"Tell Me the Story of Jesus" - What About His Resurrection?
Spiritual Questions with Scriptural Answers.
Jesus’ death on the cross was essential and important, but the very existence of Christianity rises and falls on whether or not Jesus came out of the tomb.
According to Wayne Jackson, “If there was no resurrection, Christianity is a hoax, and we are wasting our time” (Jackson).
Thankfully, the resurrection of Jesus is not a hoax; but rather, it is an extremely well-documented fact: “Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the best-attested fact in human history” (Arnold).
A greater source than the aforementioned Bible scholars is the Holy Spirit Himself Who said through the apostle Paul,
“If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise…But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:14-15, 20).
In this article, we want to discuss both the fact and importance of Jesus’ resurrection.
The Fact of Jesus’ Resurrection.
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again:
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
Consider Paul’s introduction to the church at Rome:
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:1-4).
The Gospel was promised through the prophets and recorded for us throughout the Scriptures (Psa. 16:10; 110:1).
Jesus was born, lived a perfect life, died a horrible death, but was “declared to be the Son of God with power” as He rose from the dead. This fact is recorded all throughout the New Testament (See John 21:14; Acts 2:24; 3:15; 4:10; 13:30, 34; Rom. 6:4, 9; 7:4; 8:11; 10:9; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2 Tim. 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:21; 3:21).
The Importance of Jesus’ Resurrection.
The forgiveness of sins.
First, Jesus’ resurrection represents an assurance that we can have forgiveness from our sins. Paul contended:
“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).
The reverse of the apostle’s affirmation would be this: if Jesus was raised, sins will be forgiven when we obey the gospel (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
The judgment.
Second, the resurrection of Jesus also proves that there will be a Day of Judgment and that Jesus will be the Judge:
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31; cf. John 12:48; 2 Cor. 5:10).
The living Savior.
Third, the resurrection of Christ proves that Christians serve a LIVING Savior:
"And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Rev. 1:17-18; cf. Heb. 1:3).
Hope in death.
Fourth, the resurrection of Jesus proves that physical death is not the end of human existence (1 Cor. 15:20, 23; cf. Eccl. 12:7).
The victory of Jesus.
Fifth, and finally, the resurrection shows the ultimate victory of Jesus over sin and death:
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:54-57).
The incredibly well-documented and extremely important resurrection of Jesus gives us all hope of living forever!
We should stand in awe of the risen Savior and meditate on the implications of His resurrection not just one day a year or at a certain time of year, but every single day that God allows us to live here on this earth.
The hope for all who obey God and live faithfully is to see the risen Lord and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Thanks be to God for the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His only begotten Son!
References.
Arnold, Thomas. 1939. The International Standard Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. James Orr, ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Jackson, Wayne. The Significance of Christ’s Resurrection. Christian Courier. https://christiancourier.com/articles/the-significance-of-christs-resurrection Accessed February 23rd, 2024.
Drew Suttles is a minister for the Quitman church of Christ in Quitman, Georgia, and one of my best friends in this world. They live-stream all their Bible classes and sermons on their YouTube channel.
Drew also hosts the “Weathering the Storm” podcast on the Scattered Abroad Network. Drew talks about facing life’s challenges as a child of God. His podcast will be a blessing to your life.
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Thank you for sharing these reflections. When we read through the old and new testaments, we see how they reinforce one another. The coherence of scripture and the intricate interrelationships in the works of dozens of authors spread out over more than a millennium is in itself miraculous, beyond human agency. That is the power of God's word.
While Paul and the Apostles and some of the women and about five hundred others did see Jesus resurrected (1Cor 15:6) it is worth noting that Jesus did not appear to many people after his resurrection, and most often he appeared "in another form"- he did not look like the physical person they knew before. (Mark 16:12, John 21:4)
The resurrected Jesus did not walk openly into Jerusalem and preach in the temple, as he had done before being killed.
The record of his life after his resurrection for the 40 days until he was taken up by the cloud is very thin in scripture.
The point of all this is that God did NOT want people to believe in Jesus and follow him by proof of sight but by faith and trust in him and to love him, although we can't see him.