Every year at Easter time reference is made to the resurrection of Christ. In addition, every Lord’s Day the Christian church celebrates his resurrection from the dead. In this article, I want to mention a few important aspects of his resurrection, drawn mainly from Paul’s teachings about it in 1 Corinthians 15.

His Resurrection is a Fact to be Accepted⤒🔗

The church in Corinth was in a part of the world where Greek intellectual thought held sway. One prominent feature of its outlook was the denial of the possibility of a resurrection, although they did not deny the ongoing existence of human souls. This predominant outlook quickly affected the church, with the result that some taught that there was no resurrection. Paul begins his response to the situation by informing his readers of the facts and reminds them of all the witnesses that saw Jesus risen from the dead. Today, two thousand years later, we live in an intellectual environment that regards as inane the possibility that Jesus rose from the dead. What should be our response to this outlook? It should be the same response that Paul used — remind people of the facts. What are some of the facts? Let me briefly mention four.

First, there is the failure of the authorities to find the body of Christ. They made use of all possible means of securing his body in the tomb. It was impossible for the disciples to get into the tomb in order to get the body out, and if the occupant of the tomb was only a mere man it was also impossible for him to get out. Even if the disciples, by some unusual method, had managed to enter the tomb and remove the body, it would not have been difficult for the authorities to have found out where it was. The ancient world was quite capable of using torture to obtain information from the disciples of Jesus. The failure of the authorities to produce the body of Jesus is an indisputable fact. As it has been put, ‘The silence of the Jews is as eloquent as the speech of the Christians.’

Second, there is the dramatic change in the outlook of the disciples. Three days beforehand they were the defeated representatives of a lost cause. Their leader had been executed and they had fled for their lives. Suddenly that outlook was gone and instead they were bold and full of optimism and joy. Something remarkable had caused all of them to become dedicated followers of a new faith. Connected to this new outlook was their willingness to die for that faith. Of the original apostles of Jesus, only two did not die a martyr’s death. One was the traitor Judas, the other John. People are not willing to die for a lie. The only explanation for the change in attitude is that they had met the risen Christ.

Third, there is the conversion of the persecutor, Saul of Tarsus. He was a man with a mission to destroy the early church. Yet he came into contact with the risen and exalted Christ on the Damascus road, and this encounter totally changed his opinion of Jesus and caused him to devote his life to spreading the faith he had attempted to destroy. The change in the outlook of this intellectual giant can only be explained by the fact that he met the risen Christ.

Fourth, there is the willingness of a largely Jewish group, as the early church was to begin with, to change the day of worship from the seventh day to the first day. Only an action of a divine person would have led them to do this, and the action must have taken place on the first day of the week. It was their firm belief that the resurrection of Jesus was evidence of his deity that led them to agree to the change of day.

His Resurrection was a Vindication of His Claims←⤒🔗

Several times Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection. One example is Mark 8:31: ‘And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.’ In another place he claimed: ‘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). In making these predictions Jesus was claiming to be a prophet, and in order for these predictions to be vindicated, he had to rise from the dead.

Initially, his disciples had not paid much heed to these statements, but his opponents had because that is the reason why they set a guard on the tomb. They did not believe that he would rise, but they thought his disciples would try and pretend that he had. But their guards were of little use; they were able to keep the disciples out of the tomb, but they were not able to keep Jesus inside the tomb. So the resurrection was a vindication of Jesus as a prophet.

On some occasions when Jesus spoke of his death he made it clear that his death would be an atoning sacrifice for sin, that on the cross he would be the substitute for sinners. In Mark 10:45 he says his death would be a price of delivering sinners from slavery: ‘For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ In John 10:11 he says that in his death he would be a substitution for sinners: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’ These actions belong to the priestly office of Christ. But what would be the evidence that they had been achieved? The resurrection is the evidence that his atoning work has been accepted, and therefore it was a vindication of Jesus as a priest.

The resurrection of Jesus is also a vindication of his third office, that of kingship. An important function of a king, perhaps the most important, is for him to defeat the enemies of his subjects and provide security for them. Throughout his years of public ministry, Jesus had revealed his authority over the powers of darkness by expelling demons from their victims. On the cross, he battled against them. But was his death a sign that he had been defeated or was it the next stage in his campaign against them? His resurrection gives us the answer. ‘Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy (defeat) the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver (secure) all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery’ (Hebrews 2:14-15). His resurrection was a vindication of his kingship.

Of course, his exercise of these offices did not climax with his resurrection. Rather it was the means by which they could be implemented in different ways. Today, Jesus is still a prophet who teaches his people by the Holy Spirit. He is still a priest who intercedes with his Father for his people and obtains blessings for them that they receive through the ministry of the Spirit. And he is the exalted king who rules over his people by the indwelling Spirit and who protects them from the powers of evil.

His Resurrection Means that a Future is Guaranteed for Christians←⤒🔗

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 that Jesus, in His resurrection, was the firstfruits: ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.’ The apostle is alluding to the Jewish ritual of offering to God a sample of a crop that was reaped in the harvest. This sample was both a guarantee and a foretaste of the future harvest. It is the same with the resurrection of Jesus.

Concerning the resurrection of Jesus as a guarantee, Paul writes in Romans 8:11: ‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.’ And he says in 1 Corinthians 6:14: ‘And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.’ Later, in 2 Corinthians 4:14, he writes: ‘knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.’ Our guarantee of a resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus. There is tremendous comfort in reminding ourselves of this, day by day.

Concerning the resurrection of Jesus as a foretaste, Paul says in Philippians 3:20-21: ‘But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.’ In 1 Corinthians 15:42-49, Paul tells us that the resurrected believers are going to bear the image of the resurrected Christ; the resurrection will give them a body that is imperishable, powerful, glorious and spiritual. Imperishable means that believers will not decay in their use of their faculties, powerful means that believers will not be frustrated or hindered, glorious means that what they do will be marked by beauty and significance, and spiritual means that their priorities will be God-ward continually. What a destiny to have, and it is assured because of the resurrection of Jesus!

His Resurrection is Important for Non-Christians←⤒🔗

But what is the significance of the resurrection of Christ for those who are not Christians? There are at least two important implications.

The first implication concerns the worldwide spread of the gospel. Who sent the disciples of Jesus into the world with the gospel, the good news of salvation? It was the risen Christ who said to them in Matthew 28:18-20: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ But Jesus is more specific in Mark 16:15: ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ The risen Jesus wants every person to hear the gospel. That is very encouraging. He has sent the gospel to each of us because he wants each of us to believe in him.

The second implication concerns the final judgement. Paul, in speaking to the wise teachers of Athens, says in Acts 17:31: God ‘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.’ Many people laugh at the prospect of judgement, but they are ignoring the sign that God has given — the resurrection of Jesus. We are going to be judged by a Man, by one who understands what it is to live in difficult circumstances, who knows the pressures of home life, the demands of employment, the betrayal of friends, the pain of suffering and many other aspects of life. His verdict will be based on the facts of our lives, but will be given by a Judge who experienced all kinds of human situations. How sad his assessment and condemnation will be for those who refused to face up to the fact of his resurrection!

His Resurrection Means that Jesus can be Encountered Today←⤒🔗

In addition to the hundreds of people who saw Jesus alive after he had died, millions of others have come to know him since then. They each have had an encounter with him by faith. In doing so, they discovered that the risen Christ gives new life in the present and the prospect of a home in heaven in the future. To any who have not made the same discovery, come and join those who have.