If Jesus didn’t literally rise from the dead, nothing he said matters
Easter was a couple weeks ago. Fun fact: If you reckon Easter by the modern solar calendar instead of the lunar calendar of the Hebrews, Easter would be either April 3 (if Jesus died and rose in AD 33) or April 6 (if Jesus died and rose in AD 30).
Typically modern culture does its best to ignore the origins of Easter. Rarely do you see the resurrection of Christ even remotely alluded to in popular media or culture or anything at all outside of a church. If you didn’t go to church, it’s very possible you would have no idea that Easter was the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at all. Every year we hear some oversensitive complaining about a War on Christmas, some kind of conspiracy to obscure the true meaning of Christmas — well, if there’s a War on Christmas, the War on Easter has been lost. And I suppose that’s understandable in the secular world. After all, the idea of a baby being born is a lot less offensive than the idea of a man rising from the dead.
That doesn’t mean the media is totally silent. Instead, most things having to do with Jesus’ resurrection are tucked away in the opinion and religion sections of the newspapers and media websites, down on the equivalent of page 78E or something. One of these pieces I came across recently was in the New York Times. The piece is an interview with Pastor Timothy Keller of New York City, by the religion writer Nicholas Kristof, titled, “Pastor Timothy Keller, am I a Christian?”
Reading the article, you quickly get an idea of what Kristof believes. He seems to consider himself a Christian, because he follows Jesus’ ethical teachings (at least the ones that everyone agrees with: love your neighbor, care for the poor, don’t be a hypocrite, that sort of thing). But when it comes to miracles and the resurrection and the more radical claims of Jesus, he’s not so sure. And based on the title of the article, it seems that he’s not even sure belief in those things matters.
I think this interview is very relevant because often newspapers will hire opinion writers who have opinions that large portions of the population agree with, but don’t always want to or know how to express plainly. I think this idea is more common among the American population, including those who call themselves Christians, than we think. It is very tempting to say that Jesus’ ethical teachings, the ones that have to do with what’s here and now, right in front of us, are what matter, and that stuff about death and sin and resurrection is far off, spiritual, hard to understand, and divisive, and therefore not as important.
To say that, though, misses the entire point of Jesus’ message, and ironically misses the entire point of Jesus’ ethical teachings as well. One of Jesus’ favorite things to talk about was the kingdom of God. By that, he meant this spiritual kingdom that in a sense is present wherever God’s people are now, but will be fully realized and inaugurated at the end of the age when Jesus returns to judge the world.
It’s one of those things that’s almost easy to miss because it’s everywhere in Jesus’ teaching. Everything Jesus said centered around this coming kingdom of God. Indeed, the coming kingdom of God was not only the center, but the reason for everything Jesus said.
Just look at the Beatitudes, one of the most basic summations of Jesus’ ethical teachings. Every time Jesus calls a group of people blessed, he relates it to God. He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Why? Because “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew’s term for the kingdom of God). He says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” How? Certainly not in this life. Leaders tend to be the assertive and proud. Obviously Jesus is referring to the next world, when the kingdom of God comes and “those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The pure in heart will see God. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. Those who are persecuted for righteousness, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. All down the list, nearly all the benefits Jesus mentions to the virtuous groups he names are benefits that are realized mostly in the future, not necessarily now, and all of them are benefits that come from God, and relate to their standing in the kingdom of God.
That’s what matters to Jesus. Jesus’ ethical teachings are important, and essential for Christians to follow, but they aren’t why Jesus came. Jesus didn’t come just to teach us. He came to die for our sins and rise from the dead, defeating death and opening the door to eternal life. Without that, none of the things Jesus said make sense. They don’t matter than any other inspirational quote you’d find on Pinterest. But if Jesus rose from the dead, then everything he said is preparing us to join him in that resurrection and live in the kingdom that’s coming.
