We need to remember that the story doesn’t end with Jesus’ death, His death was the beginning of something great. He is currently in Heaven, in His resurrected body, and one day He will return, and when He does come again, it will not be as a baby! He will come as king and spiritual ruler.
Remember our identification is in who we are in Christ and His resurrection. The Bible tells us in John 14:12 that the things Christ has done we can do, and greater than these we will do because He goes to the Father. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrated Jesus’ victory over the power of death and confirmed there is life beyond the grave.
Christ Jesus offers us a "resurrection" power beyond ourselves that can make us alive; it empowers us to overcome the limitations of this realm with an infused ability, as we focus on the Spirit of power working within us.
I hope you receive much insight and revelation as you discover the wholeness of what Jesus achieved for you and me in His death and resurrection.
Let’s examine four aspects of the resurrection at this moment:
1. The why
2. The truth
3. The meaning
4. The objections
The why of the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus was an act of the supreme love of God. We can see this by reading the following scriptures;
Acts 13:30-34, AMP
But God raised Him from the dead.
And for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are His witnesses to the people. So now we are bringing you the good news (Gospel) that what God promised to our forefathers, this He has completely fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You [caused You to arise, to be born; formally shown You to be the Messiah by the resurrection].
And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, now no more to return to [undergo] putrefaction and dissolution [of the grave], He spoke in this way, I will fulfill and give to you the holy and sure mercy and blessings [that were promised and assured] to David.
Romans 1:4, AMP
And [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated the Son of God in power [in a striking, triumphant and miraculous manner] by His resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Ephesians 1:19-21, AMP
And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
The resurrection of Jesus was not a mere resuscitation of a dead body as in the case of Lazarus. It was the transformation of Jesus’ human body into a glorified one. In His glorified body, He still bore the marks of His death. We can see in scripture that He could eat and was recognisable unless He chose otherwise as on the road to Emmaus, He was able to appear, disappear, move rapidly and reappear from one place to another.
Luke 24:31, 36, NKJV
Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”
2. The truth of the Resurrection
Let’s look at the historical support of eyewitnesses who had seen Jesus alive after His resurrection. This is significant because on the evidence of one eyewitness a conviction can be made. However, the Bible and historians gave us evidence of more than one account where Jesus was seen, making it a fact beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus did actually rise from the dead as He said He would.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8, NKJV
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, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
There is additional Biblical evidence to support the resurrection of Jesus because Jesus Christ was seen alive after His death by;
• Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18);
• Other women (Matthew 28:9-10);
• Two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32);
• Ten disciples on Sunday evening (John 20:19-23);
• Eleven disciples the following week (John 20:26-28);
• Seven disciples in Galilee (John 21:1-15);
• Apostles and others in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20); and
• Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).
The changes in attitude and actions of these people bear witness to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. For instance, the despondent, sceptical Thomas on seeing Jesus utters the clearest and most profound statement about Jesus’ deity, he said: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
In writing to Corinth, Paul could confidently assert that many of the people who had seen the risen Christ were still alive and would corroborate his testimony. The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection was sufficient to convince a sceptical lawyer, Frank Morison, that the resurrection was true, so that instead of writing the book he had planned condemning the Christian faith he wrote: “Who moved the stone?” – A defence of the faith.
If Christ did not rise from the dead, then Paul argues:
• our preaching is useless;
• the faith of Christians is in vain;
• God's ministers are false witnesses;
• we are still in our sins;
• Christians who have died are "lost"; and
• we are to be pitied more than all men
1 Corinthians 15:12-19, AMP
But now if Christ (the Messiah) is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen; And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain [it amounts to nothing] and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless (without effect, empty, imaginary, and unfounded).
We are even discovered to be misrepresenting God, for we testified of Him that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise in case it is true that the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised; And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is mere delusion [futile, fruitless], and you are still in your sins [under the control and penalty of sin]; And further, those who have died in [spiritual fellowship and union with] Christ have perished (are lost)!
If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hope only in this life and that is all, then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.
But the fact is that Christ (the Messiah) has been raised from the dead, and He became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death].
3. The meaning of the resurrection
What are some of the facts we can find in the Bible about the end results for us as believers about the resurrection?
Remember, our identification is in who we are in Christ and His resurrection. The resurrection demonstrated Jesus’ victory over the power of death and confirmed there is life beyond the grave.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57, AMP
And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [upon the soul] through [the abuse of] the Law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:24, AMP
[But] God raised Him up, liberating Him from the pangs of death, seeing that it was not possible for Him to continue to be controlled or retained by it.
