Introduction
What is a resurrection?
This is when a dead person returns to life again.
So the resurrection of Jesus is when Jesus died and then returned to life again.
Yes.
When did Jesus rise from the dead?
Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose again on Sunday morning.
Why should we believe that such a miracle happened when we have never seen such a miracle actually take place?
Before we can answer this question, we first must first ask whether miracles are possible at all; see here.
Why do some people refuse to believe any miracle claim?
Because miracles are impossible in their worldview. If someone does not believe in a deity, then no miracle is possible. They must deny all miracle claims before they even investigate it since miracles are impossible in their worldview. See here for more on this.
What claim did the disciples make after Jesus had died on the cross?
The disciples claimed to have been witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. After Jesus had ascended to heaven, they came together to find a replacement for Judas. The reason for this action was to find someone who would serve with them as a witness to Jesus’ resurrection.
Therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us–beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us–one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection. So they put forward two men… (Acts 1:21-23)
Did the disciples actually witness Jesus’ resurrection?
They did not. By the words, “a witness with us of His resurrection,” they mean someone who saw Jesus alive after His crucifixion and burial, not someone who actually saw Jesus come out of the tomb.
Why was the resurrection important to the disciples?
The resurrection was at the center of the apostles’ preaching. The reason for this was that the resurrection was God’s way of identifying Jesus as the Messiah-king for whom the Jews were waiting and expecting.
- Peter argues on the day of Pentecost that Jesus was the Messiah. He bases this claim on the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, a fact to which they were eyewitnesses. (Acts 2:24, 32)
- He does the same thing after the healing of the lame man. (Acts 3:15)
- When Peter defends the apostles before the Sanhedrin, he claims that “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) This claim, he bases on the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead. (Acts 4:10)
Historicity
What are the historical facts by which the disciples’ claim stands or falls?
The one grand fact which, more than any other, establishes the truth of the resurrection is the empty tomb.
What makes you think the tomb was empty?
Because soon after the resurrection, the disciples began to proclaim that Jesus had risen from the dead. We know as well that the Jewish leadership were anxious to put an end to this preaching and to the rumor that Jesus had returned to life. One thing the Jewish leadership did not do, however, was to produce the dead body of Jesus. Had they been able to do so, the disciples’ preaching would have been conclusively and decisively shown to be a fraud.
The Theft Theory
Is this why the Jews agreed to the narrative that the disciples had stolen the body?
Yes, exactly. They had to explain the fact that the tomb was empty. (Matthew 28:12-13)
Why is this almost impossible to believe?
Because the lives of the Roman guards depended on their success. If they failed, they were executed. (Acts 12:18-19) Furthermore, the disciples were in such a state of mind as rendered it impossible for them to pull off such a feat. (John 20:19)
The Experience Theory
Some scholars assert that the disciples had visions or hallucinations of Jesus being alive. These were so real to them, that they began to preach openly that Jesus had returned to life.
This explanation runs into the same problem that we mentioned above since, in this case, Jesus’ body would still be in the grave. Again, the Jews could have put an immediate end to the preaching of a risen Christ by simply producing the body. Since they never did this, we conclude that they did not have the body of Jesus in their possession.
Theology
What significance do the authors of Scripture place on the resurrection of Jesus?
The authors of Scripture connect the resurrection of Jesus with
- our hope;
- the power of God;
- the vindication of Jesus.
Peter
What does this apostle teach us about the resurrection of Jesus?
When this apostle emerged from the empty tomb for the first time (John 20:6-10), his life and ministry were forever transformed. For the rest of his ministry, Peter constantly refers to the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection as something he had witnessed firsthand.
- Peter insists that the replacement for Judas be someone who has witnessed the resurrection. (Acts 1:21-22) This shows just how central the resurrection was to the apostolic preaching of the gospel. In fact, Peter identifies the gospel with the resurrection of Jesus. He says that the replacement of Judas must be someone who will witness with us of His resurrection, i.e. preach the gospel. (Acts 1:22)
- In Peter’s Pentecost sermon, he points to the resurrection as proof that God had publicly endorsed Jesus as the Savior of His people. (Acts 2:21-22, 24) Furthermore, they were eyewitnesses of Jesus being alive after He had been crucified and buried. (Acts 2:32)
- Peter makes the same point in his defense before the Sanhedrin. He charges them: But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. (Acts 3:14-15) Notice that it was God who raised up Jesus thus showing that Jesus was His anointed Servant to do His will.
- In chapter 4, Peter is again before the Sanhedrin and makes the same point over again. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by this Name this man stands here before you in good health. (Acts 4:8-10)
- When the Sanhedrin commands the apostles to stop preaching, Peter replies, But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:29-32)
- When Peter is in the house of Cornelius, he comes to this realization that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his Name.” (Acts 10:43) He received this from Jesus Himself, and He believes Jesus because he was an eyewitness of His resurrection. (Acts 10:39-40)
Does Peter speak of Jesus’ resurrection in his letters?
He does; consider this:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Notice that the living hope that we have is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
What does this mean?
To understand this verse, consider the following:
- Who regenerates the people of God? the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;
- Why does He regenerate? according to His great mercy;
- What does He do? He regenerates or caused us to be born again;
- What is the result? A life marked by a living hope;
- What is the ground of this hope? through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead;
- What is the thing hoped for? an inheritance.
What does Peter mean by regenerate?
This is the giving of new life; see here.
How is the resurrection of Jesus a ground of our hope?
The ground of anything is the reason for that thing’s existence. If you removed the ground, the thing would collapse. So in this case, the living hope, which we have, is based on or grounded on the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus’ resurrection were shown to be false, then our hope would collapse. We would be deluding ourselves.
Why does Peter speak of a living hope?
