<\/p>\n
\nTim Chaffey, AiG\u2013US, opens a new web series on the resurrection by examining the importance of this miraculous event.<\/p>\n
I enthusiastically look forward to Easter each year since I often have opportunities to speak on the most exciting topic I know\u2014the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I also love singing the classic hymns about the crucifixion and resurrection. Of course, I enjoy writing and speaking about creation, evolution, Genesis, the age of the earth, biblical authority, and the biblical worldview. Still, no topic thrills me as much as thinking about that glorious Sunday morning when an angel rolled the stone away and the death-conquering Savior exited the tomb that had housed his dead body for a short while\u2014since this miracle secured the hope of our salvation.<\/p>\n
I try to think about what it must have been like to be in the disciples\u2019 sandals when they saw the risen Savior for the first time. Imagine having all your hopes and dreams dashed to pieces as the person you put your faith in was mercilessly beaten and then brutally executed upon the cross. The agony and despair felt by the disciples during that time is nearly impossible to fathom. They had left everything for Jesus, and now he was gone, leaving the disciples to wallow in their sorrow, confusion, and shame for following a pretender Messiah who was now viewed as someone accursed by God (Isaiah 53:4; Galatians 3:13).<\/p>\n
Picture yourself in Peter\u2019s position. The brash and outspoken disciple who said he would die for Jesus was suffering the depths of despondency, having cowardly rejected Jesus multiple times. Suddenly, Mary Magdalene shows up and says that the body of Jesus is missing and none of the women who went to the tomb that morning know where it is (John 20:2). Did a flash of hope pierce Peter\u2019s mind at that moment? Did anger flow through him as he pondered even more embarrassment at the thought of the Lord\u2019s body being dishonorably treated? What did he think when he entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying where the Lord\u2019s body had recently been? Did he plunge deeper into misery as he walked home that morning (John 20:10)?<\/p>\n
Peter\u2019s utter hopelessness was finally shattered later that day when Jesus appeared to him alive and well (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). But this was no fluke appearance\u2014it was not a vision or hallucination. Jesus had already appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11\u201318), and later that day to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:15), and then to the whole group of disciples minus Thomas (Luke 24:36). Over the next several weeks, Jesus showed himself alive by \u201cmany infallible proofs<\/span>\u201d to the disciples (Acts 1:3 KJV), and on one occasion, he appeared to over 500 people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6).<\/p>\n A short while later, the disciples, filled by the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the risen Savior, went forth in absolute confidence that their message was true and turned the world upside down with the gospel, unwaveringly facing persecution and death along the way.<\/p>\n At the heart of their message was the resurrection. Peter\u2019s sermon on the day of Pentecost centered on the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2:24\u201336). Paul focused on the resurrection as well. Some of the philosophers in Athens thought he was strange because he preached about Jesus and the resurrection (Acts 17:18). When given an opportunity to speak at the Areopagus, Paul delivered his message and then said that God had given \u201cassurance to all by raising [Jesus] from the dead<\/span>\u201d (Acts 17:31). In fact, Acts covers 12 major addresses as the gospel message spread from Jerusalem to the rest of the Roman Empire, and according to Merrill C. Tenney, \u201cIn each stage of presentation the place of the resurrection is constant; it is never deprecated or ignored but occupies a prominent place.\u201d1<\/p>\n Without the resurrection, Christ\u2019s death would be the end of our hopes, and of course, without the crucifixion, Jesus could not have risen from the dead.<\/p>\n Sadly, it seems that this event no longer enjoys a prominent place for many Christians, often being relegated to the topic of the sermon only on Easter Sunday. And I\u2019ve been to churches where it doesn\u2019t even get that much attention. Some focus so much on the crucifixion and what Jesus accomplished there that the resurrection is treated like an afterthought.2 Please don\u2019t misunderstand me. The crucifixion is absolutely essential, and we must never shy away from discussing the cross, but the resurrection is the flip side of that coin. Without the resurrection, Christ\u2019s death would be the end of our hopes, and of course, without the crucifixion, Jesus could not have risen from the dead. Both are necessary for the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 15:17).3 In fact, Paul told the Corinthians that the gospel he preached was \u201cthat 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<\/span>\u201d and that he was seen by numerous people (1 Corinthians 15:1\u20138).