These scriptures confirm a personal resurrection in Christ giving us hope that because He lives, we will also live;
John 14:19, AMP
Just a little while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
1 Thessalonians 4:14, AMP
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep [in death].
1 Peter 1:3, AMP
Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Corinthians 6:14, NKJV
And God both raised the Lord to life and will also raise us up by His power.
Jesus Christ offers us a "resurrection" power beyond ourselves that can make us alive; He empowers us to overcome the limitations of this realm with the infused ability of the Holy Spirit. As we focus on the Spirit of power working within us, we access the victory Christ won for us on the cross. Remember the Bible tells us, that we are seated with Him in heavenly places, spiritually, even in this life, we can have victory over sin. Glory to Jesus.
Romans 8:11, AMP
And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
Ephesians 1:18-23, AMP
By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), and [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church], which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].
Ephesians 2:6, AMP
And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Romans 1:4, NKJV
...and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus sets Him apart from all other human religious founders and their religions because there is no evidence that their gods died and rose again. Therefore, the founders of all other religions are still dead! The grave of Christ is empty and is proof that there will one day be a resurrection and judgement for all humanity.
Acts 17:30-31, AMP
Such [former] ages of ignorance God, it is true, ignored and allowed to pass unnoticed; but now He charges all people everywhere to repent (to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins), because He has fixed a day when He will judge the world righteously (justly) by a Man Whom He has destined and appointed for that task, and He has made this credible and given conviction and assurance and evidence to everyone by raising Him from the dead.
4. The objections to the resurrection
The importance of any belief system is almost directly proportional to the number of objections it has! These objections either come from non-Christians who do not wish to believe, or sadly, from some Christians who are in the church but still, apparently, do not want to acknowledge the fullness of the message of Christ.
With the resurrection, what we are seeing is a further attack on the work of the Godhead in relation to being able to rise from the dead – and, therefore, break the final curse of death. Without the resurrection, there is no victory over sin and death.
1 Corinthians 15:54, AMP
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.”
There are a number of theories that try to explain away Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is not profitable at this stage to discuss them in any depth. However, in essence, there were just three basic options with a number of variations on the theme:
1. Jesus did not die but ‘came to’ in the tomb and somehow escaped past the Roman guards with a massive wound in His side. If this had happened, the Roman guards would have been put to death for allowing the escape to happen.
2. Jesus’ body was stolen; the disciples then led a life of hypocrisy and lies to propagate His message. This has the same problem as the Roman guard scenario. Why would the disciples who had seen Jesus crucified and who were living in terror immediately afterwards even attempt such a thing when they knew it would result in their death?
3. Jesus’ appearance after His death was either illusionary or a spirit. This has the same problem regarding the disciple’s terror, and also it means this ‘apparition’ appeared to a large number of witnesses over a very short period of time.
The reality is that the appearance of Jesus after His resurrection transformed the lives of many very ordinary people and turned them into powerhouses for God. It is also extremely difficult to see how an illusion or vision could have subsequently transformed so many lives over the past two thousand years or so!
The life, times, and death of Jesus include the most significant events in the history of the World. Many people celebrate Easter and Christmas, but they do not search out to understand some very fundamental issues about these events, such as, “Why did Christ come and why did He have to die?” If your theology cannot give watertight answers to these questions, then you have a big problem, and there is only one solution, look at what you believe and why, and make sure what you believe is in line with the Word of God!
As we look at the life and work of Jesus, we should be overwhelmed by His willingness to sacrifice Himself for our sake. This should make us want to worship and praise Him for all He is and has done for humanity.
In His life, death, and resurrection Jesus has achieved a perfect and complete work. His purpose is to make us like Himself, and He works in us to make that happen, a work He will complete through the power of the Holy Spirit which He gave to us as a guarantee. It has nothing to do with our works or what we can do to earn His grace and mercy. It’s all about what Jesus has already done for us.
Ephesians 2:10, AMP
For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].
Philippians 1:6, AMP
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.
On the day of Jesus’ return, we will see Him as He is, and we will be made like Him (1 John 3:2). That perfection and completion will be fulfilled in us because of the resurrection.
1 John 3:2, AMP
Beloved, we are [even here and] now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [as God’s children] resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He [really] is.
Now you have been given substantial evidence as to why the resurrection of Jesus is so significant to humanity. Maybe your theology and worldview have been challenged at this point. Next time I will discuss what the Old Testament Saints knew about the subject of the Resurrection.
