Resurrection Sunday, or Easter Sunday, is a day of real celebration. I know some people don’t like using the term Easter and I get it, but regardless it is a day of celebration. We are acknowledging to the world that the stone has been rolled away and our Savior has risen from the dead.
Have you ever taken a step back and considered why this event is so important to your Christian journey? For a brief moment I want to give you four reasons why the resurrection matters so much. I think when you finish reading these you will rejoice even more.
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1. The Resurrection Proved Jesus Was Who He Said He Was
I want to be honest, Jesus was not the first nor was he the last person to claim to be the Messiah. In fact, Jesus even said that many would come claiming to be the one. If there are many people that attempt to make this claim, what is it that sets Jesus apart from all the rest? There is one thing you can point to…the empty tomb.
If Jesus was still in the tomb, then he would be no different than any other person who made a claim to be the Messiah. The resurrection is proof that Jesus was who he said he was. Here is what Jesus said:
“And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life’” (Luke 9:22).
All throughout his time with his disciples he kept telling them he was going to die and he was going to be raised to life again on the third day. If this didn’t happen then Jesus would have been a liar and a deceiver. However, because he got up on that third day as he said he would, this validated every claim he made about himself. There is no other religion on the face of this earth that can make this claim. Only Jesus died and rose again, proving to the world that yes, he is God and he is the one and only true Messiah.
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2. The Resurrection Completed Our Salvation
In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul gives a compelling argument why the resurrection matters so much.
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).
Do you see the importance of the resurrection highlighted in these verses? If there is no resurrection, your preaching and your faith are useless. Most importantly, we are all still in our sins. There is no forgiveness of sin and no salvation without the resurrection. Remember, if Christ did not rise from the dead he was nothing more than a liar, which means he could not be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Therefore we are all still trapped in our sin and separated from God.
However the good news is that Jesus did rise from the dead. This act of resurrection completed our salvation and gives us hope. The disciples went out proclaiming the message of the gospel based on the fact that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. This was the basis for the message of the gospel then and that has never changed.
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3. The Resurrection Gives Us Hope of Our Resurrection
When you go back to that same passage in 1 Corinthians, look at what Paul says.
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 4:20-22).
Let me give you one more verse to consider.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die’” (John 11:25).
Why do you have hope of resurrection? Because he rose from the dead. He was the forerunner, or firstfruits. This word can also mean the firstborn, meaning he was the first of those to come after him. Jesus was the first to be resurrected, and because he was resurrected we have the same hope. That’s why what he said in John 11:25 makes so much sense. He didn’t claim to have resurrection power, he said he was the resurrection. This means that hope in Christ is hope in resurrection. Jesus proved he was the resurrection because on the third day that is exactly what he did. Because he got up, we also know that one day we will too.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
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4. The Resurrection Gives Us the Promise of Eternal Life
As you live longer in this life, the body gets older. Things don’t work the way they used to and ultimately one day we will all pass through this life. If life ended there, that would be sad and tragic, but life does not end there.
When Jesus rose from the dead he not only conquered sin, he conquered death. Yes, we must all die while in this body, but that is not an ending – it is simply a transition. Our hope of eternal life is secured because we have a risen savior who has gone before us. One day the sting of death will be no more and the hope of eternal life will no longer be faith, it will be our reality. The resurrection is what gives us this assurance. I was going to try to summarize it, but I think the Bible says it best.
“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’
‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:53-58).
Final Thoughts
If I had to use one word to sum up the resurrection, I would use the word victory. Because Christ lives, we have victory over sin. We also have victory over death and that victory leads to eternal life.
Let it be that we don’t wait until Resurrection Sunday to remember the great victory that Jesus has won for us. Let us remember this every day, because he is alive forevermore and so are you. Your victory in Christ is signed, sealed, and delivered all because of one reason – Jesus lives. This is why the resurrection matters so much and why you can rejoice both now and forever. Let us always celebrate the glorious salvation that has been purchased for us by our risen Savior. He is alive and to him be glory forever and ever, amen.
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