Posted by
Thomas Lasher on Saturday, April 07, 2007 9:17:51 PM
On Easter morning church attendance swells to standing room only as the “Christmas-and-Easter” Christians make their usual appearance to fill otherwise empty pews and makeshift folding chairs. The people will come as they do every year because Christmas and Easter are two events that affect the spiritual lives of Christians like no other. They are key events in the life of one man – Jesus of Nazareth. In December Christians come in droves to celebrate a manger filled by the infant Son of God, and now they return to witness his empty tomb.
But what if the tomb had not been empty that first Easter morning? Would there be a Christianity today? Would Christians put their faith in a Christ who never rose?
A documentary which aired March 4 of this year purported to have found the mortal remains of Jesus of Nazareth. This film, which ran on the Discovery Channel, revisited a First Century tomb unearthed more than twenty-five years ago in Jerusalem containing the bones of several individuals including those labeled “Jesus, son of Joseph.” Using wild conjectures and half-truths disguised as a sort of pseudo-archaeology, the filmmakers connected the proverbial dots to “prove” that Jesus never rose from the dead. Supposedly the Resurrection was an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Jesus’ followers immediately after his death. And now here are the bones to prove it.
As a component of this “Jesus’ tomb” theory the filmmakers insist that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were husband and wife and had a child together. An obvious parallel to The Da Vinci Code goes without saying. In Dan Brown’s bestselling novel Jesus and Mary Magdalene produce a “royal bloodline” before Jesus was executed. And this we are told was the real purpose of his life’s work. It seems Hollywood and the pop culture never tire of manipulating the historical Jesus, remolding Him to fit whatever cultural trend happens to be en vogue. And Christians who challenge this pop agenda are labeled fanatics or zealots for defending traditional Christian teaching.
Supporters of films such as The Da Vinci Code or the Jesus’ tomb documentary are usually surprised by the strong and often emotional Christian reaction. More than once on such occasions I have been asked, what does it really matter if Jesus was married, or if he had a kid, or if he literally rose from the dead? Isn’t the most important thing that we follow his moral teachings? Why should his personal life affect our faith?
If this were asked about any other founder of a major world religion I would probably agree. But Christianity is not like other world religions.
Christianity is a religion centered on a single person – Jesus of Nazareth. This differs sharply from other world religions. Buddha, for instance, claimed to have discovered the way to spiritual enlightenment; but Jesus insisted that he is the Way. Mohammed presented the Koran as the truth of God’s revelation; Jesus said he is the Truth. Jesus does not merely teach us how to live our lives; Jesus said he is the Life. Other founders of major world religions taught about God, but none of them claimed to be God – Jesus did claim this about himself.
Christianity is Christocentric – centered on Christ – not only centered on his teachings or his moral precepts, but on the person Jesus – who he was and what he did. For the believing Christian the life and actions of Jesus are inextricably tied up with what it means to be a Christian. For Christians Jesus is God, thus the manner of his birth, the way in which he died, whether or not he physically rose from the dead, whether he was married with children, all of these have theological weight and can greatly affect Christian faith. Books and films that depict alternative lifestyles or outcomes to Jesus’ life are not just exploring the life of an extraordinary man who lived two thousand years ago. They are suggesting a distorted perception of the Christian God. Of course Christians are outraged by such attacks.
This Easter (as with every Easter) there are those who wish Jesus was still in the tomb. They loudly proclaim that God is dead and then proceed to try to find the body. In my opinion they can keep their false tombs filled with ancient bones crumbling into dust. I prefer the empty tomb…filled with hope.