This Easter, Give Thanks to the Risen Savior and Remember Innocent Christians Still Facing Persecution and Death
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For so many of us, this is a holy week, as we remember Passover, when God rescued the Jewish people from bondage, and Good Friday, when Jesus Christ was crucified as the sacrifice for our sins. And on Sunday, we gather with our family and friends to celebrate the day our Savior – the ultimate Passover Lamb – was resurrected, conquering death and sin forever.
We believe that. Yet the sad truth is even more than 2,000 years after Christ’s victorious resurrection, our Christian brothers and sisters around the world are still being persecuted, mistreated, abused by governments and religious extremists, and even killed for their faith in our risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
And one of the only things between them and an early grave is us.
Right now, the ACLJ is actively working to save the lives of three innocent Christians in Pakistan who’ve all been convicted of “blasphemy” under Pakistan’s barbaric laws and sentenced to death by hanging.
Two of these men, Amoon and Qaisar Ayub, are brothers who were falsely accused of posting blasphemous material on the internet. For that, they have been sentenced to die. We’re appealing the case to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The other, Shahzad Masih, was only 16 years old – still very much a kid – when he was accused of blasphemy, a charge he’s spent five years in jail for and now has been sentenced to hang under his country’s jihadist legal system. It’s an outrageous injustice, and these Christians are running out of time.
We've mobilized our legal office in Pakistan and we're appealing both cases, including to Pakistan's Supreme Court. And we’ve gone directly to the U.N. Human Rights Council to deliver an urgent report exhorting intervention for Shahzad as well as a report asking for action to save Christian brothers Amoon and Qaisar and all Pakistan’s endangered Christians. We are urging the international community to stand up and intervene on behalf of these innocent Christians before it’s too late. We need the global body to put maximum pressure on Pakistan to free them.
As we celebrate Easter this weekend, we must remember those unjustly persecuted Christians all across the world as we at the ACLJ are working tirelessly to save them.
In the Bible, after He was resurrected, Jesus commanded His followers to:
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Christians have their mandate to take the Gospel to all nations; unfortunately, doing so often results in violent persecution. They are beaten, imprisoned, or killed.
In like manner, the ACLJ has a mandate. We will continue our tireless fight to defend and protect persecuted and dying Christians not just in Pakistan but also in every nation in the world. Doing so will allow the Gospel to be preached just as Jesus commanded.
This Easter weekend, as you gather with loved ones to celebrate the risen Savior, please pray for Amoon and Qaisar, as well as young Shahzad and every endangered Christian across the globe.
As believers, we have a sacred obligation to share Christ’s love and defend His church. We will continue that fight, whatever it takes, until all Christians around the world are safe to pray and worship without fear. And we give thanks to Almighty God that we live in a nation where we still can.
From me, my family, and the entire ACLJ, I wish you a Happy Easter.
He is risen.