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Bible Basics About Jesus’s Resurrection
Before Jesus was crucified, He foretold that He would suffer, be killed, and then rise from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21). After Jesus was crucified, His body was put into a tomb that was closely guarded and sealed (Matthew 27:57-66). Then, on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead (Matthew 28:1-10)! The resurrection of Jesus Christ was then preached as being foundational to belief in Jesus as the Son of God and essential for salvation (Acts 2:22-36; Romans 10:9). Let’s consider some basics the Bible teaches about Jesus’s resurrection.
Acts 13:26-38
As Paul preached to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch, he demonstrated that the Jews (who should have known the prophecies about the Messiah) rejected Jesus and, in doing so, aided in fulfilling the prophecies by having Jesus killed. But God raised Jesus from the dead! This fulfilled the prophecies God had made about such (Psalm 2:7; 16:10; Isaiah 55:3), making Jesus’s resurrection essential to fulfilling the Old Law and establishing the new covenant (Matthew 5:17-18). In this, Jesus’s resurrection demonstrated that He truly was the Son of God and the Messiah God had sent who is above all (Romans 1:4; Hebrews 1:1-14; Philippians 2:5-11). Then, we learn that Jesus was raised in such a way that He would never experience bodily decay (Acts 2:25-31; contrary to others God had raised but would die again). Jesus’s resurrection was also verified by people who saw Him after He rose (more on this later). Finally, all these things have resulted in Jesus (the Messiah and Son of God) being the only one who could provide forgiveness to those lost in sin (John 14:6; Romans 5:6-11)!
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
After Jesus rose from the dead and left an empty tomb, the Jewish leaders bribed those who had guarded the tomb to say that Jesus’s disciples stole His body (Matthew 28:11-15). Thankfully, establishing this critical component of faith about whether Jesus rose from the dead was never based on mere speculation, but on eyewitness testimony! The Bible records various appearances of Jesus after His resurrection (Matthew 28:8-10, 16-20; Mark 16:9-18; Luke 24:13-51; John 20:11-29; 21:1-23). In fact, Jesus appeared to people over a period of 40 days, presenting Himself alive with many convincing proofs (Acts 1:3). In addition to His apostles, James (likely His brother), and Paul (at a later time, Acts 9:3-9; 22:6-16), Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time! These people (particularly the apostles) became witnesses to others, testifying that they had seen Jesus resurrected (Acts 1:8; 2:32). In fact, they were even willing to suffer and die to attest to what they had seen (Acts 4:17-20; 5:27-32; 26:6-8; 28:18-20)!
Luke 24:36-43
This passage describes one specific instance of Jesus appearing to His disciples after His resurrection. Notice that they initially thought He was a ghost (disembodied spirit). However, Jesus’s appearances after His crucifixion were not in a spiritual body. Instead, Jesus experienced the resurrection of His fleshly body (which did not experience decay, Acts 2:31)! He proved this to His disciples by allowing them to touch His body (including the prints in His hands from the nails, John 20:24-29) and by eating physical food!
Hebrews 2:14-15
God’s plan for saving mankind involved His Son leaving Heaven and taking on flesh and blood (Matthew 1:23). This included Jesus tasting death, even death on the cross (Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:5-8). Now, we see that Jesus needed to do this so that He might destroy the one holding the power of death. This is the devil, whose deception resulted in both physical and spiritual death (Genesis 3). Consequently, people are held in slavery to the fear of looming physical death (Hebrews 9:27). Thankfully, by Jesus’s resurrection, God forever demonstrates His power over death, as Jesus has risen to never die again (Romans 6:8-10)! Therefore, Jesus’s sacrifice conquered sin, and His resurrection conquered death!
1 Corinthians 15:12-28
Paul here demonstrates how the future resurrection of all the dead (John 5:28-29) hinges on the resurrection of Christ! Therefore, if Christ did not rise from the dead, no one has any hope for resurrection or salvation. For death would have proven itself to be an enemy that God could not conquer. Thankfully, Jesus demonstrated God’s power over death when He raised people from the dead while on this earth (Mark 5:35-43; Luke 7:11-17; John 11:38-44). Ultimately, Jesus would become the Resurrection and the Life for all through His own resurrection from the dead (John 11:25)! Jesus has, thus, become the firstfruits of those who will rise from the dead, as the resurrection will take place when Jesus comes again and abolishes death. In this, the sting of death is swallowed up in victory through Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:35-58)!
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
New Testament Christians were taught to remember Christ through the observation of the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-29). Although this memorial is focused on Jesus’s death, it also includes the recognition of Jesus’s life, which is also essential to our salvation (Romans 5:6-11). While some people only pause to remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper on special occasions (e.g., Christmas and Easter), New Testament Christians assembled with the local church on the first day of every week (1 Corinthians 11:18; 16:1-2) to bread the bread of the Lord’s Supper and remember their risen Savior (Acts 20:7; 2:42)! Followers of Jesus should continue to follow this pattern (2 Thessalonians 2:15), as we continue to remember and proclaim the death of our Lord – and His subsequent resurrection!
Conclusion
Jesus undoubtedly rose from the dead, as death was unable to hold Him! In doing so, Jesus fulfilled prophecy and demonstrated that He truly is the Son of God and Messiah who has brought salvation. Through His resurrection, we can have confidence that we will all be delivered to victory over death through Him when He comes again. While we wait, we must place our faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus and remember what He accomplished through the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper.