Pastoral Letters

Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus

April 20, 2025 Author:Elder liu Kerh Li
Have you ever thought about how, apart from the resurrection of Jesus, we don’t really have any other festivities that celebrate someone coming back to life after death? Around the world, across different nations, cultures, religions, and regions, people celebrate the birth or death anniversaries of their heroes or founders. In Chinese tradition, there is also a good custom of commemorating ancestors on the anniversary of their passing. On such days, people remember the contributions of their loved ones or notable figures, praise their great deeds, and reflect on how they touched our lives. Sadly, those we remember have all become part of history. While their work or teachings may continue to influence the living, they themselves have no relationship with this world anymore. Perhaps some of the living, unable to let go, try to recreate them using artificial intelligence in a virtual world—but this is merely self-deception. The dead do not return. In a world that champions science, this is an undeniable conclusion.

Yet today, we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus in church. Christians around the world are celebrating something that, from a scientific perspective, seems unbelievable: a dead person coming back to life. For those who don’t believe in God, this might seem like superstition or just an old custom—something to participate in casually, and is not to be taken seriously. But we do take it seriously. Why is it that Christians of different cultural backgrounds, educational levels, and even from different eras can all believe in the resurrection of Jesus? And more than that, people of different eras all believe in the resurrection of Jesus?

Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very foundation of the Christian faith. “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 if he did not raise him, 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” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19). Why would the Christian church take such an incredible event—the resurrection of Jesus—and make it the core of its belief? If Christianity were just another organisation, the teaching of Jesus’ resurrection would’ve been quickly removed or downplayed, as it runs counter to what most people would find reasonable.

The truth is, Christianity boldly and unreservedly proclaims the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a real historical event. The resurrection of Jesus is a momentous and well-attested fact in history. There is abundant evidence—eyewitness accounts, physical evidence, and supporting circumstances. Here are just three key points: Many people saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes, and their lives were dramatically changed afterward; Jesus’ tomb was found empty—even under Roman guard, his body was nowhere to be found; those who crucified Jesus could not immediately refute the claims of his resurrection. If Jesus had not risen, these claims would have easily fallen apart. Lies cannot withstand scrutiny. Yet to this day, no enemy of Jesus has been able to disprove this evidence. Some might ask: could the resurrection of Jesus have been a story fabricated later, along with all the supposed evidence? But we must understand that the events of Jesus’ life were not only recorded in the Bible, but also documented in Roman and Jewish historical texts. Unless Jesus truly rose from the dead, such a lie would have been impossible to sustain. Moreover, many who believed in Jesus’ resurrection were willing to die for it—who would die for something they knew was false?

From various perspectives, Jesus’ resurrection stands as an unshakable fact. So, when something this unbelievable has actually happened, can we afford to ignore it and pretend it has nothing to do with us? Absolutely not. Jesus’ resurrection proves that He is God, not just an ordinary man. It proves that everything He said about Himself is true—including what He said about the fate of sinners, and the judgment we deserve for our sins: eternal punishment in hell. Even if you don’t believe in Jesus, you cannot escape your connection to His resurrection. Unlike other great leaders, ancestors, or religious founders who have died, Jesus will one day stand before you as your Judge. You had better not have committed even a single evil thought—because this Judge, who conquered even death, will not let you go unpunished. In that case, the resurrection of Jesus is not something for you to celebrate.

But today, if you believe in Jesus, you can joyfully celebrate His resurrection! Because His resurrection proves that His promises will come true. One of those promises is: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). This abundant life begins the moment we believe in Jesus, and continues for all eternity. I cannot fully describe how wonderful this abundant life is—only that it is a life that overcomes sin and death, and allows you to be with the glorious God forever in a resurrected body like Jesus’.

translated by Elder Liu Kerh Li