Easter Sunday: The Resurrection

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25, 26.

“Because I live, you will live also,” John 14:19

The history of Easter is a controversial one, if we are referring to the timing of it, its etymology, and its pagan roots. But I have discussed this in prior posts, and other, better writers have tackled this topic at great length.

No, what I want to address concerning Easter’s historicity is the event that is the heart and hallmark of the Christian experience: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Further, I am referring to a bodily, literal, physical resurrection after three days entombed in the grave, raised by the power of God after our Lord suffered on the cross for the sins of mankind. The resurrection is the heart of the gospel message.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, explains and defends the gospel in whole in verses 1-11. But then continues to defend the reality of the resurrection and its necessity for understanding and living the Christian life throughout verses 12-58. Why? Because a dying Savior was not enough to redeem mankind. Christ buried did not suffice, or else humanity’s hope would remain buried with Him and we would all be doomed, as Paul explained to the Corinthians through that famous and brilliant chapter. Jesus rose, and this was the good news that filled His disciples with the zeal to preach this good news to the world. He conquered death, having taken it for us and from us, and in Him death suffered its greatest and last defeat. Then, in newness of life, our Lord rose and left the tomb, was seen by many as Paul testifies himself, and triumphantly ascended to Heaven to await His Second Coming.

If our Lord had died and remained in the grave He would not have been a Savior so much as a martyr. As the apostle himself testified, “and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” 1 Corinthians 15:17. The risen Christ is the hope of the Christian faith and the individual believer. As quoted from John 14:19, because Jesus lives, so too shall we. He is the resurrection and the life. His life is the resurrection life, and when we believe in Him as our Savior, we are born again into God’s family. Though we should die, yet shall we live through the power of God. Because of the resurrection all who believe will be made alive again in Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:22. Beginning at verse 35, Paul poses the question of how the dead are raised up after rebutting the certainty of resurrection. It is elementary for Paul (and us) to believe that God can raise the dead. Paul in fact wonders why man should find it incredible that he can do so, Acts 26:8.

The saint, because of the resurrection, will shed our former body of sin and be clothed with a spiritual body befitting our renewed spirit. We will be clothed in a body like our Lord’s, incapable of sin or sickness or death, being children of the resurrection. On this Easter Sunday we who are born again by the grace of God through Jesus Christ should rejoice today and every day that God so loved the world that He deigned to open this new and living way through the veil of His flesh. He loves each of us, since individually we comprise what Jesus described when He said that God loves the world. God’s love is universal, and Christ’s atoning death and triumphant resurrection are applicable to all, regardless of age, gender, social status, religious background or academic accomplishment. 

It is the simple, blissful, beautiful message of Christ having died to take away my sin, your sin, the world’s sin. He was buried, and then He rose again to demonstrate to humanity that the way to God was opened, He had triumphed over sin and death and made a mockery of all of Satan’s machinations. Let us celebrate the victory of the cross and the empty grave! Christ is risen! And what He asked of Martha, our Lord asks of anyone reading, whosoever will hear: do you believe this? If you do, you have been born again into God’s household. Your sins are forgiven and your spiritual filthiness has been replaced with the righteousness of Christ. The gospel message is simple, and the resurrection is the jewel in its diadem. Our Lord is a risen Savior, who ever lives to make intercession for His saints! Hallelujah! Have a wonderful Easter, and I will be back writing come early May, God willing.