Why the Resurrection? Day One

I feel this post will prove beneficial for all who read it. Therefor, this is the day by day format for those of you who would rather have short devotionals than the whole pie in one sitting (or to break it up yourself).

Oftentimes after Easter Sunday our minds return to the daily-grind of secular life. One day a year (maybe for a period up to one week) we pay great homage to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing this great truth and remembering the empty tomb. After this we return to what we so joyfully term “everyday life” and to the doldrums of existence. We so quickly forget that Christ came to give us abundant, eternal life, in knowing Him and the Father (John 10:10; 17:3).

Life is not meant to be lived in the drudgery of many days. Rather, we are to live life in light of the resurrection of Christ every day—every moment! We are to cling to the cross and know Christ in His sufferings (cf. Philippians 3:10). Yet to know Him in His sufferings is so much more than just to participate in His sufferings, the sufferings which God graciously gives us to perfect our faith, much as Christ was matured and shown perfect through His sufferings (cf. Philippians 1:29, 1 Peter 1:6-9, Hebrews 4:15, 5:8-10).

To cling to the cross is much more than just to live counting our own righteousness as rubbish and being credited with the righteousness of Christ (cf. Philippians 3:7-9), though this is an extremely weighty matter. To cling to the cross and to suffer with Christ, despising our own filthy righteousness and accepting His is to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10), so that we will be “conformed to His death; in order that [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11).

It is impossible to experience the power of the resurrection without dying to ourselves and clinging to the cross—as I have just explained above. Without knowing and experiencing the power of the resurrection of Christ, we will be confined to a life that is merely drudgery and listlessness. To live an abundant life, one that is filled with joy in knowing and serving God, we must continually be mindful of the resurrection.

We cannot experience the remembrance and power of the resurrection one day a year and expect to live a victorious Christian life. We must always return our hearts to the resurrected Lord, lest we lose hope and forget why we would ever even desire to live the Christian life—which is by no means a simple stroll in the park. Only by contemplating the resurrection will we be able to walk with boldness before this wicked and perverse world. We can only overcome the world through our faith if we will continually return to the empty tomb and stand in wonder that the Man who bore the complete wrath of God, the Man rejected by all and murdered upon the cross, Jesus Christ the righteous, lives eternally, never to experience death again.

In what follows, I will consider nine biblical truths of why God resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead. These truths, when properly understood by our minds and our hearts, will give us hope and boldness to face this evil world, our own sin, and the trials that beset us. While we will be hated for Christ’s sake, yet knowing these truths and Christ Himself will give us confidence that the final victory is Christ’s, and ours’ in Christ. May this help us to always have the resurrection in our hearts and upon our minds. The resurrection is a powerful thing!

As Proof that He is the Son of God

Jesus made some very radical claims during His ministry. Many of these claims, such as His prerogative to forgive sins (cf. Mark 2:5-12), His claim to act just as He has seen God the Father act (John 5:17-18), and His declaration to be one with the Father (John 10:30), are blasphemous for one who is merely a human being to speak. Christ often referred to Himself as the heavenly “Son of Man” and even referred to Himself as the “Son” of God. The authority He had was His as the Son of God.

Yet Jesus’ claims needed the authentication of the resurrection. In John 2, after Jesus has cleansed the Temple and the people ask Him who or what has given Him authority to act as He has, Jesus tells the Jewish people, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Though they thought He was speaking of the Temple edifice in Jerusalem (John 2:20, cf. Mark 15:29-30), Jesus was speaking concerning His body (John 2:21-22). He was telling them that if they wanted a sign, all they needed to do is kill Him, and He would show them that His authority was from God, for He is the Son of God.

The people made good on their end of the bargain and crucified Christ. Then He was laid in the tomb. If Jesus were to fail and not to come out of the tomb at the foretold time, He would be a liar. If He had not come forth, then He would have been wrong about the sign that He was giving them. Jesus would have been a liar and nobody should have even thought for a moment that He was the Son of God, for everyone knows that God cannot lie.

But it happened. On the third day, Jesus arose from the tomb. The people had been given their sign; though many of them rejected it, others accepted it (cf. Acts 2:41). This confirmed that all He said was true. Jesus was alive and never to die again. He “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Romans 1:4). God would not resurrect just anyone—especially not a blasphemer! Thus the resurrection gave proof that Jesus of Nazareth truly is the Christ, the Son of God, and all authority is His.

It was proven that Christ’s authority for performing miracles and making such claims was His right as the Son of God. The Father furnished the proof that Jesus was truly His beloved Son, with whom He is well pleased (Mark 1:11). The resurrection demonstrates to both adversaries and allies of Christ that Jesus’ authority comes from the Father.