Death is imperative in human life. Every creature born on this earth has to die one day or the other. How strong he/she is or how wise he/she is, the grave always wins and man sooner or later returns to the dust. Death is uncertain it does not have any age limit and it cannot be predicted. This applies to all created beings. We are also aware that one day the planet earth will die with the ‘growing heat.’ This helps us to understand that every created being or things have to die and it is reality.
From the beginning of time, man has been on a search for an understanding of death, re-birth and revitalization. Here is an example from the Ancient Near Eastern people, who believed in after-life. When the princes of Egypt died, they used to bury them in pyramids. Along with the body, they also preserved the material things used during their lifetime as well as things for use in their after-life.
That is one of the reason they used to build huge pyramids to bury the dead bodies. The very idea of preserving the material things in pyramids reveals the belief in the after-life. From the beginning of time, history shows that the concept of resurrection was understood in varied ways – especially through religious experience and faith.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just important to Christianity – it is central. Without the resurrection of Christ, Christianity would be only a hopeless religion perpetrated by a person who claimed to be God and who falsely promised that He would rise from the dead.
His resurrection proves that the claim of Jesus Christ was true; He indeed was and is God, and because of this, His shed blood on the cross paid the penalty for all sin. The Old Testament record on the resurrection is not very clear. That is the reason the Pharisees and the Sadducees came with different ideas on the concept of resurrection (Mt. 22:23-33). Here, Jesus reveals that resurrection is possible. Study Gen 3:15; Ps. 2:7; Ps.16:9-11; Ps. 22:14-25; Ps. 30:2-9; Ps. 40:1-3; Ps.110:1; Ps. 118:21-24; Isa. 53:9-12; Hos. 5:15 -6:3 and Zech. 12:10. These verses when carefully studied indicate that the coming Messiah would be put to death and then rise again.
They heard clear statements from the lips of Christ himself: Mt. 12:38-42; 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:30-32; Jn. 2:19, 10:17-18; 16:16 and in many other passages in the four gospels. It is quite clear that after the death of Jesus, the disciples were confused and were left without knowing what to do next. But it is the resurrection and appearance that made them to further believe and made them to witness to the world about the resurrection.
It is the resurrection factor that gave them confidence to go and proclaim about their living God, which is unique. And that is the reason that made them to go and proclaim the message of resurrection with confidence. Acts 2:22-36; 3:13-18; 4:10-12&33; 5:29-32; 10:37-43; 17:2-3&30-32; 23:6; 24:14-16; 25:19; 26:6-8&22-23; etc. Similarly in the epistles Rom. 1:3,4; 1 Cor. 15:1-58; 2 Cor. 4:10-14; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 1:19-23; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 2:12; 1 Thes. 1:10, 4:14; 1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:8-11; Heb. 13:20 and 1 Pet. 1:21.
In the final book, Revelation, opens with Christ’s identification of Himself as “The first begotten of the dead, and as the one “that liveth, and was dead; and, I am alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:5,18). The disciples saw the resurrected Lord on at least ten separate occasions: To Mary Magdalene (Jn. 20:1-18, Mk. 16:9)To the other women (Mt. 28:8-10)To Peter (Lk. 24:34, 1 Cor 15:5)To the two on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35, Mk. 16:12)To ten of the disciples (Lk. 24:36-43, Jn. 20:19-24)To all eleven disciples, eight days later (Jn. 20:24-29)To seven disciples by the sea of Tiberius (Jn. 21:1-23)To five hundred followers (1 Cor. 15:6)To James (1 Cor. 15:7)To the eleven, at the ascension (Acts 1:3-12)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the basis of Paul’s witnessing. He did not witness of an experience that he had but of what had been accomplished for the entire human race by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The fact of Christ’s resurrection, as established by eyewitnesses, was—and is—the assurance that anyone can have forgiveness of sin and eternal life by receiving Him as Saviour. The message of resurrection has to bring in confidence of eternity that has to be reflected in renewal and repentance from the things that keep us away from the communion of Christ.
Author: Rev. Christopher Raja is an ordained minster in the Methodist Church in India
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