Linchpin

In-Depth

A Linchpin is the pin stuck through an axle that keeps the wheel on. Without it, the wheels will literally fall off the wagon. The resurrection of Jesus is the lynch pin of understanding God. If there is no resurrection, the wheels come off the wagon. All the talk about Jesus being God incarnate, forgiveness, the authority of Jesus, the importance of the Bible, and life after death is simply a waste of time. If there is no resurrection, there is no reason to believe in Jesus.

If there is no resurrection, the entire Christian faith is a sham. Christianity is based on Jesus being God who became human to reveal himself to us. If he did not rise from the dead, then he is not God. If he did not rise, then his death is one more of thousands of executions in the days of the Roman Empire.

Paul, an early believer in Jesus, said, If Christ is not raised then what we proclaim is useless and so is your faith. Of all the things he wrote, he said it was of first importance. John, one of his disciples, said that it was the miraculous sign showing us that we should believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Just fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter, another disciple, used it as the critical argument as to why the people of Jerusalem should change their minds and believe that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. God raised him from the dead and we are all witnesses of this fact, he said. Therefore be assured of this: God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah.