Regardless of what you believe about Jesus, there’s no doubt that He has impacted humanity more than any other person. No other person has been written about, discussed, or debated more than Jesus. His image is the most sculpted and painted image of all time. In fact, His crucifixion is the single most depicted image in history. But the crucifixion is not the end of Jesus’ story! Around the world, Easter Sunday, often referred to as Resurrection Sunday, celebrates the belief that you and I can pass from death to life. The basis of this hope is in the resurrection of Jesus.
This essay is centered around these questions; Why is Jesus’ death so remarkable? And, if Jesus rose from the grave, what does that mean for us?
Maybe someone doesn’t understand the need for the crucifixion. Here is a brief summation.
- God required blood sacrifice for sin, but all of man’s blood is tainted and no sacrifice could be worthy.
- Jesus came to do what only God can do. Jesus is God who become a man like us, but lived a perfect sinless life.
- No greater sacrifice can be made beyond death. It’s the greatest expression at the greatest cost.
- Jesus chose to bear the sin of mankind, dying in our place, to reconcile us to God.
Dying in the place of someone else is a wide-spread theme in literature, even dating back to ancient Greek mythology. An example is Alcestis (Al-sest-is), wife of King Admetus (Ad-me-tus); a queen willing to die in the place of her husband so he could continue to reign. She is held up as an example of nobility, love, and courage. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul may have had this literary reference in mind when he writes in Romans 5:7, “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.” While one may possibly consider dying in the place of a loved one, nobody would ever die in the place of their enemy. But this is exactly what Jesus did for us! Paul continues in verse eight by saying, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The cross means I’m loved by God.
Isaiah 53:5 is one of the Old Testament prophecies about the suffering and death of Jesus. It reads, “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” In the New Testament, John 19:1-5 says, “Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”
Jesus was one of many who died on a cross. Yet, his crucifixion is singularly remarkable, and for many reasons. Some of these reasons are, 1) His death was prophesied hundreds of years earlier. 2) He was publicly pronounced as innocent before sentenced to death. 3) The Bible claims that in His death, Jesus bore the sin of mankind.
The cross means I’m loved. The empty tomb means I have hope. Matthew 28:1-10 says, “Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
One might ask, “What’s so significant about the resurrection of Jesus? Afterall, hadn’t others been brought back to life besides Jesus?” Yes, Jesus wasn’t the first to be brought back to life. However, others who were raised by Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, even those Jesus had raised, all came back to life, only to die a natural death a second time. Here are a few other examples why Jesus’ resurrection is so unique. First, Jesus said He would die and rise again, nobody has ever claimed that and done so (Matthew 16:21-23). Secondly, at His resurrection, His body was transformed. No other person raised from the dead experienced this; Jesus could eat/drink like us, but could come/go at will, pass through walls, etc. (Luke 24:30-31, John 20:19-20). Third, beside Jesus’ resurrection, all other resurrections occurred through a human agent; one working for God to bring the dead back to life. Jesus’ resurrection however was not at the behest of a human agent. This led eyewitnesses to conclude that God had raised Jesus from the dead. The Apostle Peter expresses this truth in Acts 3:15, “but (you, men of Israel) put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”
Consider the following claims of Jesus. John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
The resurrection makes the crucifixion a good and glorious act. The crucifixion without the resurrection is by itself, nothing! Consider this analogy, if a man runs into a burning building and saves all twenty people inside, only to himself perish in the flames at the end, we’d say of him, “Hero! Noble!” But if he ran into an empty building, knowing it was empty, only to die from the flames, we’d say, “What was the point? A wasted life!”
After Jesus’ resurrection He provided forty days of infallible proofs. He appeared to many individually and appeared to crowds as many as 500 at a time. In fact, the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth, saying that some of these 500 are still alive today if you want to go and talk to them yourselves (1 Corinthians 15:6). Additionally, Jesus’ disciples recognized Him, they walked and talked with Him, and Jesus ate with them to demonstrate that He wasn’t just appearing as a spirit but was raised bodily. They also touched Jesus’ wounds. Today, some remain skeptical, providing arguments against the resurrection. Here are some common claims against the resurrection of Jesus, along with reasons they are debunked.
Claim #1 – “Jesus never died, but only passed out, so His apparent resurrection was merely his body revived from unconsciousness.” Debunked – Could a man be whipped 39 times, beaten, hung by nails, pierced by a spear, wrapped in shroud, and laid in a tomb, suddenly come to, and then have the strength to tear away his wrappings, role away an enormous stone, fight off Roman soldiers and walk the streets while somehow not appearing a bloody mess?
Claim #2 – “Jesus died, but the Roman’s stole the body.” Debunked – The last things Rome wanted was the appearance of a risen Jesus who many claimed to be the new King of the Jews. This theory would not only make a Roman death sentence appear to be weak and ineffectual, but a resurrected Jewish King could give birth to an uprising against Rome.
Claim #3 – “Jesus died, but the Jewish leaders stole the body.” Debunked – The last thing the Jews wanted was an empty tomb and the appearance of a risen Jesus. Their whole aim was to squelch Jesus and His followers. Had the Jews stolen the body, once rumors of Jesus’ resurrection begun to circulate, the Jews simply would have produced the corpse and shamed Jesus’ followers as liars.
Claim #4 – “Jesus died, but His disciples stole the body.” Debunked – First of all, Jesus’ body was laid in a tomb sealed with a huge stone and guarded by armed soldiers of Rome. Stealing it would have required an enormous mob. More importantly, many of the disciples were tortured and killed for their testimony of Jesus’ resurrection. Had the resurrection story been a false conspiracy of the disciples, surely one or many of them would have given up the lie upon being tortured and at the brink of death. Who would die for what they knew to be a lie?
Claim #5 – “Jesus died, but what the disciples experienced days later wasn’t the risen Jesus, but a hallucination.” Debunked – Thousands of people had experienced personal encounters with Jesus after the resurrection. What could have caused such a large community to experience hallucination? And, more importantly, hallucinations are not shared experiences, but are unique to an individual. This theory is wholly unsubstantiated.
The Christian faith is based on the resurrection. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless.” Consider the impact the resurrection had on the Jesus’ disciples. After Jesus’ death they were in hiding; fearful they’d be killed next. But upon experiencing the resurrection of Jesus, they were revived, exhilarated, and empowered, and spent their lives heralding the living Jesus, even at the expense of their own lives! The resurrection changed everything!
How will you respond to the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection?
Jesus conquered death and sin, and because He alone has done this, He alone can offer forgiveness of sin and eternal life. If you’d like to entrust yourself to Jesus, you can accept His invitation to forgive your sins and trust Him to be your Savior. You can pray a simple prayer to express your decision, “God, I’m a sinner and I’m sorry. I accept Jesus’ offer to forgive my sins. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that He rose from the grave because He is the living God.”