“Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!”
Happy Easter!
One modern-day thinker respected by the Church of Scotland in its approach to theology is Dr Timothy Keller (1950 – 2023) – see, for example, the pamphlet “What can I say?” (link to PDF download).
In a world ravaged by war, poverty and fear, on this Easter Sunday, arguably the happiest day of the year in the Christian calendar, here are some words you might like to hear – from Tim Keller.
In an interview recorded with Matt Smethurst in 2021, Tim Keller was asked if he could give any words of reassurance to Christians who are nervous about the future.
At that time, Tim was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer.
The reference to “Kathy” is to his wife.
Tim said:
“If Jesus Christ was raised from the dead; if he really got up, walked out and was seen by hundreds of people – talked to them; if he was raised from the dead then – d’you know what? – everything’s going to be all right.
Whatever you’re worried about, whatever you’re afraid of – everything is actually going to be okay.
Because you’ve got to remember that we’re not just talking about resurrected people. Jesus Christ (and this is where Christianity is unique) talked about a resurrected World (plenty other religions talk about a future after-life which is a non-material world: in other words you get a “consolation” for the world we’ve lost).
Christianity says it’s not just your bodies are being resurrected but the World is actually going to be a material world that’s cleansed from all evil and suffering and sin.
And if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead then the whole world is going to be – in a sense – resurrected.
And everything is going to be okay.
Everything.
I don’t know how, but it will be.
Right now, I couldn’t possibly be convinced that Jesus was not raised from the dead – either intellectually or existentially.
Kathy and I cried a lot last night. Sometimes the reality of the shortness of what we have left here just overwhelms us – and we’re just weeping together and crying.
And then you say:
“If Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, it is going to be okay.” “
