1 No after the
Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold,
there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing
as white as snow.4 And the guards shook for fear of
him, and became like dead men.
5 But the
angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that
you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here;
for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen
from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you
will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
(Matthew 28:1-7)
The resurrection of Jesus is of paramount
importance to Christians and our future.
12 Now if
Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some
among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is
not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our
preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15
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. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then
Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen,
your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
(1 Corinthians 15:12-17)
His resurrection was the core of the message
preached in the book of Acts.
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all
witnesses. (Acts 2:32)
and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from
the dead, of which we are witnesses.
(Acts 3:15)
being greatly disturbed that they taught the people
and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
(Acts 4:2)
let it be known to you all, and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here
before you whole. (Acts 4:10)
And many others. By
a study of the New Testament, we learn about the power of Christ’s
resurrection.
Belief is Essential
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
The verse emphatically declares that
belief in the resurrection of Christ is essential to salvation. A
Christian is someone who lives in the light of that resurrection.
10 that I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may
attain to the resurrection from the dead.
(Philippians 3:10-11)
Declared the Deity
of Jesus
And declared to be the Son of God with power
according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
(Romans 1:4)
Christ was persecuted because He said,
“that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God,” in John 5:18.
On the cross, His sonship was questioned in Matthew 27.
39 And those
who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40
and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
(Matthew 27:39-40)
But the Holy Spirit raised Him from the
dead. This set Him apart as the unique Son of God and revealed His true
nature.
30 The God of
our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and
Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
(Acts 5:30-31)
Brought About Our Justification
23 Now it was
not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24
but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him
who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was
delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our
justification. (Romans 4:23-25)
Because of His resurrection, we can have
a right standing before God. We are made righteous in God’s sight and
find acceptance before Him. His resurrection completed His work of
justification.
Made Us Alive Together With Christ
4 But God, who
is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
(Ephesians 2:4-5)
We are told in 1 Corinthians 15:45 that
“the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit.” If it were not for
the resurrection, we could not be given spiritual life. Because Jesus is
alive, we can be too.
3 Or do you not know that as many
of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism
into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united
together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the
likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our
old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.7
For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from
the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
This new life begins at baptism never
before.
12 buried with
Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in
the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all
trespasses, (Colossians 2:12-13)
Gives Us Hope Beyond the Grave
3 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has
begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, (1Peter 1:3)
Because of the resurrection, we can live
with great expectations. We live in a broken world. But due to the empty
tomb, we do not have to “grieve as others do who have no hope,” 1
Thessalonians 4:13. Because Jesus conquered death and the grave, we can
have confidence that we too will one day rise to eternal life.
3 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has
begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:21)
20 But now
Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came
death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
(1Corinthians 15:20-23)
Assures Us Jesus Is Coming Back
30 Truly,these
times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere
to repent, 31 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)
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can
have assurance He is coming back. Recall the words of Acts 1:9-11, 1
Thessalonians 4:14-17
9 Now when He
had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a
cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men
of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who
was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you
saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)
14 For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in
Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the
word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of
the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall
always be with the Lord. (1
Thessalonians 4:14-17)
The fact of Christ’s resurrection should
affect how we live each day in this world.
15 I have hope
in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 16
This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience
without offense toward God and men.
(Acts 24: 15-16)
We should say “Amen” to the words of
Paul in Philippians 3:10-11
10 that I may
know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by
any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
(Philippians 3:10-11)
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