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Believing in Jesus is not a piece of cake given that you have to believe His resurrection. In other words, without the resurrection faith in Jesus would practically be as useless as believing in any other powerful man of God. It would be the same as believing in Elijah or Moses who accomplished so much in their lifetime but didn’t rise from the dead. But is it? Why was Jesus’ case so special and different? I will not go into depth about Jesus and his life, but will rather concentrate on his death at the cross and his resurrection and its implication on society and religion.

Jesus is no figure like any other in history for various reasons. He was born poor and yet claimed to be a king. He was born a house of a carpenter but claimed his father was God Himself. Not only that, He actually said they were equal. Despite the great miracles and accomplishment in his life, he died crucified in the middle of thieves and scoffers, and despised by society. Surprisingly, during all this misery, he forgave and blessed those who were treating him so unfairly given what he actually deserved. Finally, he resurrected on the third day. This was unprecedented because before Him and as far known as today nobody else did. From this alone, one can say that the resurrection in itself is not something to take lightly. It must mean something given its uniqueness in human history.

In Jewish tradition, Passover (Hebrew: Pesakh, Yiddish: Peysekh, Paysakh) was celebrated on a yearly basis starting from the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, to commemorate the escape from enslavement in Egypt. The observance of this feast was mandatory (And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.” (Deuteronomy 16:12) ). This was in the Jewish tradition. When Christianity was born, the day of the resurrection was liked to the passover more in a spiritual sense. That is, the resurrection of Jesus was compared to the day Israel was taken out of bondage. “Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) This is the greatest Christian commission. In other words, when Jesus rose from the dead, he was given all power, the same power he transmitted to his disciples. Likewise, one can logically conclude that had Jesus not risen from the dead, what we know as Christianity wouldn’t have existed in the first place. The many works accomplished by the disciples and those who came after them until now wouldn’t have been. The Holy Spirit that was sent on the day of Pentecost wouldn’t have.

All this sums up in a few words “at the Cross, Jesus accomplished it all”. That’s why the veil of the temple was torn in two( Mark 15:38 ), meaning that everybody was welcome to get out of bondage, Jew or gentile, a privilege only Jews had before. In other words, as a believer from outside Jacob lineage, I gotta be happy to have had somebody take the pain of the cross for me so I can have a hope for God’s heritage. That somebody was Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the same Jesus who was born poor and died like a thief, but rose to glory like a King and reigns sovereign forever more!!!