Thursday, April 8, 2004

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS BACK ON MAIN STREET

By Bill Ellis
Special to ASSIST News Service

SCOTT DEPOT, WV  (ANS) -- TIME magazine, on the cover of its April 12, 2004, edition, had a question and a statement which suggested other questions. The question: “Why Did Jesus Have To Die?” The statement: “As Easter arrives and millions still flock to see The Passion, the reasons behind his sacrifice are debated anew.”

David Van Biema, in writing the feature story, asks the question, “Why Did Jesus Die?” and then offers three possible answers. All these have merit and are worth noting.

Here are the three theories that have been around the halls of discussion for a long time.

1. “THE GOOD VS. EVIL THEORY.” Which suggests “By incarnation and Resurrection, Christ triumphs over Satan and rescues humanity from evil.”

2. “THE PAYING-A-DEBT THEORY”. The idea is that “Christ sacrificed himself to make amends for sins against God.”

3. “THE ROLE-MODEL THEORY”. This means, “By his example, Christ inspires people to live in obedience to God’s ways.”

Jon Meacham, managing editor, of NEWSWEEK, another popular newsmagazine, also did a feature story on the death of Jesus. Magazines, newspapers, tabloids, books, movies and television programs are all talking about the greatest fact of human history -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is interesting that the passion of Jesus, his crucifixion, and his resurrection have become daily topics for discussion in the work place, classroom, in the stores and on the main streets of the world. Jesus is no longer confined to a quiet room of quiet believers. One little boy, not accustomed to being in church services, asked his friend what some playmates were doing by bowing their heads, folding their hands, closing their eyes and asking everybody to be quiet. The simple answer was, “They’re playing church.”

The world is no longer quiet about Jesus. Peter Jennings recently presented a three-hour ABC-Television special about “Jesus and Paul”. Other networks have done stories about Jesus. Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion Of The Christ” continues to draw millions of viewers. Jesus is now the hottest topic in mainstream America, in all the noise and confusion of modern day life. He is on stage. We will do well to pay serious attention to what He really has to say.

There are also various theories about the death of Jesus. Not why He died, but did He really die? His was no “near death” experience. He was dead. Forget “the swoon theory” of Jesus’ death. It is as ridiculous as the others that suggest that He did not actually die.

Erwin W. Lutzer, in his splendid new book, The Vanishing Power of Death (Moody Publishers), writes of Jesus’ death, “But because He died, He knows what lies on the other side of the grave.” In the last book of the Bible, Jesus said, “I am the Living One; I was dead” (Revelation 1:18, NIV).

Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus was sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, had sent a message about it, but by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb four days. Martha ran to meet Jesus when He arrived. He said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die -- ever. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25, 26, HCSB).

Adrian Rogers succinctly says in his recent book, Standing For Light and Truth (Crossway Books), “The resurrection proved that God was completely satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice.” Rogers then adds, “That’s what the gospel is all about. It is God’s good news about the bad news of sin.”

Bill Gaither, “The Songwriter of the Twentieth Century”, and his wife, Gloria, had these words in one of their most popular songs:

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.”

The world will be forever different and so will eternity because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ -- just because He lives.

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Bill Ellis is a syndicated columnist, and convention and conference speaker on every continent. He is the writer of more than 1600 columns and widely known as a motivator utilizing enjoyment of life and just plain fun and laughter while speaking to high school, university and professional sports teams as well as to business and professional groups of all kinds. His keen understanding of human problems make him a favorite speaker for youth, parent, and senior adult meetings. He is accompanied by Kitty, his wife, favorite singer, editor and publisher. For information on becoming a subscriber to the Ellis Column for your newspaper or magazine, you may contact him at: BILL ELLIS, P.O.Box 345, Scott Depot, WV 25560 or by calling: 304-757-6089.

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