More than an Empty Tomb
Every Easter, Christians around the world say, “He is risen.” The evidence that Jesus really rose is strong, and it is laid out in Did Jesus Really Rise?. This article asks the next questions. What kind of resurrection was it? What did it accomplish? And what difference does it make for you today?
Paul made the resurrection part of the Gospel itself: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). Without it, he says, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). But now is Christ risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20).
We believe that Jesus rose bodily from the grave, that God accepted His sacrifice for sin when He raised Him, and that He ascended into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting for the day He receives His church at the Rapture.
On the third day Jesus rose from the dead in the same body that was crucified and buried, now glorified and immortal, never to die again.
If Jesus is alive right now, what difference does that make to your sin, your grief, your Sundays, and your future?
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For Deeper Study
- Jesus Christ Our LordAmazon John F. WalvoordA dispensational treatment of Christ's person and work, including His resurrection, ascension, and present ministry at the Father's right hand.
- The Battle for the ResurrectionAmazon Norman L. GeislerA defense of the physical, material resurrection body of Christ against views that it was immaterial, including some within evangelicalism.
- The Risen Jesus and Future HopeAmazon Gary R. HabermasMoves from the evidence for the resurrection to what it means for the believer's hope in suffering and death.
- HeavenAmazon Randy AlcornA popular, Scripture-filled study of the intermediate state, resurrection bodies, and the new earth.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The bodily resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, and the historical evidence for it outlasts every alternative explanation.
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