Easter reminds us that Jesus was not just a yogi, guru, shaman, wise man, or prophet. Easter is about the historical fact of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you do not believe He did that, He can’t help you. Remove what He did from what He said, and His words are no better than those of the Buddha. (They are perfectly true, which I can’t confidently say about the Buddha, but true words alone can only help live better in this life, so are of limited value.)
There have been progressive biblical scholars who have tried to “demythologize” Jesus. They take away all the miracles, to include the resurrection, because they argue those things could not have possibly happened. What we are left with is just another of many wise men who lived a pauper’s life and died at the hands of angry men. The world doesn’t need another 10 principles to live by.
This article is not an apologetic argument for the necessity of the resurrection as historical fact. There are plenty of those out there already, and if you haven’t read any, some are very good. No, this article is making one simple point: You can’t separate what Jesus taught from what He did or who He was (ie, the Son of God who died and rose again). When you do that, you take away the power of His words (not to mention making Him a liar, since He claimed to be God).
Salvation is not about mere principles—ideas to live by or believe. If that was all that was necessary, Jesus need not have died. Salvation is about a relationship: our relationship with Jesus, the Son of God, who died to pay the price for our sins and rose again as the first fruits of the resurrection we will one day experience. The events of Easter aren’t simply a nice idea; they are historical reality. Christmas reminds us that Jesus was an actual person with a birthday, just like the rest of us. Easter reminds us that all His claims were true. He was (and is!) the Son of God. Death could not hold Him. And our salvation prize isn’t merely eternal life with no pain and suffering; it’s eternal life in the presence of Jesus.
