04/04/2026
The main reason I’m a Christian- An entirely unsolicited Easter weekend reflection:
Jesus perfectly modeled the suffering servant prophesy written hundreds of years prior in Isaiah 53, which was about the sinless, suffering servant who came to die in the place of a sinful people. Throughout his ministry he had claimed to be God incarnate through accepting worship, having the authority to forgive sins, to heal people, and using Yahweh’s “I Am” statements as his own. All of these are either lies or insane, and completely blasphemous if they aren’t not true. He also prophesied that his own resurrection would happen three days after his death (Matt 16:21).
On Good Friday, he was crucified by those who knew very well how to kill people. He was buried by those who would have known what a dead person looked like. He was dead, not in a coma, not sleeping, but dead.
And if there was no resurrection, none of this matters. He should have simply faded from history as one more failed prophet or interesting (but delusional) teacher. If it didn’t happen, as Paul said, our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
But it did happen. His death was not just an average ex*****on. It was a total, conquering, and victorious one when he burst out of that grave. The resurrection showed that Jesus was precisely who he said he was.
There were 4 distinct sources written within the first generation of eyewitnesses- the Gospels- which are distinct enough from each other that they were not likely written in collusion, but remarkably still consistent with one another. These sources absolutely are not written like mythology or fan fiction stories. They go into extreme historical detail- even recounting uncomfortable facts for the time, such as women being the first to see the resurrected Jesus. These gospel accounts *cite their sources*, giving those readers alive during the first century a literal list of eyewitnesses to track down and ask. The gospels essentially beg their first century readers to VERIFY, not simply trust, the story. They name names (not just first names, but identifying details), places, times. That's not how revisionist history is written, and it's certainly not consistent with the tone or actions of manipulative cult leaders. These accounts are written begging us to look into the external, real-world facts of the story. It’s not a myth written to make us feel better about ourselves, it’s a true story anchored in history.
Jesus truly was God; only God could provide an infinite and perfect sacrifice for our sin against an infinite and perfect God, and his resurrection showed that God has fully certified Jesus’s life, ministry, and claims. Something spectacularly real was kicked off that resurrection Sunday.
