The Hope of EasterSample

Detective Work

Christ has been raised from the dead. -1 Corinthians 15:20

In 1986, Sir David Suchet, the English actor known for playing detective Hercule Poirot, began a quest to understand the resurrection of Jesus.

Wondering what would happen after he died, he began reading the book of Romans. After twenty years of careful consideration, he committed fully to believing in Jesus.

“Without the resurrection there is no faith,” Suchet concluded, echoing Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Thus, he observed, what he believes “is based not only on the death, the crucifixion, of Jesus, but also on the resurrection.”

The miracle of Jesus rising from the dead, Suchet said, is what gives us hope and points to Him being both human and God.

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, which he’d founded and lived with for eighteen months, he was concerned over reports of division and a waning belief in the resurrection. He stated: “If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Not only did Jesus die and rise again, but so would His believers as well. If the church at Corinth didn’t hold on to this hope, then they would be pitied “more . . . than anyone in the world” (v. 19).

When God helps us to trust that Jesus rose from the dead, we can delight in the assurance that we’ll live with Him forever. And that’s a wonderful conclusion to a worthy quest.

Amy Boucher Pye

How does knowing that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive give you hope and shape you in the way you live? Why does this matter?

Risen Christ, thank You for dying on the cross and rising to new life. I rejoice in the life I have with You.