Why Does It Matter That Jesus Rose From the Dead?

Christian faith does not rest on feelings, impulses, or personal insights. It is believing God’s explanation of events, given to us in the Scripture. So, what about one of the most amazing miracles we see in Scripture, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? Why does it matter that Jesus rose from the dead? Why is this truth so central to the Christian faith? Let’s briefly look at three reasons.

1. Jesus’ Resurrection Means That Death is Defeated

Throughout the Bible story, death had been like a tyrant exercising a reign of terror over the human race. Nobody could escape it. “Death reigned,” the Scriptures say (Romans 5:14, 17). Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David all believed God’s promise, but death got every one of them.

When they died, they continued in a shadowy existence: separated from this life, but not able to move forward into the presence of God. Death brought them to a place where there was a way in but no way out.

From the time of Adam to the time of Christ, death had a way in but no way out. But when Jesus Christ died, He cut a hole in death itself. For Christ’s people, death is no longer a prison, but a passage that leads right into the presence of God. There’s all the difference in the world.

2. Jesus’ Resurrection Means the Whole Person Will Be Redeemed

The message of Easter is not that Jesus is alive, but that Jesus is risen! It is worth thinking about the difference.

The Son of God was “alive” in heaven before He ever took human flesh. So why did He not simply leave His crucified body in the tomb and return to the Father? After all, it was only flesh and bone. Why did He bother with it?

The angels could still have appeared on Easter Sunday morning and said, “His body is here in the tomb, but don’t worry, His spirit is with the Father in heaven.” After all, is this not precisely what we say at the funeral service when a Christian dies?

The message of Easter is that Christ is risen! It was not just the spirit of Jesus that was delivered from death; it was His body.

God has joined the soul and the body together. Death separates them. That is why it is such a terrible enemy. It is the undoing of our nature. Death would not be defeated by the survival of the soul. Victory over death would only be achieved if the body and the soul were reunited in the power of a new life. That’s the good news of the resurrection.

The greatest delights of body and soul in this life are only a hint of what God is preparing for those who love Him.

Suppose you have planned the vacation of a lifetime in Hawaii, but just before you are due to take the trip, you fall down the stairs and break just about every bone in your body. In good cartoon style, you wind up in the hospital bandaged from head to toe, with a thermometer sticking out of your mouth.

A friend, who is a computer wizard, offers to take you on a virtual tour instead. He sets up his laptop, and sure enough, you see wonderful views of Honolulu. “It’s so beautiful,” you say. “I just wish that I had been able to go.”

“But you have,” says your friend. “You have been there on a virtual tour.”

Your friend is a computer geek, so you humor him and let him go. Whatever he says, you know that as long as your body is stuck in the hospital, you haven’t been to Hawaii. Going there in your mind or via the Internet simply isn’t the same.

The life God promises to His people in heaven is not like a virtual tour. It is not a spiritual experience or a mind game. God sent His Son to redeem the whole of you, and bring you, body and soul, into His presence. The good news is that Christ is risen. The resurrection of the body is the glorious future that lies ahead of every Christian believer.

3. Jesus’ Resurrection Means We Will All Be Changed

When the body of Jesus was raised, it was also changed. This was something that had never happened before.

Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. It was a wonderful miracle, but Lazarus came out of the tomb exactly as he had gone into it. He carried on the process of aging at the point where he had left off, and then at some point, the poor fellow had to go through the whole miserable business of dying all over again.

But when Christ was raised, His body was no longer subject to aging or sickness. His flesh was transformed and adapted for eternity. That’s why Christians can look forward to heaven. The greatest delights of body and soul in this life are only a hint of what God is preparing for those who love Him.