The Greatest Day in History

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for a declaration of war against Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which he said was “A day which will live in infamy.”

Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas), killing every last Texas army defender. It was the battle-cry of "Remember the Alamo" that later spurred on the forces of Sam Houston to victory.

Following the flood, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a tool to remember the agreement that He made with Noah to never again flood the entire earth.

During the last supper of Jesus, He asked His disciples to remember every time they eat a meal how He was about to die for each of them and all who would believe.

Following the terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001, the phrase “Never Forget” could be found everywhere.

Remember D-Day was a popular saying during the final days of World War II.

Every year we are asked to remember hurricane Katrina and the devastation that it caused in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Humans have a way of remembering the bad things that have happened. The days of great troubles. The days of death and destruction. We mark these days on our calendars. We memorialize them on statues. We list them on grave markers. We donate things in memory of them.

But there is one day that is remembered all around the globe that does not focus on death. In fact, it focuses on the exact opposite. It was the greatest day in History.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.

“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men.  “He is not here, but He has been resurrected! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” And they remembered His words.

Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. (Luke 24:1-9, HCSB)

I think it is important to mention that Jesus was not the first person to rise from the dead. In fact prior to the resurrection of Jesus, we see the stories of six people that rose from the dead. Elijah prayed for a widows son to be brought back to life…and he was. Elisha prayed for the son of a great Shunammite woman to be raised from the dead…and he was.

A dead man was lowered into a sepulcher and when he touched the bones of Elisha he came back to life. Jesus brought three people back from the grave: a widow’s son, Jairus’ daughter, and His friend Lazarus.

Jesus was the seventh person recorded in the Bible as having been resurrected. And he wasn’t the last person either. Immediately after Jesus rose from the dead, many saints that had been dead also rose from the grave and appeared before many people. Peter raised Tabitha from the dead, Paul raised Eutycus, and it appears that Paul himself was dead and brought back to life at one point.

While resurrection was not a common thing, it had happened and been recorded prior to Jesus’ time and even after Jesus’ time. The religious people believed in the resurrections depicted in the stories of Elijah and Elisha. The followers of Jesus witnessed the resurrections of the three He brought back. And more than 500 people witnessed the resurrection of Jesus.

The Bible is not the only document that records the resurrection of Jesus. Political and historical documents from that timeframe also mention that Jesus, who had been crucified, was seen alive.

If resurrection wasn’t unheard of, why is the day that Jesus rose from the grave considered the greatest day in history? Because the resurrection of Jesus was a victory unlike any other. Previous resurrections were mainly to show the power of God even over physical death. The resurrection of Jesus showed God’s power over both physical death and spiritual death. He conquered sin. He defeated death. For you and for me.

Death has been swallowed up in victory.
 Death, where is your victory?
 Death, where is your sting?
 Now the sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
 through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:54b-57, HCSB)

The Bible mentions another resurrection. This resurrection is a prophetic resurrection, meaning that it hasn’t taken place yet. At the end of time, all of humanity will be resurrected. All those who have believed in Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord, their boss, will be resurrected to live for all of eternity with God in Heaven; while those that did not believe in Jesus or accept Him will be resurrected to live for all of eternity apart from God in Hell.