly not in the afterlife. Thanks be to God that the Resurrection is the Truth! All who place their faith in Jesus Christ will be saved and receive eternal life.
This is no secret. This is the Absolute Truth!
Praise God!
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
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