http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=1082
What's So Important about Jesus' Resurrection?
After the widow’s son of Zarephath died, Elijah prayed to God, “and the
soul of the child came back to him, and he revived” (1 Kings 17:22). A
few years later, the prophet Elisha raised the dead son of a Shunammite
(2 Kings 4:32-35). Then, after Elisha’s death, a dead man, in the
process of being buried in the tomb of Elisha, was restored to life
after touching Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:20-21). When Jesus was on
Earth, He raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mark
8:21-24,35-43), as well as the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11-16) and
Lazarus, who had been buried for four days (John 11:1-45). After Jesus’
death and resurrection, Matthew recorded how “the graves were opened;
and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and
coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy
city and appeared to many” (27:52-53). Then later, during the early
years of the church, Peter raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-43),
while Paul raised the young man Eutychus, who had died after falling out
of a three-story window (Acts 20:7-12). All of these people died, and
later rose to live again. Although some of the individuals arose very
shortly after death, Lazarus and (most likely) the saints who were
raised after the resurrection of Jesus, were entombed longer than was
Jesus. In view of all of these resurrections, some have asked, “What is
so important about Jesus’ resurrection?” If others in the past have died
to live again, what makes His resurrection so special? Why is the
resurrection of Jesus more significant than any other?
First, similar to how the miracles of Jesus were worked in order to set
Him apart as the Son of God and the promised Messiah, even though all
others who worked miracles during Bible times were not God in the flesh,
the resurrection of Jesus is more significant than any other
resurrection simply because the inspired apostles and prophets said that
it was. Many people throughout the Bible worked miracles in order to
confirm their divine message (cf. Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:1-4), but only
Jesus did them as proof of His divine
nature. Once, during the
Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, a group of Jews surrounded Jesus and
asked, “If You are the Christ, tell us plainly” (John 10:24)? Jesus
responded to them saying, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works
that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me…. I and My
Father are one” (John 10:25,30). These Jews understood that Jesus
claimed to be the Son of God in the flesh (cf. 10:33,36), and Jesus
wanted them to understand that this truth could be known as a result of
the miracles that He worked. They testified of His deity (cf. John
20:30-31). Why?
Because He said they did (10:25,35-38; cf. John
5:36). The miracles that Jesus performed bore witness of the fact that
He was from the Father (John 5:36),
because He said He was from the Father.
A miracle in and of itself did not mean the person who worked it was
deity. Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, and a host of others worked
miracles, with some even raising people from the dead, but not for the
purpose of proving they were God in the flesh. The apostles and prophets
of the New Testament worked miracles to confirm their message that
Jesus was the Son of God, not to prove that they were God (cf. Acts
14:8-18). Jesus, on the other hand, performed miracles to bear witness
that He was the Son of God, just as He claimed to be (cf. John 9:35-38).
Likewise, one reason that Jesus’ miraculous resurrection is more
significant than the resurrections of Lazarus, Tabitha, Eutychus, or
anyone else who was raised from the dead, is simply because the inspired
apostles and prophets in the early church said that it was more
important. Like the miracles He worked during His earthly ministry that
testified of His deity, His resurrection also bore witness of His divine
nature. There is no record of anyone alleging that Lazarus was God’s
Son based upon his resurrection, nor did the early church claim divinity
for Eutychus or Tabitha because they died and came back to life. None
of the above-mentioned individuals who were resurrected ever claimed
that their resurrection was proof of deity, nor did any inspired prophet
or apostle. On the other hand, Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God
with power…by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). His
resurrection was different because of Who He was—the Son of God. Just as
the miracles He worked during His earthly ministry testified of His
divine message, and thus also of His divine nature, so did His
resurrection.
Second, the significance of Jesus’ resurrection is seen in the fact that He was the first to rise from the dead
never to die again.
Since no one who has risen from the dead is still living on Earth, and
since there is no evidence in the Bible that God ever took someone who
had risen from the dead into heaven without dying again, it is
reasonable to conclude that all who have ever arisen from the dead, died
in later years. Jesus, however, “having been raised from the dead, dies
no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him” (Romans 6:9). Jesus
said of Himself: “I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and
was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:17-18). All
others who previously were raised at one time, died again, and are among
those who “sleep” and continue to wait for the bodily resurrection.
Only Jesus has truly conquered death. Only His bodily resurrection was
followed by eternal life, rather than another physical death. Although
it has been argued by skeptics that “it’s the Resurrection, per se, that
matters, not the fact that Jesus never died again” (see McKinsey, 1983,
p. 1), Paul actually linked the two together, saying, God “raised Him
from the dead,
no more to return to corruption” (Acts 13:34, emp.
added). Furthermore, the writer of Hebrews argued for a better life
through Jesus on the basis of His termination of death. One reason for
the inadequacy of the old priesthood was because “they were prevented by
death.” Jesus, however, because He rose never to die again, “continues
forever” in “an unchangeable priesthood,” and lives to make intercession
for His people (Hebrews 7:23-25).
A third reason why Jesus’ resurrection stands out above all others is
because it alone was foretold in the Old Testament. In his sermon on the
Day of Pentecost, Peter affirmed that God had raised Jesus from the
dead because it was not possible for the grave to hold Him. As proof, he
quoted Psalm 16:8-11 in the following words:
I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand,
that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was
glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave
my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy
in Your presence (Acts 2:25-28).
Peter then explained this quote from Psalms by saying:
Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke
concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in
Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up,
of which we are all witnesses (Acts 2:29-32).
