Why is the resurrection of Jesus important?
Stop cars on Blackbob and ask… ‘what today is’…it’s Easter…it’s Sunday… but are you aware that it’s Resurrection Sunday?
Saw an article regarding this thing called Easter…that sounds a little disrespectful…Easter is not a Christian holiday…the origin of Easter is a pre-Christian celebration of a goddess in England named Eostre that was celebrated at the beginning of Spring.
The importance of Jesus’ Resurrection is the very foundation of our faith…to a Christian it is one of the most significant days in history… the day that Jesus rose from the dead, having conquered death, hell and the grave.
Without His death there could be no resurrection from the dead, which is why Good Friday is so important…numerous times in Scripture (Matt. 16:21 / Matt. 17:22-23 / Matt. 20:17-19) Jesus talked about his death and His resurrection… if you read those accounts each time Jesus referred to His death He also…in the same breath…referred to His resurrection.
Jesus’s mission was not to be a martyr…but our Messiah…the One who would lead us back into our relationship with God as our living Savior…here’s the importance of Jesus’ resurrection:
- It’s Central to Our Christian Faith
The resurrection of Jesus is a crucial historical fact because it confirms that Jesus was indeed no ordinary man…the disciples of Jesus were for the most part unlearned men and for them they knew dead people stay dead.
Christ’s resurrection stands as a giant exclamation point which separates Jesus and Christianity from all other mortals…it proved that there is life after death…a fact that has never occurred in all recorded history.
- The Resurrection is the Fulfillment of God’s Word
The resurrection of Jesus is according to Scriptures and confirms the truths of what was prophesied regarding Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Old Testament.
…Psalm 2 describes fulfillment of God’s promised resurrection of His Son
…Psalm 22 is the graphic portrayal of Christ’s sufferings by crucifixion
…Psalm 16 speaks to Christ’s resurrection…the first eight verses are understood as Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane before His arrest and crucifixion.
…Isaiah 53 Nowhere in all the Old Testament is it so plainly and fully prophesied regarding Jesus’ sufferings and the advantages to mankind from His death on the Cross.
- The Resurrection of Jesus proves He is the Messiah
When people asked Jesus for a sign that He was the Messiah the only indication He would give was the prophet Jonah…for as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish, He would spend three days in the ground.
After spending three days in the grave Jesus rose from the dead…proving that His claims were valid.
- The Resurrection of Jesus was a Physical Resurrection.
The historical fact of Christ’s resurrection is confirmed by “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3), including His appearances to 500 people after He rose from the dead.
His appearance to the women and the apostles was the proof He had a physical body…He wasn’t some ghost…the resurrection of Jesus proves that we will also have physical bodies when we go to heaven.
But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him
for we shall see him as he is [1 John 3:2].
- The Resurrection gives Us Hope for When We Die.
Scripture declares that God has set eternity in our hearts. [Ecc. 3:11] This God-given awareness gives us the assurance that there is something more than what we experience in this world.
God created us to yearn for an afterlife…people have different ideas about where their loved ones go when they die…Jesus’ resurrection is the proof that you will see them again at the resurrection.
- The Resurrection of Jesus Sets Us Free from Our Sins.
Paul writes that if there’s no resurrection from the dead, we are still dead to our sins [1 Cor. 15:17]
The resurrection of Jesus confirms that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice for sin…that includes both Jesus’ death on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead that gives us access to a right relationship with Him.
- Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension Invites the Promised Holy Spirit.
If Jesus had not risen from the dead the Holy Spirit would never have come to earth…the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us now.
Since Pentecost the Holy Spirit has indwelt all believers…empowering them for sanctification…He does this in the life of a believer when He
…fills them [Acts 10:45]
…seals them [Eph. 4:30]
…communes with them [1 Cor. 10:16]
…fellowships with them [1 Cor. 1:9]
…intercedes for them [Heb 7:25]
…comforts them [2 Cor. 1:4]
…admonishes them [1 Thess. 5:12]
…sanctifies them [1 Cor. 6:11]
…enables them to resist sin [1 Cor. 10:13]
The giving of the Holy Spirit resulted in the amazing changes in the lives of the disciples after His resurrection that can only be contributed to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
- The resurrection of Jesus means believers are justified before God.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was
raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)
Justification means just as if I never sinned…to “be put right with.” Because of sin, humanity is cut off from a right relationship with God (Romans 6:28)
Without someone stepping in to correct this situation, we cannot have the relationship with God that He intended…in the death of Jesus, God put our punishment on Christ so that we could be justified before Him (2 Cor.5:21).
On the Cross God put our punishment on Christ so that we could be justified before Him (2 Cor. 5:21) …it is because of His resurrection that we are able to approach the throne of grace with the assurance that God hears our requests.