25 Jesus told her
(Martha), “I AM the resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in Me
will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in Me and believes
in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” John 11:25-26
Resurrection
of Jesus Christ! No topic in the Holy Scriptures is more important than Jesus’s
resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus deserves our particular attention
because Jesus’s resurrection is the majestic hinge on which Christianity turns.
The
death and resurrection of Jesus is Good News (Gospel) message for ALL
PEOPLE and not just Christians (see e.g., Luke 2:10-11;
1 Corinthians 15:1). At the heart of the Good News
(Gospel) stands the message of Jesus’s atoning and sacrificial death as God’s
Passover Lamb and His resurrection from complete death for the sins and
salvation of the world (e.g., see John 1:29, 36; Romans 1:3-4; Romans 5:8-10;
Romans 6:5-11; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Timothy 2:8). This Gospel is the same message
promised long ago through God’s holy prophets of the Old Testament (Romans 1:2;
see also Luke 24:25-27, 44-47; Acts 26:6; Galatians 3:8). The Good News is
about God’s Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior (see e.g., Romans 1:2-3,
16-17).
The
Good News message teaches that Christ Jesus voluntarily lied down His life and died
for our sins on Calvary’s Cross (tree), was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s new
tomb, and He was raised from complete death on the third day by God’s
Spirit, just as the Old Testament prophets predicted long ago (see e.g., Psalm
16:9-11; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Zechariah 13:7; Matthew 27:57-60; John 10:18; Acts
2:24, 32; Acts 10:39-40; Acts 13:27-29; Romans 3:24-25; Romans 5:6-8; 1
Corinthians 15:3-4, 12, 20; Galatians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). On
Calvary’s Cross, Jesus the Messiah personally carried our sins, curses, and
shame in His body and shed His precious blood so that we can REPENT, TURN from sin
and darkness, and LIVE for what is good, holy, and right (see e.g., Isaiah
53:4-6, 11; Romans 4:25; Romans 6:2-7, 11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:20-21; Galatians
2:20; Galatians 3:13; Hebrews 9:14-15, 28; 1 Peter 2:24-25; 1 John 3:5).
Here
is more Good News! God the Father raised His Son Christ Jesus from complete
death through the Holy Spirit (also known as God’s Mighty Power) after Jesus
died for the world’s sins as the Passover Lamb on Calvary’s Cross (see e.g.,
Matthew 28:6-7; Acts 2:24, 32; Acts 3:15; Acts 5:30; Acts 10:39-42; Acts
13:32-37; Ephesians 1:19-20; 1 Corinthians 15:15; Philippians 3:10). Jesus
promised during His earthly ministry that He would raise from the dead after
three days once He had suffered for the sins of the world (see e.g., Matthew
16:21; Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 8:31; Mark 10:33-34; Luke 9:22; Luke 18:31-33;
Luke 24:46-49; John 2:18-21). If there is no resurrection of Christ Jesus, then
our faith is useless and we are still guilty of your sins (see e.g., 1
Corinthians 15:16-18).
Significantly,
Jesus’s resurrection from complete death proved that He is the Messiah and the
Son of the living God (see e.g., Acts 5:30-32; Acts 13:33-35; Romans 1:3-4). In
Jesus’ earthly life, He was born into King David's family line (see e.g.,
Matthew 1:1, 6; 16-17; Luke 1:31-33; Romans 1:3; 2 Timothy 2:8). However, Jesus
was shown to be the Lord, the Son of God, and Great Shepherd when He was raised
from complete death by the power of God’s Holy Spirit (see e.g., John 20:28;
John 20:30-31; Acts 2:36; Romans 1:4; Ephesians 1:20-22; Hebrews 13:20). Now, Jesus
lives and reigns as the Resurrected Messiah and King with His
Father – the Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth (see e.g., Romans 6:19; Revelation
1:5, 18; Revelation 5:6-13; Revelation 19:13, 16).
The
New Testament gives many accounts of what followed Jesus’s resurrection and
victory over complete death. There were no human witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection.
However, Jesus’ tomb was found empty, and no one ever located Jesus’s body (see
e.g., Matthew 28:5-7; Mark 16:5-6). Moreover, the Holy Scriptures unanimously
declare the personal and bodily resurrection of Jesus from complete death by
the Mighty Power of God – the Holy Spirit (e.g., see Acts 2:24; Acts 4:10; Acts
10:40; Ephesians 1:19-20; Romans 1:4; Romans 8:11; Colossians 2:12).
