It was still dark on Sunday morning when they left their homes.
The neighborhood was eerily quiet as they met on the street and walked, without conversation, to the cemetery on the edge of town.
Others who were more influential should have joined them, but they were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps from fear, disappointment, or sheer exhaustion they remained in their beds, remembering the words He spoke.
But He said so many things. Were any of His words true?
So on this bleak Sunday morning, the women made their way to the tomb—a cave dug into the side of a hill—where a wealthy benefactor had placed His body after His execution.
The scuttlebutt going around was that He said He’d be back.
Back.
From death.
Unbelievable.
Yet, here they were hoping against hope.
The rumor of His return—His resurrection from the dead—had made its way to the halls of power so the tomb was guarded by intimidating soldiers who would chase away any of His followers who might be tempted to perpetuate the myth by stealing His body and claiming He was back.
So as the sun rose they waited in the shadows.
Watching and waiting.
Waiting and watching.
Until the sun was high and their dreams melted.
Dejected, they returned to their homes realizing that once again a charismatic-but-deluded rabbi had failed to come through with His promises.
And within a few weeks, the followers of this movement—and the movement itself—faded into oblivion and were never heard from again.
There are no churches.
There are no “christians.”
There are no Easter egg hunts.
There are no people anywhere named “Jesus.” And names like “Mary” or “Joseph” or “Gabriel” or “Paul” or “Peter” are rare.
There are no Bibles.
No one thinks of a cross as jewelry or decor.
There is no Christmas.
There are no nativity scenes.
There are no Christmas carols.
There are few hospitals, children’s homes, or institutions of higher learning in the West.
These are just a few answers to the question I posed in today’s headline: “What if Easter never happened?”
BUT …
1 Corinthians 15:14-20 says:
“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.”
Easter happened. And it changes everything. Praise be to God!
Be amazing today, my friend.
