He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. (1 Corinthians 15:4Â NLT)
What Is This Resurrection Story?
The Bible is an epic; it tells one story of how God revealed his goodness and love and glory to us in the person of Jesus. Jesus is God himself come to reveal to us the heart of God, rescue us from sin and death, and to bring us new life. What the Bible both prophesies about and reflects on is one event at its center: namely, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Bible tells us that there is one reality that’s of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3). It’s this: that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead. The Bible’s grand story exposes our failure to be who God created us to be, our failure to love God as we ought, and the ways in which we have rebelled against God. All this the Bible calls sin. Because God is a just judge, all sin must be punished. At the same time, because God is merciful, he provided a way for us to escape his punishment—by taking it upon himself in our place. The Bible’s grand story also reveals to us the gracious character of God. The greatest revelation of God’s merciful heart is that Jesus died for our sins (Romans 5:8).
But Jesus didn’t stay dead! Jesus came back to life three days after he died, as the Scriptures prophesied. Jesus appeared to his friends and followers after rising from the dead and then ascended back into heaven. This experience of the resurrected Jesus transformed those followers, and their message about Jesus thereafter spread throughout the world like wildfire.
When people speak about the resurrection of Jesus, this is what they are referring to.
The resurrection story may sound like a myth of one religion. But it’s not. It’s a reasonably believed fact of history, a fact that if accepted, has life-altering implications. The resurrection of Jesus is not just a true story, it’s the story, the one that makes sense of all our other stories, our world, and the longings within our hearts.
Why does the world work in such a way that creation dies every fall, rests as though in a grave in winter, and then bursts to life again in springtime? Why is it that humans fall asleep and rise again each day? Why is it that in our stories we long for self-sacrificing heroes that die—but wait!—somehow they are brought out of, back from, or through death? Why do we feel that death is so wrong? Why do we expect that even when horrible things happen, our circumstances will somehow turn out for good?
Because Jesus rose from the dead. That reality is something God has testified about in creation as well as in Scripture, and it is a story our souls know to be true.
What’s the Significance of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection?
Jesus’ resurrection is the hope of every Christian. A Christian is someone who has believed in Jesus, that he is who he says he is and has done all that we need (in his life, death, and resurrection) to reconcile us to God. God offers resurrection hope to everyone who puts their faith in Jesus.
How does Jesus’ resurrection thousands of years ago bring us hope today? Here are at least four things the resurrection means in the lives of all who have put their trust in Jesus.
1. The resurrection means you can know and enjoy the presence of Jesus in this life.
Jesus isn’t dead, which obviously means he is alive! The Bible tells us that Jesus is present to every person who puts their trust in him (Matthew 28:20). He is alive with and within them through his Holy Spirit (John 14:17). Everyone who trusts in Jesus receives Jesus’ Spirit, who is God himself. Without the resurrection, we would not enjoy Jesus’ presence with us—he would be dead! The only reason you could say “God is with me” is if Jesus rose from the dead.
2. The resurrection means that all God’s promises are true.
Jesus said he would rise from the dead, and he did. If he can keep his promise to rise from the dead, you can trust his word about everything else! The only reason you could trust God’s word is if Jesus rose from the dead.
3. The resurrection means that you have power to change.
Jesus proved that his Spirit has power and authority even over death (Romans 6:4-5; Romans 8:11). If you trust in Jesus and receive his Spirit, then you also will have the power to overcome sin and darkness in your life. God’s Spirit will help you change. The only reason you can have hope to conquer sin in your life is if Jesus rose from the dead.
4. The resurrection means you have hope in your suffering.
We have an innate sense that suffering and death are wrong; they disturb us. This is because God made us for eternity. Death is a consequence of sin (Genesis 2:17). Yet, if you have trusted in Jesus, then Jesus has satisfied God’s righteous wrath against your sin and promises a joyous welcome into the new heavens and the new earth, his forever home. Psalm 23:6 can be true of you, that, even amidst the deepest valleys you must travel in this life, surely goodness and mercy will pursue you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The resurrection means your suffering will one day come to an end when you will be raised to everlasting life with Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:14), and that the Lord’s kindness and mercy will pursue you every day of your life, even the hardest ones. The only reason you have hope in suffering is if Jesus rose from the dead.
Those four implications of the resurrection of Jesus are only a smattering. Take up the New Testament of the Bible and you’ll find many more. The resurrection is the hope motivating the entire Christian life.
The Story of the Resurrection of Jesus
Would you like to learn more about Jesus’ resurrection? Do you want to read the story of the resurrection of Jesus yourself? The best places to turn in the Bible are to the biographies of Jesus, which we call the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and to the fifteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 15).
In another short New Testament letter, the apostle Paul expresses the surpassing value of knowing Jesus, and he says how he desires to “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10 ESV). Perhaps you know the story of the resurrection, but does it shape your own life? Have you put your faith in Jesus and experienced his resurrection power?
Jesus says to you today, “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).
