In the Bible we read these profound words: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV).
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, spoke these words to his friend Martha. But in the Scriptures, he speaks these words to us all. He tells us that resurrection isn’t just an event or a feature of his story; it’s who he is. Jesus is the life-giver and the sustainer of life.
There are many Bible verses about the resurrection of Jesus. And as we examine Bible verses about the resurrection of Christ, Jesus asks us the same question he asked Martha: Do you believe this?
The Christian faith rests on a miracle, that God raised his Son Jesus Christ from the dead. Many have called the resurrection of Jesus the linchpin of Christianity. Remove it and the entire faith falls apart. Without the resurrection, Jesus is nothing more than another innocent man wrongly executed for crimes he didn’t commit.
But what if Jesus really did rise from the dead? Then he would indeed be who he says he is. And if Jesus is who he claims to be, every one of us has a decision to make—to believe in him or to reject him.
This being the case, we would expect that God would have much to say about this resurrection in his Word, the Bible.
Scripture most clearly tells the story of the resurrection of Jesus in the four biographical accounts of Jesus’ life (the four Gospels: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20). Yet the passage that best speaks about the resurrection of Jesus—it’s occurrence and its implications for humanity both now and into eternity—is 1 Corinthians 15. If you want to know what the Bible says about the resurrection, start with these five readings. They will introduce you to the testimony of eyewitness accounts to the resurrection and will help you understand how the resurrection is core to the Christian faith.
Outside of those five resurrection Bible passages, there are many Bible verses about Christ’s resurrection. They can be grouped into the following seven categories:
- Jesus predicts his resurrection.
- Bible verses that prophesy Jesus’s resurrection.
- Bible verses that reference Christ’s resurrection.
- Jesus appears to many after his resurrection.
- Scripture explains the implications of Jesus’ resurrection.
- Resurrection Power: Because Jesus rose from the dead, we will rise too.
- Jesus’ physical resurrection affects how we live on earth.
The point of browsing these passages? If you know Jesus, they’ll fill you with hope. If you don’t know Jesus, you’ll get a taste for the hope Christians have, and understand why the resurrection of Jesus matters so much.
1. Jesus Predicts His Resurrection
It is important for us to understand that Jesus did not accidentally die, nor was his resurrection meant to be a surprise. In fact, resurrection was the mission. Jesus purposefully came to die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. As he said, “No one takes it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18 ESV). It was by God’s design and that Jesus would die, and that he would rise again.
Jesus predicted that after his death, he would come back to life. The same verse previously quoted continues: “I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” Here are several other passages clearly revealing that Jesus expected to rise from the dead.
1. Matthew 16:21 ESV
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
2. Matthew 17:9 NKJV; parallel in Mark 9:9
Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
3. Matthew 17:22–23 ESV; parallel in Mark 9:30–31
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
4. Matthew 20:18–19 NKJV
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”
5. Matthew 26:32 NLT (parallel in Mark 14:28)
“But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”
6. Mark 8:31–32 ESV
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. And he said this plainly.
7. John 14:20 NLT
“When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
Similar passages include Matthew 27:63; Mark 10:34 NLT (parallel in Luke 18:33); Luke 9:22; Luke 24:7, 46; John 20:9.
2. Bible Verses That Prophesy Jesus’ Resurrection
In 1 Corinthians 15:4, Paul writes that Jesus’ resurrection was “in accordance with the Scriptures” (ESV). Similarly, John’s Gospel records that the disciples didn’t “understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (John 20:9 ESV). For first-century Jews, the “Scripture” was what we call the Old Testament.
When preaching to the Jews, the apostle Paul “explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, ‘This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah’” (Acts 17: 3NLT). When confronted on another occasion about what he was teaching, Paul replied, “I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22-23 NIV).
It’s clear that the New Testament writers understood that the Old Testament prophesied about Jesus’ resurrection. So where, then, does the Old Testament speak about resurrection of the Messiah? Here are some references to resurrection in the Old Testament.
8. Job 19:25-26 ESV
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”
9. Psalm 16:9-10 NIV
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
10. Isaiah 26:19 NLT
But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!
11. Isaiah 53:10-11 NIV
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.
12. Daniel 12:2 NKJV
“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
13. Matthew 12:40 NIV
Note: For this one, Jesus is speaking about something that happened in the Old Testament that was a sign of his coming resurrection.
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
3. Bible Verses that Reference the Resurrection of Jesus.
The Old Testament foretold about the resurrection. The Gospel writers testify to the event of the resurrection. The rest of the New Testament considers Jesus’ resurrection as historical fact. Here are Scriptures where the apostles mention the resurrection as a significant historic event.
14. John 2:22 NIV
After he [Jesus] was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
15. Acts 2:24 NIV
“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
16. Acts 5:30 ESV
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.”
