The Power of His Resurrection
The Resurrection of Jesus is a unique event in all of human history. It is of paramount significance to all believers.
Caravaggio, Jesus and Thomas
Another possible instance of resuscitation to life from death was Jonah, the reluctant prophet sent to Nineveh, after being swallowed by a great fish prepared by the Lord; depending on how one interprets his prayer from the ‘belly of hell [Sheol]’ –whether it was poetic hyperbole or truthfully literal. “From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry… The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God" [Jonah 2:1. 5-6]. In either case, Jesus referred to the sign of Jonah to foretell His impending death, burial and resurrection [Matthew 12:38-40, 16:1-4, Luke 11:29-30].
In all aforementioned precursors, the people raised from death lived mundane lives, aged, weakened and eventually died a second time: happy exceptions to the general norm in Hebrews 9, ‘man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…’ But when Jesus rose again bodily, -- leaving an empty tomb behind, appearing to more than 500 eyewitnesses for a period of 40 days, inspiring most of them to courageously die in martyrdom for preaching the gospel, -- He was resurrected to live forever, to intercede to the Father for us, to await His appointed time to reclaim the earth. [Hebrews 7:24-25, Revelation 11:15-16]. His glorified body is forever immune to pain, disease or decay, prevailing over the very laws and forces of nature.
The gospel preached by Paul and the Apostles focuses on three essential points: that Jesus died for our sins, that He was buried, that He rose again on the third day. [1 Corinthians 15:3, Acts 2:23-24]. Without Jesus’ Resurrection, our faith is worthless, futile. The weary, stale, flat and unprofitable condition of life in this world would be left utterly with neither hope nor meaning. Righteousness that is imputed to us by faith comes with this declaration and confident belief: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved [Romans 10:6, 9]. So what is it about the resurrection of Jesus that makes so profoundly significant for those who believe?
Firstly, the resurrection proves the Jesus is the Son of God. John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and simultaneously heard the Father name Jesus as His Beloved Son; Peter, John and James heard the same words when they witnessed His Transfiguration. Various prophecies from Adam and Eve to Joseph and Mary declare the same affirmation. Conclusively, the resurrection is visible and irrefutable evidence to many that Jesus is who He claimed to be: the great I AM, as He declared under oath to Caiphas and the Sanhedrin [Matthew 26:63-64, Mark 14:61-62]. “Through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” [Romans 1:4].
The resurrection completes Jesus’ mission to accomplish the salvation and regeneration of all repentant believers. God declared that the condemnation Jesus suffered for our sin was annulled and cancelled. Jesus fully paid the price, the penalty for our sins. He was made sin for us though He Himself was without sin. “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” He challenged unbelieving Pharisees [John 9:46]. Being sinless, therefore undeserving of the wages of sin -death, - “God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” [Acts 2:24]. For us, Jesus’ rising bodily from the dead is a sign that God approvingly accepted the payment Jesus made, writing ‘Tetelestai’ on our statements of account. Those accounts are settled. Forever!
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” [Romans 4:25]
Thirdly, His resurrection confirms Jesus’ sovereignty over life and death, thereby assuring us of our own future resurrection and glorification. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living [Romans 14:9].
After healing the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda, on a Sabbath day, Jesus had an argument with several outraged Jews. Here, He said: Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation [John 5:24-29] Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is [1 John 3:2].
For diligent students of the Scripture, there are many more reasons to be found, other than these three mentioned here, on the significance of the resurrection. For now, these three are more than sufficient for us to rejoice in Jesus Christ, who promised:
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. [John 14:19].
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