The entire Christian enterprise depends on one event—Jesus Christ risen from the dead.

If Jesus was not raised, our faith is futile. If Jesus existed as only a profound teacher, then our hope is in vain. Jesus cannot be seen as simply a good moral teacher, since he claimed to be God. These assertions make him a liar. If he is not God but thought himself to be, he was a lunatic. If Jesus was merely a made-up character, then he’s exists only as a legend.

But historians point to Jesus. His teachings push away any idea of crazy. His resurrection proves that Jesus was indeed God in the flesh—the way, the truth, and the life—the one he always claimed to be.

As Paul taught, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. If Jesus is not raised, religion is fruitless and Sunday mornings should be for sleeping in. Without the resurrection the Christian faith is a sad circus, an exercise in futility, a facade.

But Jesus did rise. Here’s Paul again: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 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, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Thank God Jesus rose. I have hope, you have hope, and our entire world now has hope. As the sun rises let us join believers around the world, and throughout the centuries, to shout the ancient call and response:

He Is Risen!

He Is Risen Indeed!

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 & 14

Painting: Alba de Resurrección (Dawn of Resurrection), by Joaquín Vaquero Turcios