After
the resurrection, many of Jesus’s disciples and apostles witnessed the
Resurrected Jesus (see e.g., Mark 16:12-14; Luke 24:36-42; John 20:19-29; Acts
1:3, 11; Acts 10:40-41; Acts 13:31). First, Jesus’s disciples and apostles saw Jesus’s
empty tomb outside Jerusalem early Sunday morning (see Matthew 28:1-10; Mark
16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-9). Also, Mary Magdalene witnessed the
Resurrected Jesus at His empty tomb (see Mark 16:9-10; John 20:11-18). Later,
the Resurrected Jesus appeared to two travelers on the Emmaus Road (see Mark
16:12; Luke 24:13-32). Moreover, the Resurrected Jesus appeared to the Apostle
Peter in Jerusalem (see Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). Furthermore, the
Resurrected Jesus appeared to His apostles in the Upper Room (see Mark 16:14;
Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-31; 1 Corinthians 15:5). Several days later at
daybreak, the Resurrected Jesus appeared to His disciples fishing on the Sea of
Galilee (see John 21:1-23). Furthermore, the Resurrected Jesus appeared to His
apostles on the Mount of Galilee and later at the Mount of Olives, and He
commissioned His disciples and apostles to take His Good News message of
forgiveness and reconciliation with God through faith in Him into all the world
(see Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8). Sometime
later, the Resurrected Jesus appeared to the Peter, James, and more than 500 of
His followers (see 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Notably, the Resurrected Jesus
appeared to the Apostle Paul in His glorious Light on the Damascus Road to
appoint Paul to take His Gospel message to the Gentiles, kings, and the
children of Israel (see Acts 9:3-8, 15-16, 20-22; Acts 18:28; Acts 22:6-21; Acts
26:12-20; 1 Corinthians 15:8-11; Colossians 1:23). Finally, the Resurrected
Jesus appeared to John in the book of Revelation to reveal the apocalypse at
His second coming (see Revelation 1:1, 9-11).
These
disciples and apostles that witnessed the Resurrected Jesus became fearless and
courageous evangelists of the Gospel message of Jesus’s life, death, and
resurrection (see e.g., Mark 16:15; Acts 4:33). The Holy Spirit empowered
Jesus’ disciples and apostles to proclaim His Good News message (see e.g., Luke
24:46-49; Acts 1:8). For example, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome
to continue to spread the Good News about Jesus (see
Romans 1:1, 7). Through Christ Jesus, God gave the Apostle Paul and many
faithful others the privilege and authority as apostles to tell everyone
throughout the world what God has done through Jesus, so that everyone will
believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His Name (see e.g., Romans 1:5-6).
Everyone
who accepts Jesus’s resurrection is changed, transformed, and empowered by
Jesus’ living giving Spirit (see e.g., Romans 6:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:17). This
Good News message of Jesus’s death and resurrection is the power of God that brings
salvation, inner heart change, and new life to all who wholeheartedly believe
in Jesus’s atoning death and resurrection for their sins (see e.g., Acts
4:10-12; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 10:9-13; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 30; 1 Corinthians
15:2). God sent His Son Jesus to save and bless everyone who believes in Him and
to call everyone to REPENT by turning away from sin, darkness, and wrongdoing
(see e.g., Matthew 1:21; Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:26; Ephesians
1:3; Titus 2:11-14). Through our repentance and belief in Jesus’s resurrection,
believers of Jesus receive new life, salvation, and forgiveness sins by God’s Holy
Spirit (see e.g., John 3:3-8, 16; John 20:29; Acts 13:38-39; Romans 8:11; Romans
10:9).
Believers of Jesus have
been buried, baptized, and resurrected with Jesus to new life (see e.g., Romans
6:3-4; Galatians 2:20-21; Ephesians 2:5-6, 8-10; Colossians 2:11-13). Faith and
obedience in Christ Jesus bring new and abundant spiritual life NOW in the
present from heaven and for all eternity (see e.g., John 1:4; John 5:21,
25-29; John 10:10, 28; John 17:2-3; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49;
Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 2:12; Colossians 3:1-4; 1 John 5:11-12). Jesus
declared that resurrection from the dead and life are so closely tied to Him
that resurrection and life are embodied in Him and can be found NOW in the
present through our faithful relationship with Him (see e.g., John 6:33,
39-40; John 11:25-26; John 14:6; Acts 3:15; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 45; 2
Corinthians 1:9-10; 1 John 1:1-3).