17. Acts 13:32-35, 37 NIV
“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ God raised him from the dead so that they will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “‘You will not let your holy one see decay. . .’ But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”
18. Romans 1:3-4 NLT
The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
19. Romans 6:9 NIV
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
20. 1 Corinthians 15:4 NLT
He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
21. Ephesians 1:19-21 ESV
And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22. 2 Timothy 2:8-9 NKJV
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.
23. 1 Peter 3:18 NLT
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
Similar passages include Acts 4:10, 33; 17:3, 18; Galatians 1:1-3; Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 1:4-5.
4. Jesus Appears to Many Following the Resurrection
Jesus’ tomb was found empty. What happened to his body? The disciples might have assumed someone stole it. Therefore, Jesus personally appeared to his disciples on numerous occasions before he ascended into heaven to confirm that he indeed had risen from the dead. Here are mentions in Scripture of occasions when Jesus appeared to people after his resurrection.
24. Mark 16:14 NLT
Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.
25. Luke 24:33-34 CSB
That very hour, they [Cleopas and another unnamed disciple] got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together, who said, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
26. John 20:26-28 ESV
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
27. John 21:14 CSB
This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
28. Acts 3:15 CSB
“You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.”
29. Acts 10:39-41 CSB
“We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree. God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen, not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”
30. Acts 13:29-31 NIV
“When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.”
31. 1 Corinthians 15:4-8 ESV
. . . that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
5. Scripture Explains the Implications of Jesus’ Resurrection
What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for us? The Bible explains that Jesus’ resurrection is much more than a historical fact. It’s a life-changing reality.
32. Acts 3:26 NKJV
“To you first, God, having raised up his Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
The resurrection of Jesus means we can be freed from our sins.
33. Romans 4:23-25 CSB
Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The resurrection of Jesus means we can be made right with God, justified in his sight based on belief in Jesus.
34. Romans 6:4-5 ESV
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
The resurrection of Jesus means that those who trust in him receive new life, now and in eternity.
35. Romans 8:34 NLT
Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
The resurrection of Jesus means that he stands as our advocate, so we can live free from condemnation.
36. Romans 10:9 NIV
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him the dead, you will be saved.
The resurrection of Jesus means we can be saved from the punishment our sins deserve.
37. Colossians 1:18 NLT
Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.
The resurrection of Jesus means he can stand to lead his people as the ultimate Shepherd of his church (which is the huge community across time and space that includes every person who has put their faith in him).
38. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV
. . . to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
The resurrection of Jesus means he can deliver us from the wrath to come.
39. Revelation 1:4-5 NLT
Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.
The resurrection of Jesus means he has authority to rule over all things as the King of kings.
40. Ephesians 2:4-6 NLT
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus means we can also be raised from the dead and given new life.
41. 1 Peter 1:3 NLT
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be “born again”—born as children of God into his kingdom.
6. Resurrection Power – Because Jesus Rose from the Dead, We Will Too.
The apostle Paul calls Jesus’ resurrection the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20 ESV). This phrase harkens to harvesting. The firstfruits are the first pickings of the harvest. Paul uses this analogy to help us understand that Jesus was the first among many to be raised from the dead. Everyone will experience resurrection.
42. John 5:28-29 NLT
“Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.”
43. John 11:25 CSB
Jesus said to her [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”
44. Isaiah 26:19 CSB
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For you will be covered with the morning dew, and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.
45. Luke 14:13-14 CSB
“On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
46. Acts 4:2 NIV
They [the priests and the captain of the temple guard] were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
47. Acts 24:15 CSB
“I have hope in God, which these men themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the unrighteous.”
48. Romans 8:11 NLT
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
49. 1 Corinthians 6:14 NIV
By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
50. 2 Corinthians 4:14-15 NIV
For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
51. Philippians 3:10-11 ESV
. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
52. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 NLT
For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
53. Daniel 12:1-2, 13 NLT
“At that time, Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape. Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt. . . . But as for you, go on your way to the end; you will rest, and then you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”
54. 1 Corinthians 15:35-36, 42-44, 51-52 ESV
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. . . . So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. . . . Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
55. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NLT
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
56. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 CSB
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
7. The Resurrection of Jesus Affects How We Live on Earth
Jesus’ resurrection proves his divine nature. It also assures us that he will keep all his promises—he will be faithful to everything he has said. As such, the New Testament writers point to Christ’s resurrection as an encouragement for his followers to live godly lives as they wait for his return and for all things to be set right.
57. 2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT
He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
58. Ephesians 5:13-15 NIV
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.
59. Colossians 3:1 ESV
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
60. 1 Peter 1:21 NIV
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Resurrection Power Is Not a Force but a Person
We hope these resurrection Bible verses have been helpful to you in some way. Do you remember the words of Jesus quoted at the beginning of this article? He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” What’s far more important than knowing Bible verses about the resurrection is knowing the resurrected Jesus. Do you know him? Are you certain that when you are resurrected, it will be to eternal life with him?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)