The apostle Paul also believed that the psalmist bore witness to
Christ, and spoke of His resurrection. In his address at Antioch of
Pisidia, he said:
And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the
fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has
raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: “You are My
Son, today I have begotten You.” And that He raised Him from the dead,
no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: “I will give you
the sure mercies of David.” Therefore He also says in another Psalm:
“You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” “For David, after
he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was
buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up
saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that
through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him
everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:32-39).
Where is the prophecy for the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter? When
did the prophets ever foretell of Eutychus or Tabitha’s resurrection?
They are not there. No resurrected person other than Jesus had his or
her resurrection foretold by an Old Testament prophet. This certainly
makes Jesus’ resurrection unique.
Fourth, the significance of Jesus’ resurrection is seen in the fact
that His resurrection was preceded by numerous instances in which He
prophesied that He would defeat death, even foretelling the exact day on
which it would occur. Jesus told some scribes and Pharisees on one
occasion, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of
the great fish,
so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”
(Matthew 12:40, emp. added). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recorded how
Jesus “began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and
suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and
be raised the third day” (Matthew 16:21, emp. added;
cf. Mark 8:31-32; Luke 9:22). While Jesus and His disciples were in
Galilee, Jesus reminded them, saying, “The Son of Man is about to be
betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and
the third day He will be raised up”
(Matthew 17:22-23, emp. added). Just before His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem, Jesus again reminded His disciples, saying, “Behold, we are
going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief
priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and
deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.
And the third day He will rise again”
(Matthew 20:18-19, emp. added). Jesus’ prophecies concerning His
resurrection and the specific day on which it would occur were so widely
known that, after Jesus’ death, His enemies requested that Pilate place
a guard at the tomb, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still
alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore
command that the tomb be made secure
until the third day…”
(Matthew 27:63-64, emp. added). They knew exactly what Jesus had said He
would do, and they did everything in their power to stop it.
Where are the prophecies from the widow’s son of Zarephath? Had he
prophesied of his resurrection prior to his death? Or what about the son
of the Shunammite woman that Elisha raised from the dead? Where are his
personal prophecies? Truly, no one mentioned in the Bible who rose from
the dead prophesied about his or her resurrection beforehand, other
than Jesus. And certainly no one ever prophesied about the exact day on
which he or she would arise from the dead, save Jesus. This prior
knowledge and prophecy makes His resurrection a significant event. He
overcame death, just as He predicted. He did
exactly what he said He was going to do, on the
exact day He said He was going to do it.
Finally, the uniqueness of Jesus’ resurrection is seen in the fact that
He is the only resurrected person ever to have lived and died without
having committed one sin during His lifetime. He was “pure” and
“righteous” (1 John 3:3; 2:1), “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit
found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). He was “a lamb without blemish and
without spot” (1 Peter 1:19), “Who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). No
one else who has risen from the dead ever lived a perfect life, and
then died prior to his or her resurrection for the purpose of taking
away the sins of the world (cf. John 1:29). Because Jesus lived a
sinless life, died, and then overcame death in His resurrection, He
alone has the honor of being called “the Lamb of God” and the “great
High Priest” (Hebrews 4:14). “Christ was offered once to bear the sins
of many,” and because of His resurrection “those who eagerly wait for
Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation”
(Hebrews 9:28).
Whether or not Eutychus, Tabitha, Lazarus, etc., rose from the grave,
our relationship with God is not affected. Without Jesus’ resurrection,
however, there would be no “Prince and Savior, to give repentance to
Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). Without Jesus’
resurrection, He would not be able to make intercession for us (Hebrews
7:25). Without Jesus’ resurrection, we would have no assurance of His
coming and subsequent judgment (Acts 17:31).
Most certainly, Jesus’ resurrection is significant—more so than any
other resurrection ever to have taken place. Only Jesus’ resurrection
was verbalized by inspired men as proof of His deity. Only Jesus rose
never to die again. Only Jesus’ resurrection was prophesied in the Old
Testament. Only Jesus prophesied of the precise day in which He would
arise from the grave, and then fulfilled that prediction. Only Jesus’
resurrection was preceded by a perfect life—a life lived, given up, and
restored in the resurrection for the purpose of becoming man’s Prince,
Savior, and Mediator.
REFERENCES
McKinsey, C. Dennis (1983), “Commentary,”
Biblical Errancy, pp. 1-4, February.
When individuals in the 21st
century teach what God’s Word says about the sin of homosexuality
(Romans 1:22-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11), even when done in a spirit of
“love,” “meekness and fear” (as the Bible teaches—Ephesians 4:15; 1
Peter 3:15), they are often labeled as unloving, unkind, hateful, and
mean-spirited. Take, for example, the response that Kirk Cameron
recently received after being interviewed on Piers Morgan’s CNN show Tonight.
When asked about his thoughts regarding homosexuality and same-sex
marriage, Cameron respectfully called it “unnatural” and “destructive,”
and “detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the
foundations of civilization….” “Marriage,” he said, “was defined in the
garden between Adam and Eve. One man, one woman for life till death do
you part. So I would never attempt to redefine marriage. And I don’t
think anyone else should either” (“Kirk Cameron…,” 2012). For these
comments, individuals and media members all over the country ridiculed
Cameron as being, among other things, “out of step with the modern
world” (Dray, 2012), “extremist” (Badash, 2012), “self-righteous” (Burt,
2012), and a “homophobic bigot” (Silverthorne, 2012).