The Greeting That Went Viral
An Easter message
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In the early church, believers would greet each other (year-round) with these words: “He is risen,” and the response, “He is risen, indeed.”
The resurrection of Jesus was such a pivotal point in history that it immediately changed the cultural greetings of large numbers of people. As centuries passed this greeting became less common or mostly centered around Easter Sunday.
It is now known as a traditional Easter greeting, officially called the Paschal Greeting and most Christians are familiar with it. But let’s take a more in-depth look at its meaning on this special day.
Historical Significance
We Christians believe that the Son of God is the central figure in history. His arrival set into motion events that would change the world.
His teachings changed the hearts of wicked men and transformed them into loving disciples. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most pivotal event in history.
Without the resurrection, the bold words that Jesus spoke and the challenging teachings that confounded the religious leaders would certainly have died out with a whimper. But because of the resurrection, Jesus’ time on earth ended with a loud proclamation.
His authority could not be questioned. He was who he said he was. Now people had to choose what they would do with the information.
There is no doubt that people questioned the truth of these events. How could they not? Unless you were there, it is pretty hard to believe.
But if you are willing to seek the truth. The evidence was there, and it is still available today. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul states that Jesus appeared to 500+ people after his resurrection. Then, he basically dares them to go talk to the witnesses and ask them if it is true. Paul did not fear or doubt the response of the witnesses because he had already seen the results of this historical moment.
But it’s 2021, and all of those witnesses have fallen asleep (died), as Paul would say. So, how do we know today that the resurrection is true?
Well, in the same way that Jesus changed his disciples, He continues to change people today.