The
Holy Scriptures proclaim that believers in Jesus are united with Him in His sacrificial
death and raised to a new life in Him through our faith and union to Jesus (see
e.g., Romans 6:5, 8, 11). Jesus’s resurrection from death allows believers of
Jesus to live new resurrected and victorious lives through our faith in Him
(see e.g., Romans 6:4, 9; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 6:14). Through our faith
and union to Jesus, our old sinful lives are crucified with Christ Jesus so
that we are SET FREE and REDEEMED from the power of sin in our
lives by God’s Mighty Power – the Holy Spirit (see e.g.,
Matthew 20:28; Matthew 26:28; Romans 6:6-7; Ephesians 1:7, 19-20; Colossians
1:14; Titus 2:14). Jesus is a life-giving Spirit (see e.g., John
10:28; John 17:2-3; Acts 3:15; Romans 5:17; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 John 1:1-3;
1 John 5:11-12). Only our belief and union to the Cross of Christ Jesus and His
resurrection save our souls from sin and wrath (see e.g., John 3:36; Romans
10:9-13; Galatians 6:12, 14).
The
Sovereign LORD God so loved the world that He gave His Son Jesus as an
atoning sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins (e.g., see John 3:16; Romans
3:24-26; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 5:2; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 1
John 4:10). Christ Jesus propitiated or turned His Father’s wrath away from
sinners by dying on Calvary’s Cross and enduring God’s wrath and punishment for
our sins and wrongdoing so Jesus could break and defeat the power of death,
darkness, and sin in our lives (see e.g., Isaiah 53:5; Romans 6:10; Romans 8:3;
Hebrews 9:25-28). Christ Jesus’s resurrection overcame and defeated the powers
of evil, darkness, and death. Moreover, Christ Jesus canceled or expiated our
sins, wrongdoing, and crimes by becoming sin and absorbing our sins in His body
on Calvary’s Cross so that we can live for goodness, holiness, and
righteousness (see e.g., Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24).
Because
of Christ Jesus’s death and resurrection, God made His Son Jesus our Lord and
Savior (see e.g., Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:10-11; Acts 2:36; Acts 13:23, 26; 1 John
4:14). Jesus is the Head and Savior of the church, which He purchased with His precious
blood (see e.g., Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:23, 25-27;
Colossians 1:18). Now, Jesus is sitting on the throne at the right hand of His
Father – the Sovereign LORD God – in heaven as our Prince and Savior to lead
everyone to REPENTANCE, goodness, and forgiveness of sins (see e.g., Psalm
110:1; Mark 16:19; Acts 5:30-31; Ephesians 1:20; Titus 2:10-14). At the
Sovereign LORD God’s right hand, Jesus makes intercession (intervention and
negotiation) for the church of believers with His Father (see e.g., Romans
8:34; Hebrews 7:25).
In
our present age, Jesus is King and Lord because His Father – the Sovereign LORD
God – has given Him all power and authority in heaven and earth (see e.g., Matthew
11:27; Matthew 22:44; Matthew 28:18; Luke 10:22; John 3:35; John 13:3; Acts 2:22,
36). For Christ Jesus must reign and rule as King and Lord with all authority
and power given from His Father until He humbles and destroys all His enemies,
including the final enemy – death (see e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:25-27; Ephesians
1:22). At the end of the age, Christ Jesus will turn the Kingdom over to His
Father, the Sovereign LORD God, because He has now destroyed every dark and
evil ruler, authority, and power (see e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:24, 28). So, let
everyone be strong, immovable, and always working enthusiastically for the Lord
Jesus, for we know that nothing we do for Him is ever useless (see e.g., 1
Corinthians 15:58).
Jesus
has become the first born of the dead and first fruit of the great harvest of
all who have died (see e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23; Colossians 1:18;
Revelation 1:5). Sadly, death entered the world because of Adam and Eve’s sin,
disobedience, and rebellion against God and His commands (see e.g., Genesis
2:17; Genesis 3:6, 19; Romans 5:12-17; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Resurrection
and new spiritual life have now entered the world through our wholehearted
faith, union, and belief in Jesus – the Second Adam (see e.g., John 5:21-29;
Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 45).
Jesus’s
resurrection is the foundation for all future resurrections (see e.g., Romans
8:11; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14). In between death and the
resurrection, a person lies in an intermediate state awaiting “the redemption
of our bodies” to be transformed into our new heavenly bodies (see e.g., Romans
8:23; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5). The Holy Scriptures promises resurrection from
death for all people – young and old – when Christ Jesus returns at Second
Coming (see e.g., Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:15, 23, 29; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18; Revelation 20:12-15). The Holy Scriptures promise the same Resurrected
Jesus will return to earth in glory cloud at His second coming (see e.g.,
Matthew 16:27-28; Matthew 24:30; Matthew 25:31; Mark 14:61-62).
