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Imagine you’re a missionary sharing the gospel with a village who has never heard about Jesus. You begin with creation, move through the sinful fall of man, and continue to the gospel of Christ. Just as you have finished teaching them about the death of Jesus that paid the penalty for their sin, a villager stands up, draws back his bow, and pierces an arrow through your heart, which leaves you dead on the ground. If this village never sees a Bible or hears the gospel again, can they be saved without knowing that Jesus rose from the dead? Hmmmm?
Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? “Resurrection” is the act of coming back to life from the dead. I fear that many Christians don’t see the importance of resurrection in their Bibles, in the way they witness, or in their own daily living. Paul says that a person must believe that God raised Christ from the dead in order to be saved (Romans 10:9-10). He also says that Jesus’ resurrection is of “first importance” concerning the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Wow!
All of the promises God made throughout the Old Testament hinged on a resurrection to new life. After Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, God said He did that so that they could not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in their sin (Gen 3:22). He had a better eternal life planned! Abraham was willing to stab and burn his promised son to death because he believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead to keep His promises (Heb 11:17-19). Ezekiel watched God reconnect bones to make skeletons and add muscle, tissue, and skin to make an army (Ezekiel 37). God said this was a sign of His promise to bring His people back to life from their sin. God started this promise with one Israelite, Jesus Christ, when He raised Him from the dead. The truthfulness and fulfillment of all the Bible is based on the resurrection of Jesus!
If that is true, what does the resurrection of Jesus really prove? It proves everything we have talked about in the Doctrine of Jesus Christ up to this point!
Jesus’ Deity – God raised Jesus from the dead because He found Him guiltless of His sin. Jesus’ Humanity – Jesus really is a man, not just a spirit. His human body was raised (Luke 24). Jesus’ Offices – He is the true Prophet. His Priestly sacrifice was accepted. He rules as King. The Covenants – All of the OT covenants were eternal promises fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus’ Atonement – Jesus truly paid the debt of sin by His death, and He was raised in glory.
The resurrection proves that all the Bible is true and everything Jesus claimed of Himself is right.
Jesus’ resurrection is important. His resurrection is the climax to the storyline of Scripture. His resurrection proved the truthfulness of God and Himself. If we say we believe something because it is true, the way we know we truly believe is the way we live by it. True belief always results in a changed life. So, how can we apply the resurrection to our lives?
1. The resurrection gives us power over sin and death. I know teenagers who are scared to death to die. I also know many who think they can’t overcome their sins of pride, lust, anger, etc. We have a more powerful resurrected Savior than any entangling sin with which we may struggle.
2. The resurrection gives us peace over guilt and shame. I remember sitting across from someone who was pounding their fists into the table wishing that “this sin” just wasn’t true of them. God’s forgiveness is total and absolute as all of our sin was paid for by Jesus’ blood.
3. The resurrection gives us purpose for our bodies. Our body isn’t just our shell that will waste away. We await our resurrection at the return of Christ when our present bodies will be glorified and rejoined with our souls. It matters what we do with our bodies. Cremation is neither respectable to the human body, nor does it picture the hope of that body rising from its grave.
4. The resurrection gives us perspective for eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection assures us that He will make all things new again. Our best life isn’t now. Our best life is later. Eternity isn’t the afterlife, but it’s the after-death. Live sacrificially now for your glory in Jesus to come.
Look down. There is no arrow piercing you. Share the gospel with His resurrection now.