<\/p>\n For the past few years as I have read through the New Testament, I have paid special attention to the resurrection and have been amazed at just how frequently the writers mention the topic. Paul devoted an entire chapter to the subject and discussed its significance to the Christian faith.<\/p>\n And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:14\u201319)<\/p>\n If Jesus<\/span> did not rise from the dead, then Christianity would be a false religion, we would have no hope, our loved ones would be gone for good, and we would still be in our sins. I appreciate Philip Schaff\u2019s summary on the importance of the resurrection based on Paul\u2019s words.<\/p>\n The Christian church rests on the resurrection of its Founder. Without this fact the church could never have been born, or if born, it would soon have died a natural death. The miracle of the resurrection and the existence of Christianity are so closely connected that they must stand or fall together. If Christ was raised from the dead, then all his other miracles are sure, and our faith is impregnable; if he was not raised, he died in vain and our faith is vain. It was only his resurrection that made his death available for our atonement, justification and salvation; without the resurrection, his death would be the grave of our hopes; we should be still unredeemed and under the power of our sins. A gospel of a dead Saviour would be a contradiction and wretched delusion. This is the reasoning of St. Paul, and its force is irresistible. Now consider the alternative. If Jesus actually rose from the dead, then an astonishing miracle was performed, and through this act, God placed his seal of approval on the life and work of Jesus for all to see.5 In other words, the resurrection shows us that God affirmed the truth of Christ\u2019s teachings, meaning that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be\u2014the eternal Son of God in human flesh and the Savior of the world. He is the only one who can save us from sin and the only way to the Father (John 14:6). All who reject him are doomed to suffer eternally for despising the Lord of life and his offer of forgiveness.<\/p>\n Everything hinges on the resurrection.<\/p>\n Everything hinges on the resurrection. If Jesus<\/span> rose, he is the Son of God and Christianity is true. Consequently, critics and skeptics have tried desperately to develop alternative theories to explain away the resurrection. In their vain search for a legitimate alternative, they have demonstrated that they understand the centrality of the resurrection better than some Christians or, at least, that they are more concerned about it. Ironically, as will be demonstrated in future articles in this series, the critical and skeptical arguments have actually strengthened our confidence in the truth of the resurrection.<\/p>\n In the coming weeks, we will embark on a study of the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The next article will describe what the Bible calls \u201cinfallible proofs<\/span>,\u201d essentially surveying the post-resurrection appearances. The ensuing installment will address several evidences stated in the biblical accounts or derived from them. After that, we will spend several weeks examining the numerous alternative views proposed by skeptics and critics throughout the centuries. By the time we complete our study, you will see that in nearly 2,000 years, not one alternate theory can stand up to scrutiny or come close to accounting for the facts.<\/p>\n The apostles knew that Jesus<\/span> died on the cross, and just a few days later, they saw him alive again. They were so sure of this fact that they were willing to face persecution, exile, and death. Imagine having a confidence in the resurrection similar to the apostles. What would it do to your Christian<\/span> walk if you had complete assurance of this event? Would you be more motivated than ever to study his Word, spend time in prayer, fellowship with his people, and share the gospel<\/span> with others?<\/p>\n Christ\u2019s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection are the only means by which people can be forgiven of their sins and our only hope for eternal life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tim Chaffey, AiG\u2013US, opens a new web series on the resurrection by examining the importance of this miraculous event. I enthusiastically look forward to Easter each year since I often have opportunities to speak on the most exciting topic I know\u2014the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I also love singing the classic hymns about the crucifixion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[232,3374,481,480],"class_list":["post-25512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jesus","tag-christ","tag-introduction","tag-jesus","tag-resurrection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n The resurrection of Christ is therefore emphatically a test question upon which depends the truth or falsehood of the Christian religion. It is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records.4<\/p>\n