VICTORS CORNER

By Victor Uyanwanne

Jesus’ birth or death: which is more important?

Several years ago in my church in Lagos, as teenagers then, we were asked to make a presentation on the topic: “The birth or the death of Jesus Christ, which one is more important?”

We were divided into two groups. The first one proposed that “the death of Jesus Christ was more important than His birth.” The group asserted that if Jesus had not died for the sins of the world, mankind would have been doomed forever.

They posited that “It was the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus that brought salvation to mankind.”

Hardly could that be faulted by any Christian. But there was a little challenge. Or wasn’t it?

I was on the opposing side and the lead speaker as well. My team and I had our profound arguments to advance too, to counter their position and establish ours that “the birth of Jesus Christ was more important than His death.”

“If Jesus was not born in the first place, He would not have had the opportunity to die for the sins of the world,” we argued.

Interesting!

The congregation clapped and cheered as each group dished out their arguments and counter-arguments. But there was no set panel of judges to decide which group won or lost the debate. It wasn’t necessary to have one, I guessed.

In the end, there was no victor and there was no vanquished. The moderator, an elder in the church, simply climbed the pulpit and declared:

“Jesus Christ was born to die. Both His birth and death and resurrection are all important.”

The congregation again clapped and cheered until we (all the debaters) exited the stage, happy.

Born to die, but He resurrected in power

Yes, Jesus was born to die. But that’s not the complete story. The complete story is that He resurrected on the third day and now He is alive forever.

It is because of His death that man can live again. It is in believing in His death and resurrection that every man can have eternal life.

Without the death and resurrection of Christ, the Christian faith would be useless. And all Christians  would be big time losers!

As I write this post, I am fully aware of the period we are in – Easter period. About three months ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ and now we are celebrating His death and resurrection, which Easter represents.

At Christmas, we said, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” In the same vein, at Easter too we can also say the same thing because that’s the truth. He is the reason we celebrate Easter, a commemoration of His eternal defeat of death and satan and all the powers of hell put together.

The resurrection of Jesus from death is the greatest event in human history. All the powers of hell were unleashed to stop the event from taking place. But the power of God prevailed and Jesus the son of God arose from the dead with all power and might.

How Jesus defeated satan for me

In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, satan was completely disgraced. Paul gives us an insight into what happened:

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15.

The good news is that Jesus won the victory for you, for me and for everyone else that believes in Him. We ultimately will be resurrected to reign with Christ eternally.

Jesus victory is my victory, and yours too!

The resurrection of Christ from death is the foundation of our Christian faith, the assurance of our salvation and the hope of our eternal glory. Thinking about this alone should give us pure joy.

Happy Easter to you and your family.

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What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to you? Leave a comment.