1.3 Why is the resurrection so important?

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5 points to understand why it’s so critical

1. Jesus’ final message to the disciples post-resurrection was the great commission

Jesus’ final words to the apostles were “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I command you” (Matthew 28:19–20) Sharing your faith with others can be greatly fulfilling when you know that you are bringing the greatest news a person could ever hear to someone who’s never heard it. Through Jesus one can have their sins forgiven and gain eternal life. This is the primary message Christians want to share. It’s importance transcends all politically sensitive topics into which we can get drawn into with non-Christians. As important as social and cultural issues are, there are some primary truths on existence and purpose and for me, and others Christians, these primary truths shape our cultural outlook when a grand designer is involved.

2. This good news is ‘gospel’, but what is gospel?

It is defined by three qualities 

  1. The deity of Jesus 
  2. The death of Jesus in our place 
  3. The resurrection of Jesus         

There are other factors involved but these 3 are always present or implied. The good news to the world is that the sovereign Lord of the universe has overthrown the powers of darkness by conquering death and eternal life is on offer. 

3. Jesus’ resurrection is THE crucial issue

Peter wrote that we have an indestructible inheritance ahead of us. Paul wrote that belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is required for eternal life. In fact, Paul was so adamant about the importance of Jesus’ resurrection that he wrote “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still under condemnation for your sins”. 

For Paul (as we stated earlier extensively), if Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity is false, we will be judged for our sins by the true God, and Christians who have died are lost. In addition, Paul writes a few verses later, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”. In other words, if Jesus’ resurrection did not occur, we may as well live it up, because this life is all there is.

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still under condemnation for your sins”. 


Paul of Tarsus

4. Anyone can claim anything, Jesus asserted he was speaking truth from God

When someone makes such a lofty claim, critics rightly ask for the evidence. Jesus’ critics asked him for a sign, and he said he would give them one — his resurrection. Like we said earlier, it is a test by which we could know that he was telling the truth. Such a historical test of truth is unique to Christianity. 

The Quran and the Mormons approach it differently. “Their words are so beautiful it must be from God”. They claim just by reading it, it will make you believe. These are literature claims not miraculous ones. They cannot be tested upon an event in history and depend entirely on grammatical structure and beauty they say, like a work of Shakespeare. Many have read and been unconvinced by the reading of them alone and would argue the Quran and Mormon proposals are false. 

We would argue there is a clarity of words too in the bible, but also, a lot of testable historical and archaeological facts. Mormons and the Quran fall far sort on these 2 categories with questionable origins and history. Authors like Luke can be fact checked in numerous areas for historicity of facts and time-lining of kings, Prefects, governors etc.

5. The resurrection is also an excellent starting point for affirming the trustworthiness of the bible

Considering Jesus’ claims to being divine, if he rose from the dead, he may indeed be divine and have some profound things to tell us. We might anticipate that the disciples of such a man would devote themselves to the spreading of his teachings. Their writings and their willingness to suffer and die would be a natural, expected reaction to reality of immense importance, where are such writings if not in the New Testament documents? Not only are the New Testament documents what we might expect it to be, but most of it comes from those who were in a position to be a reliable witnesses of what Jesus said and did.

Summary

Jesus’ resurrection is the spotlight of major Christian doctrine and practice. Belief in it is a requirement for salvation, it is made clear by Paul. By it, we can be assured of God’s love, our inheritance in heaven, and the truthfulness of Christianity. It is the foundation for an argument for the trustworthiness of the New Testament, there’s no point going any further into an investigation if this fact isn’t well established in history.

References

  • Book — The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Gary Habermas; Mike Licona 
  • The Great Commision — Matthew 28:19–20 
  • Authority to forgive sins — Matthew 19:1–8 
  • Eternal life — John 3:16 
  • Deity, Death, Resurrection — 1 Corinthians 15 
  • Inheritance — 1 Peter 
  • Sign of Jesus’ resurrection — Matthew 12:38-42 
  • Qurans words — Sura 2:23; cf. Sara’s 10:37–38; 17:88 
  • Mormon words — Moroni 10:4–5

Sources for ‘What’s so important about the resurrection?’

Categories: 1.3 whyres

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