DTTO
SHOWING YOU THE WORLD IN SCRIPTURE
This page was last updated: August 27, 2009
Introduction:
The doctrine of the resurrection is not something that was invented by the church many years after Christ’s death, as the account of his life faded into mythology. Rather Jesus spoke frequently throughout His ministry regarding His impending death and resurrection 3 days later. For example, he tells this to the disciples 3 times in Mark 8-10, the earliest gospel written within the first 30 years after His death.
An early Christian Creed recounted to us by Paul emphasised the importance of the resurrection: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. That he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me [Paul]” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8) (1st Corinthians was likely written between 50-55AD and this creed would have been already established, probably by Paul around 48AD when he spent 1.5 years in the city, which is about 15 years after the resurrection). Also notice how Paul here appeals to the living eye witnesses of the resurrection, which also included Himself. Paul the great persecutor of the church became the great preacher of Christ because he met the risen Lord on the Damascus Road; Paul was convinced of the resurrection!
The early church grew so quickly in the very city where Christ was rejected and killed because:
1)
There was an empty tomb on Monday morning and no body could be produced, and
There was an empty tomb on Monday morning and no body could be produced, and2)Because that same body that they saw crucified and dead with water and blood flowing freely from the side, was appearing alive to people 3 days later.
Because that same body that they saw crucified and dead with water and blood flowing freely from the side, was appearing alive to people 3 days later.Why did Jesus rise again?:
We need to understand the reason for the resurrection and how it relates to the gospel message we share with people. The Bible explains quite clearly to us these things because we are meant to understand.
Peter on the day of Pentecost preaching to those in Jerusalem “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:22-24) The wages of sin is death, but Christ lived a perfect life under God’s rule so death had no power over Him.
Indeed Jesus in John’s gospel emphasises that He voluntarily lays down His life knowing He can raise it up again: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17-18). Then on the Cross we are told “Jesus said, ‘It is finished’ and he bowed his head and gave up his Spirit” (John 19:30), which very strongly implies that Christ released Himself. Indeed, He died very quickly on the Cross because many crucifixions were known to happen for days and the Roman executioners would often have to break the victim’s legs to just end it quickly.
In Hebrews 8-10 we get a behind the scenes view of what was happening on the Cross and during the time before Christ’s resurrection. Christ who was perfect and sinless has been made sin on our behalf by having all the guilt of our sins placed onto Him as our substitute on the Cross. God has satisfied His holy justice by punishing our sin in Christ by pouring out His wrath on His Son, rather than on us. Thus God can declare us not guilty of sin and deserving its punishment (eternal death and separation in Hell) because Christ has taken the punishment for us and declared us not guilty by justifying us! Jesus went into Heaven and offered His own blood once and for all to take away our sins in the true heavenly things, which the earthly Tabernacle and Temple were only copies of. Through His blood He has become our Great High Priest who mediates between us and God, and we come into the Father’s presence because Christ has opened up the way into the Holy Places through Himself. Paul explains in Romans 4:25 that God shows He accepted Christ’s offering by raising Him from the dead for our justification.
Jesus speaks to Martha after Lazarus has died and she tells Him of her faith that he will rise again at the end of the age. But Jesus tells her that not only will Lazarus rise but that Christ is the source of the resurrection power: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25)
Baptism is a picture of this union with Christ in His resurrection because we have been raised into newness of life with Him: “How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:2-4)
This newness of life is eternal life, because we are told by Jesus: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). If we know Christ and have been adopted by God being made co-heirs of the kingdom and having the Holy Spirit come dwell within us, as Paul explains in Romans 8, then we have eternal life now because God’s spirit which raised Christ from the dead is at work within us. Paul talks about how the “the outer self is wasting away, but our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
He also talks about how our corruptible bodies cannot inherit the kingdom but rather we must be resurrected: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:50-52).
The Thessalonian Church was very worried by some false teaching about the resurrection so Paul had to write explaining things further: “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)
Why is the Resurrection so important?:
Acts 17 – Paul called to speak about his teaching on the resurrection of Jesus, which is an assurance of His deity: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead”. Paul tells his listeners that they need to take Jesus seriously because He has arisen and will return as the judge of mankind. Indeed Paul says that he persuades others and tells them about the gospel because he knows that we all have to appear before the judgement seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5)
On of the boldest parts of the New Testament is when Paul makes very clear the futility of the Christian faith if Christ did not rise again from the dead: “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:14-17,19). The implications of no resurrection are that God did not accept Christ’s sacrifice so His wrath at our sin still remains and we are destined for eternal punishment in Hell; and that we have enraged God further by lying about His action in raising Christ.
Yet Paul says this because he is so overwhelming confident and convinced of the resurrection because he has met the risen Christ already. Indeed he makes the point that understanding and believing in the resurrection and what it means is an important part of receiving the gift of salvation: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
This has great implications for our evangelism: If Jesus can say that He’s going to die and rise again, and that is true; then also it must be true when He says that He is the only way to eternal life in Heaven! The reason we know that there is life after death, Heaven and Hell, is because Jesus told us about it and proved it by dying and coming back to life. People today like to talk about all paths leading to God and each being equally valid, but Christianity does not allow such a claim. Rather Christianity stands and falls with the resurrection. If Christ is not risen it’s all a lie! If Christ is risen then eternal life is through Him alone because that’s what He said and we better believe Him!
Challenge people to destroy the resurrection if they want to show us that what we believe as Christians is wrong. If they succeed then they’re right that we’re wrong; but for 2000 years it’s held up to attack and scrutiny and we know that it is true because we have experienced the truth of the gospel and Christ’s work in our own lives.
We must realise though that this is not solely a question of convincing peoples’ minds. Jesus in Luke 16 describing the parable of the rich man and Lazarus says that if people refuse to acknowledge the teachings and signs of His ministry, then they will not believe even if a person were to rise again from the dead. Some peoples’ hearts are so hard from rejecting the truth, as Paul in Romans 1 says their futile thinking has darkened their foolish hearts.
What we must do is share this amazing truth, be prepared to give a defence for it and pray that God will open peoples’ hearts to the truth of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ!
