By Femi Alufa
“Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for He has been raised just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.”
— Matthew 28:5-6
Easter give us the hope of a new life and fresh starts that remind us to be joyful on our honour as a believer.
Jesus Christ who is the cornerstone of our Christian faith was an incarnation of God and He dwell amongst the living as a divine being when He was here.
His life and earthly ministry,death and resurrection proves that our faith is not in vain and help us to reflect the significance of this Easter season.”The resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians.
“Without it, our faith is meaningless.”
The other symbolism of Easter is that God is love and He has defeated our greatest enemy,the Devil through the power of resurrection through Jesus Christ.
Easter give us new hope, new life and new joy through Jesus Christ who was nailed to the cross of Calvary and risen from the dead on the first Easter day.It is also a metaphor that life is essentially spiritual and timeless.
As we celebrate Easter,everything you do should be done to promote agape love and sacrifice in the service of God and humanity.We should rekindle our service to our beloved country and community, fellow men and women.
The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.”
On the first Easter morning Jesus rose from the death and His tomb was empty.
The greatest Black Swan event in human history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead on the first Easter morning.It was wholly unexpected but when it happened, everything changed.
A black swan is considered to be rare, since most swans are white. In fact, the story goes that black swans were thought once to not at all exist, until late 17th century .
Black Swans were first seen by Europeans in 1697, when Willem de Vlamingh’s expedition explored the Swan River, Western Australia.
The lesson is that what we think are very rare events may be more common than previously thought.
“The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The term is based on a Latin expression which presumed that black swans did not exist. The expression was used until around 1697 when Dutch mariners saw black swans living in Australia. After this, the term was reinterpreted to mean an unforeseen and consequential event.”
Black swan events are rare and unexpected events with severe consequences with the potential to cause a change in a formerly held belief or system of beliefs.
Examples of black swan events in our recent human history are the rise of the Internet, the personal computer, World War I, the dissolution of the Union Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), and the September 11, 2001 attacks,and COVID-19 pandemic before our very eyes in the year 2019 to 2020 A.D.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb which occurred over two thousand years ago, is the best attested fact of black swan event in human history and experience.
The resurrection of Christ was predicted in the Old Testament and by Christ Himself.During the forty days following His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself to be alive from the dead by “many infallible proofs.He appeared at various times and places to many people who told others what they had seen.
The resurrection of Jesus is the central mystery of the Christian faith .It provides the foundation for that faith, as commemorated during Easter, along with Jesus’s life, death and sayings. For Christians, Jesus resurrection is the guarantee that all the Christian dead will be resurrected at Christ’s parousia (second coming).
Besides Gospels (Book of Matthew,Mark,Luke and John in the New Testament)There are Christian sources on the historicity of the person of Jesus (the letters of Paul and the Gospels) and there are also Jewish and Roman sources (e.g. Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger) that mention Jesus, and there are also many apocryphal texts that are examples of the wide variety of writings from early history.
Josephus (Flavius Josephus) (c. AD 37 – c. 100), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. He was best known for writing The Jewish War, he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed Hasmonean royal ancestry.
Josephus’ Description of Jesus in his book, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter 3 :
” (63) Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works-a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; (64) and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross , those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.” ( From The Works of Josephus, translated by William Whiston
Hendrickson Publishers, 1987)
Cornelius Tacitus,(55-117 A .D) Roman Historian (said to be the first historical reference to Jesus Christ) : ” Christus… suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”
Ernest Renan, French Historian said : “All history is incomprehensible without Christ. “
Christ’s resurrection has been at the heart of the church’s message from the Day of Pentecost to the present. By rising from the dead, Jesus Christ demonstrated that He had cleansed the guilt of our past and is able to help us in our present lives.
His resurrection assures us that our future is safe and secure.Without Christ’s resurrection we would have no salvation from sin, and no hope for our own future resurrection.
The empty tomb is proof of Christ’s deity. Historian Edwin M. Yamauchi, in his book :’What’s so Special about Jesus? Compared with Buddha, Muhammad, Socrates and Zoroaster’, said:
“To say there is exact parity between Jesus and founders of other religions, however, is to argue not from tolerance but from ignorance. Each one had his own distinctive message and mission. In comparing Jesus with Zoroaster, Buddha, Socrates and Muhammad, we discover a number of unique features in Jesus’ life and ministry… If we exclude later legendary and apologetic accounts, we find that early accounts attribute miracles only to Jesus. Only Jesus spoke on his own unquestioned authority.
” Zoroaster and Muhammad acted as spokesmen for God, while Socrates and Buddha urged everyone to consult their own conscience.”
“Further only Jesus predicted he would be resurrected after his death, and only his followers rest their faith on such an event…And only Jesus claimed equality with a sole, supreme deity. “
H.G. Wells, A noted historian was asked “which person left the most permanent impression on history. He replied that : if one judged a person’s greatness by historical standards, by this Jesus stands first.”
These testimonials from esteemed thinkers underscore the enduring legacy of Jesus Christ, transcending time and cultures.
It guarantees the future resurrection of believers. The resurrection of Christ also provides believers with spiritual power today.The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is evidence that God will one day judge the world in righteousness.
As George W.Bush,43rd President of the United States once said: “As God’s only Son, Jesus came to Earth and gave His life so that we may live. His actions and His words remind us that service to others is central to our lives and that sacrifice and unconditional love must guide us and inspire us to lead lives of compassion, mercy, and justice.”
It was through Jesus’ resurrection on the first Easter Sunday that God gave us hope for life here on earth and eternal life May the reason for Easter celebration bring you and your loved ones fulfilment in life; peace, hope, and joy. Happy Easter!
- Femi Alufa is the publisher CEO of Ekiti Summit News Media Group.