The real need for a savior

You will recall that when the day of our Lord's resurrection occurred, the anti-Jesus people spread the false report that it never happened, but, instead, that Jesus' disciples came and stole His body (Matthew 28:11-15). For almost 2,000 years the Christian Church has survived challenges to the truth that Jesus is alive. Some even insisted that there never was a historical person named Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified under the jurisdiction of Pontius Pilate. Even in the Christian Church today, some say that Jesus didn't actually physically rise from the dead since it is scientifically impossible, but that the resurrection is more of a metaphor for personal transformation, representing the triumph of hope over despair, the potential for second chances, and the ability to build a better life from the ashes of past failures. It symbolizes that individuals are not trapped by their circumstances, offering a pattern for dying to an old self to live a new, "resurrected" life.

While indeed following Jesus can bring all those things, the real need for a Savior is to assure us of what happens when our time on this earth is done. If there is no afterlife, none of these beliefs really matter. But if there is life after death, then what? In Jesus, the way to the House of the Lord is open. We can be at home with the Triune God.

But being at home is not just about the future. It's also about the here and now as through faith in Jesus we can have a vibrant relationship with the living God -- a relationship we were created to have but sin ruined. And so Jesus came to do for us what we couldn't do for ourselves -- to rescue us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. His physical resurrection after His sacrificial death as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world declares it is all true. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!