At the time Mark was writing his gospels, the Christians were undergoing persecution, torture and even death for their beliefs. The gospel was a source of comfort for them as it showed how Jesus suffered as they were. In Iran today people are not allowed to express their religion openly. They face execution if they do not conform to the ideas of the government.
Another example of a Christian who suffered for his beliefs is Sean Devereux. He worked with Amnesty international as a deliverer. He went to some of the poorest parts of the world and tried to make a difference. He fought for rights and tried to educate children. His suffering ended on the road in which he lived. When crossing a corner he was shot 4 times and died.
Some Christians believe that our relationship with god depends on the sacrifice of Jesus. As one priest put it “We are full of sin and spiritually dirty. Jesus’ sacrifice acts as a filter for God so he only sees us, not the sins.”
In the baptism ceremony, we receive the rewards of the death of Jesus. He died so that we may live in a life free of sin. The water symbolises the washing away of sins.
The belief in the resurrection is on its own the most important belief in Christianity. It is the one event that separates us from other religions. Other religions have people who died for what they believed but only in Christianity did they rise again.
Christ once spoke of how “you must suffer to have any hope of life after death with the father.” This gives hope for those who are dying because they can draw hope from the fact they can live again with the Lord
The resurrection of Jesus is crucial to Christians today as it is the basis of the whole Christian religion. Without the resurrection there would be no Christianity as it proves that God exists as he raised his son from the dead.
Some people believe that because of the resurrection we can truly experience Jesus in our daily lives. However we must live our lives as Jesus said in order to gain his presence. He said that we must treat others as we wish to be treated, follow the Ten Commandments and love God.
