Jesus of Nazareth died a slow, shameful death, just outside the city of Jerusalem, 2,000 years ago. A great crowd watched everything. He definitely died. Professional Roman soldiers used a spear to make sure.
And yet over 500 men and women were convinced they had seen, talked and eaten with Jesus after He died. They saw Him ascend back to Heaven where He watches over us today – alive forevermore. These witnesses to His resurrection stood to gain nothing from such a claim. In many cases they lost everything – including their lives.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive…
The Apostle Paul, The First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15
In our experience, dead people stay dead! But Jesus wasn’t ordinary, was He? Thousands of people saw Him do miracles. And we aren’t talking of the kind of “miracles” you see con artists do on supposed “Christian” TV! You could check up on them. In fact, He raised someone else from the dead after 4 days! Everyone in Israel knew it was true.
This miracle worker claimed to be God the Creator, come as a Man, to be the Saviour of the world. His resurrection is final proof that He is exactly who He claimed to be, God.
Going right back to the start of the Bible, death is part of our punishment for refusing to live in obedience to God. We die ultimately because we are lawbreakers. Jesus, who had no sin of His own, suffered and died to pay for this wrong doing on behalf of His people. His rising again proves there’s nothing left to pay. We can be sure we are forgiven, know we are accepted and loved by God.
The resurrection of Jesus is also a promise. The same power that raised Him will one day resurrect all His people, to live in a new, perfect world without suffering, death or evil. Because He lives, there is a life to be enjoyed beyond the cold grip of death.
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…
Jesus of Nazareth, The Gospel of John, Chapter 11