Jesus is the great misunderstood person of history. Barbara Thiering, in her book Jesus the Man, presents a startling picture of Jesus, suggesting that he had been married, had sired three children, then had been divorced and remarried. A. N. Wilson, in his book titled simply Jesus, documents Wilson's much-publicized rejection of Christianity. John Spong, in his book Born of a Woman, claims to show how the doctrine of the virgin birth is responsible for the oppression of women. Clearly, this interest in Jesus has reached the level of tabloid journalism.
How did the early Christians interpret Jesus' life and teaching? The key is to be found in the events that transpire this week in the life of the church -- Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. Wrote the great British New Testament scholar C. F. D. Moule, "The birth and rapid rise of the Christian Church remains an unsolved enigma for any historian who refuses to take seriously the only explanation offered by the church itself."
On Easter Sunday morning, harnessing the power of heaven, Jesus burst his bounds and arose from death victorious. Christ was truly raised from the dead. You can stake your life on it.