First, there is an emphasis in Peter’s thought here on life. We are “born again” through the “resurrection” of Jesus Christ “from the dead.” Note that all three of these expressions refer to life.
Second, a living hope is opposed to a dying hope. The thought is that the hope of a Christian never fails; it does not decline or flame out. It is always living and reliable and certain. Brown (very bottom of p52):
The hope of the Christian is a “living” hope, in opposition both to a dead and a dying hope—in opposition to the dead hope of the hypocrite, and the dying hope of the self-deceiver.
Peter uses this expression elsewhere in his letters where he speaks of the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23) and living stones. (1 Peter 2:4, 5)
What then can we learn about Jesus’ resurrection from this passage?
We learn that God has given us a well-grounded hope of eternal life, and the ground for this hope is the resurrection of Jesus.
What does Peter mean in chapter 3 when he connects baptism to the resurrection of Jesus?
Peter writes:
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you–not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience–through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. (1 Peter 3:18-22)
Here Peter refers to the resurrection of Christ as the object of faith. Those who cry out to God for mercy are those who also believe that Jesus rose from the dead. (Romans 10:9) This belief in Jesus’ resurrection is a saving faith. See an extended paraphrase of these verses here.
Paul
1 Corinthians
What does Paul say about the resurrection of Jesus?
First, Paul shows how central the resurrection is to the gospel he preaches. He wrote to the Corinthians,
If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:19)
It seems odd that Paul would say that hope in Christ leaves us in such a pitiful place.
Paul means that if we place our hope in Christ, and He has not risen from the dead, then we are to be pitied. Our faith is a complete delusion. To say it in other words, if Jesus had done everything He did for our salvation, except rise from the dead, then our faith is based on nothing. We have nothing to hope for but eternal destruction. We could paraphrase the text this way: If we are hoping only in a Christ who died but did not rise again, then we are of all men most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:19)
This is clear from the very next verse where Paul quickly corrects this idea:
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20)
Why does Paul reference the idea of first fruits here?
This is an analogy Paul uses to show that Jesus’ resurrection is the ground of our hope in a future resurrection.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. (1 Corinthians 15:20-26)
How does Paul make that point in these verses?
Paul lays out the timeline of how God works:
- All men have been cursed with death because of the sin of the first man;
- Jesus died and rose again;
- When Jesus returns in glory, He will raise all those who are His and take them into His kingdom.
How does this show that Jesus’ resurrection is the ground of our hope that we too will rise from the dead?
Because Paul compares Jesus’ resurrection to the first fruits of the harvest. If Jesus rose from the dead, then the resurrection of all believers is also certain, just as the first fruits of a harvest are the guarantee that the rest of the harvest will follow.
Explain in more detail the idea of first fruits.
Consider what Moses commanded God’s people:
Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him,
I declare this day to the LORD my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.
Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. You shall answer and say before the LORD your God,
My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O LORD have given me.
And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God; and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11)
What are we taught here?
First, that the bringing of these first fruits to God was a sign that God owned all the land. The land is always “the land which YHWH your God gives to you.” The products of the land were also gifts from God or “the produce of the ground which You, YHWH have given me.” When a person brought the tithe of the first fruits, they were giving their assent to that proposition.
Second, the first fruits themselves were a guarantee of the full harvest to follow. This is the idea which is always behind Paul’s use of the metaphor.
Third, the first fruits are the best of the crop.
To sum up, Paul’s teaching strengthens the faith of believers by comparing Jesus’ resurrection to that of the first fruits of a harvest. If Jesus rose, then believers will also rise just as the full harvest is certain to follow the first fruits of that harvest.
Yes, Paul gives the same teaching, without the metaphor of the first fruits, here:
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)
Ephesians 1
What else does Paul say about the resurrection of Jesus?
Paul sees in Jesus’ resurrection a manifestation of the power of God:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 1:18-20)
Here Paul prays that God would help the Ephesian believers to understand three things:
- the hope God has given them;
- the glory of the promised inheritance;
- the greatness of the power which was exercised on them.
In regard to #3 in this list, Paul brings in the resurrection of Jesus. He compares the power which saved the Ephesians to the power which raised Jesus from the dead. The same power which raised Jesus from the dead is the power which worked salvation within them.
Where else do we find this connection between the power of God and Jesus’ resurrection?
We see the same idea, less explicitly, in Paul’s description of his call to be an apostle:
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)… (Galatians 1:1)
Paul says that he was called both by God the Son and God the Father. With regards to the latter, Paul mentions that He was the One who raised Jesus from the dead. This means that Paul’s call is not a mere human call but has all the weight of the sovereignty, power, and wisdom of God Himself behind it.
Romans 6
What else does Paul teach us about the resurrection of Christ?
Paul also speaks of dying and rising with Christ:
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:1-11) more
In this context, it appears that Paul is using Christ’s resurrection as a metaphor.
Yes, that is correct. Paul is teaching here about sanctification. His assumption throughout is that believers are in a saving union with Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus died and was buried, believers died and were buried with Him. Paul compares this death and burial of believers with that decisive act of God in breaking the power of sin in a believer’s life (or positional sanctification). Then Paul compares Jesus’ resurrection, and all believers with Him, to the rising of this person out of the grave. The believer was buried with all his sin; but now, he leaves all that sin behind him and rises out of that grave a new man. Now, he is dead to sin, and sin has no power over him any longer. Paul makes a similar point in his letter to the Colossians:
…having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12)
Philippians
What else does Paul teach us about the resurrection of Christ?
Paul speaks of the body of Jesus after His resurrection and compares that to the body believers will have in the new heaven and new earth.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
Note that Paul speaks here of the body of our humble state which is the body we have now. Then Paul speaks of the body of His glory which is the body Jesus had after His resurrection.