Many
of those whose bodies lie dead and buried in the dust of the earth will rise at
the end of the age, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting
disgrace (see e.g., Job 19:25-27; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-4, 12; Daniel
12:1-2; Matthew 22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27; John 5:25, 28-29; Acts 24:15; Romans
14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:12-15). God
promises a second death into a fiery lake for the wicked who follows the evil
deeds of Satan because their names are not written in the Book of Life – Jesus,
who is Life (see e.g., John 1:4-5; John 14:6; Revelation 19:20; Revelation
20:14-15; Revelation 21:8).
However,
everyone whose names are written in the Book of Life – Jesus, the Sovereign
LORD God promises to bring the dead back to life and transform those dead
bodies into a glorious new and strong body to live forever (see e.g., Ezekiel
37:3-6; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:38, 42, 52-53; Philippians 3:21).
This new body from God will spiritual and heavenly without brokenness,
weakness, and corruption (see e.g., Mark 12:25; 1 Corinthians 15:43-44, 48-49).
Moreover, this new spiritual body will inherit the Kingdom of God and be
transformed into immortal bodies that will never die (see e.g., 1 Corinthians
15:50, 53-56).
There
is NO CONDEMNATION for those who belong to Christ Jesus (see e.g., John
3:18-19; John 5:24; Romans 5:1; Romans 8:1-2). The Sovereign LORD God gives
everyone victory and peace through faith and union to His Son, Jesus the
Messiah (see e.g., John 15:4-5; John 16:33; Romans 8:37; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1
John 5:4-5). Through our faith and union to Jesus, believers of Jesus are
reconciled to the Sovereign LORD God and declared
righteous because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross (see e.g.,
Romans 1:16-17; Romans 5:10; Romans 10:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Philippians
3:9).
EVERYONE
– Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) – that confesses with their mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe with their whole heart that the Sovereign LORD God raised Jesus
from the dead will be saved and made right by the Sovereign LORD God (see e.g.,
Romans 10:9-13). Through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection believers also
receive new life and become one with Him and His Father through the Holy Spirit
(see e.g., Romans 6:2-6). Genuine and wholehearted faith in Jesus brings you
into union and fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus.
Jesus
died for our sins so that we may receive and be included in His new life – a
resurrection life – and no longer live for selfishness, wrongdoing, and sin but
instead live for Him and His glory (see e.g., Romans 6:2-4, 11-12; 2
Corinthians 5:15, 17; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:24). Before our faith in Jesus,
we were dead because of our sins but we are now ALIVE AND FORGIVEN through our
faith in Jesus (see also Colossians 2:13-14). God placed ALL our wrongdoings,
sins, and crimes on His Son Jesus so that we would be made right and good with Him
(see e.g., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Through
our faith and union with His Son Jesus, the Sovereign LORD God of heaven and
earth has poured into our lives His abundant grace, kindness, forgiveness, and
peace, and we have now been adopted into His heavenly family by the Holy Spirit
(e.g., see Luke 24:47; John 1:12-14, 16; Acts 10:43; Acts 13:38-39; Romans
5:1-2; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:2-3, 13-14; Ephesians 2:4, 7-9; 18;
Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:14-16). Faith in Jesus frees us from Satan and a life
dominated by darkness, sin, and death. We find lasting joy, peace, and love
through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and made right with God (see e.g., Romans
5:1-5; Romans 7:24-25). REPENT and come to the Light of God and away from Satan
and darkness (see e.g., Acts 26:13, 18, 19-20, 23; Romans 6:1-2, 12-18).
God’s
grace found in Jesus Christ NEVER permits believers to keep on sinning!
Instead, God through Jesus calls everyone to walk in goodness and turn away
from Satan’s darkness, deceit, and destruction. Christ Jesus came into the
world that we may live for His glory and no longer for sin, rebellion, and
lawlessness. Since God loved us by sending His Son Jesus, we should love and
care for one another and not hate one another. (see e.g., Romans 8:35-39; 1
John 3:23-24; 1 John 4:7-11, 16, 20-21). REPENT AND TURN TO JESUS and become ABUNDANTLY
FREE of sin (see e.g., Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19).
