Christians today celebrate their holiest day of the year, Easter. It marks the culmination of Holy Week, which designates first, the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, then His betrayal by a disciple, followed by His trial and torture at the hands of the Roman governor. On Good Friday, Jesus is believed to have been crucified for supposed crimes, and buried in a tomb donated by a follower.

Were that the extent of the story it would be no more remarkable than any ancient myth or historic event. Self-professed saviors and messiahs were a dime a dozen in Jesus' day. Crucifixions were even more common as a means of executing enemies of the government.

But, as Christians know and proclaim, that tragic and grisly series of events was only the prelude to the most glorious moment in world history.

Upon His death, Jesus' followers were devastated. What kind of Messiah dies? Had His promises and instructions been no more than clever words spoken to people hungry for hope? The Christ followers, so overcome with disappointment and grief, had reason to know better. Jesus had foretold His resurrection when scribes and Pharisees demanded He produce a sign to prove his claims.

"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," Jesus said, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

At other times before His crucifixion, the carpenter from Nazareth alluded to the event now celebrated on Easter morning. Nevertheless, His followers appeared to either have forgotten or not entirely believed Jesus' words. This was a pivotal moment for Christianity. Shaken by a seemingly failed mission, followers of Jesus Christ wavered in their faith.

Indeed, had Jesus not risen from the dead, His words and deeds would rightly be regarded as worthless. But, as Jesus said He would, He rose from the grave and appeared before many, including His disciples and more than 500 others.

It is because Jesus rose that Christians rejoice. Their Lord and Savior overcame the grave. His atoning death paid for believers' sins, meaning they will join Him in eternal life. In a fallen world where people are enslaved by sin, Christians were transformed by the experience. Doubts gave way to certainty. Christ followers were emboldened, they would say empowered, to share the good news.

And for two millennia since, Christians have spread the message: "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

REPRINTED FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Photo credit: Keoni Cabral