The Gospel of Jesus Christ (16) The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

“The words “it was credited to him” were written not for [Abraham] alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness - for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Rm 4:23-25)
 
Review
We’ve been talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last Sunday, we talked about Jesus’ death. We especially focused on the many kinds of pain that Jesus went through on the cross.
 
First, Jesus suffered physically. Crucifixion was a Roman capital punishment designed to cause a slow death. Crucified criminals suffered greatly with each breath. In order to breathe, they had to push themselves up with their legs, which caused extreme pain in their feet. Moreover, their backs, which would have been torn open from being whipped, also continued to cause them pain. That was the physical pain Jesus had to go through on the cross.
 
Jesus also suffered psychological pain by bearing our sins. He was perfectly holy and sinless. He never knew sin but He became sin for us. And because of that, He suffered great agony. That was the second kind of pain Jesus endured on the cross.
 
Jesus suffered not only physically and mentally, but also emotionally. All of His disciples, whom He loved and even called ‘friends’, sold Him out, abandoned Him, and denied Him. In the hardest moment of His life, most of them were not there.
 
What’s more, Jesus was abandoned by His heavenly Father. Sin is what God hates most. Whoever has sin can’t be right with God or have a relationship with Him. But Jesus bore all our sins on the cross, which caused Him to be abandoned by God completely. The intimate relationship between Jesus and the Father, which had never been broken, was severed.
 
Lastly, Jesus suffered spiritually by being cursed and subject to God’s wrath being poured out on our sins that He bore. Jesus was not only cursed by God on the cross—the Bible says that He became a curse Himself. By becoming a curse, He set us free from every curse of sin. And by being subject to God’s wrath in our place, Jesus appeased God’s wrath and opened the way for us to be children of God. “We were by nature deserving of wrath” (Eph 2:3) but now we’re alive with Christ and are seated with Him in the heavenly realms.
 
So, what the prophet Isaiah said about the Messiah, the suffering servant of God, was completely true.
 
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain… Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering… he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed… Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer… the Lord makes his life an offering for sin. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” (Is 53:3-5, 10-11)
 
We should never forget what Jesus has done to save us from our sin. If we are truly Christians who believe all the things He has done for us, including His suffering and death, we should never make His sacrifice be in vain.
 
We should continue to think about the purpose of His crucifixion.
 
Jesus suffered greatly and died on the cross to make us dead to sin. Then, if sin was the ultimate reason He was hung on the cross, we should hate, struggle against, and resist sin to the point of shedding our blood (Heb 12:4). We shouldn’t use God’s grace as a way to rationalize our sins. Rather, we should rightly use His grace as a way to overcome our sinful nature.
 
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
All right. Now, let’s move on to the last part of the gospel. Since we started to learn about the gospel, we’ve covered some important topics about it—how it was promised through prophets in the Old Testament, the earthly life of Jesus Christ, which includes the incarnation and virgin birth, and what it means that Jesus was a descendant of King David. Lastly, we talked about Jesus’ death on the cross.
 
Even though all the things we’ve covered so far are crucial in understanding what the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, truly is, the subject we’re going to talk about starting today is the most important—the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 
Do you know why Christians gather on Sunday to worship God even though the Sabbath is on Saturday?
 
In the Bible, we find two reasons God’s people should keep the Sabbath. First, Exodus chapter 20 says,
 
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Ex 20:8, 11)
 
Here, we see that keeping the Sabbath is closely related to God’s work of creation. Because God created the world for six days and rested on the seventh day, He commanded His people to rest on that day. So, for God’s people to keep the Sabbath means that they profess that God’s creation is perfect.
 
Another reason we should keep the Sabbath is found in Deuteronomy 5. God said,
 
“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Dt 5:15)
 
God told the Israelites to observe the Sabbath day because He had brought them out of the slavery in Egypt. So, the second meaning of keeping Sabbath is related to God’s salvation.
 
The reason Christians started to gather on Sunday instead of Saturday was because Sunday was the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
 
John 20:1 says, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.” (Jn 20:1)
 
Early on the first day of the week, when a group of women came to Jesus’ tomb, they learned that He had been raised from the dead. And on the same day, Jesus came to the disciples and showed His hands and side to them.
 
Jn 20:19-20 says,
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” (Jn 20:19-20)
 
And from this time, after the disciples saw the risen Savior on the first day of the week, early Christians started to gather on Sunday instead of Saturday to remember and celebrate the salvation that Jesus Christ achieved by being crucified and resurrected from the dead. That’s what we remember and celebrate every time we gather here on Sunday. Even though Easter is the main day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we still commemorate it every Sunday.
 
This shows how important the resurrection of Jesus Christ is in Christianity. In fact, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event because it is the foundation of Christianity.
 
Without the resurrection, everything we believe loses its meaning. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15,
 
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1Co 15:17)
 
The Resurrection and Our Faith
Here, we find two important aspects of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. First, Paul said that if the resurrection hadn’t happened, our faith would be futile, which means that there would be no point in believing in Jesus.
 
As Christians we believe a lot of things. We believe not only what happened in the past that is written about in the Scriptures, but also what will ultimately happen in the future, which is also promised in the Scriptures. And in most cases, they go hand in hand.
 
We believe that Jesus died for our sins and that we become justified and righteous by His sacrifice. The reason our faith in Jesus is crucial is because we believe that the life we have on earth is not the end. We believe that God created us not only as ‘physical’ beings but also ‘spiritual’ beings which will live forever like Him. So we believe in the existence of the afterlife. And every important aspect of biblical blessing found in the Bible is tied to our eternal lives, not the lives we have on earth, which are temporary.
 
That’s what the resurrection of Jesus Christ clearly shows us. By being resurrected from the dead, He showed us that there’s an afterlife waiting for us after the life we have now.
 
And that’s exactly why important Christian beliefs such as the forgiveness of sin, repentance, atonement of Christ, and justification by faith matter because all of them ultimately deal with the afterlife.
 
So, if Jesus hadn’t been raised from the dead, everything we believe and put our faith in would have no meaning at all. That’s the reason Paul said,
 
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1Co 15:19)
 
Some people believe in Jesus only for the life they have on earth. They believe in God for guidance, protection, health, blessings, and more. Of course, God guides us, protects us, heals us, and gives us earthly blessings because He knows we need them.
 
But these are not the blessings that He wants to ultimately give us. If these were the only blessings, God wouldn’t have sacrificed His Son. What God really wants to give us is eternal life, which is only found in Him. If we miss this part, we miss everything.
 
The kind of hope we have in Christ is not about the world we’re living in now, but the world to come—the kingdom of God—and eternal life we’ll have there. That’s why the resurrection of Jesus Christ matters. It is the foundation of every hope we have in God as Christians.
 
The Resurrection and Justification
Second, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is important in our salvation because it tells us that we’re truly and perfectly forgiven. In 1 Corinthians 15:17, Paul specifically connects the resurrection of Jesus Christ with forgiveness. He said that if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, we are not forgiven and remain in our sins. Why is that?
 
The Bible says that Jesus came to the world to save us from our sins. Then, do you know when our salvation is complete?
 
Some Christians would say that their salvation was made complete on the cross because it was the place where Jesus bore all our sins and paid the penalty for them. And it’s true. Jesus indeed died for our sins on the cross and thus perfectly paid the ransom for our sins.
 
But still, I would say that our salvation wasn’t made complete on the cross. Imagine if the resurrection never happened but only the crucifixion. It would’ve been hard for us to be convinced that our sins are really forgiven. We wouldn’t even know for certain that Jesus was the Son of God and that He died for our sins.
 
If there had been no resurrection, some people would think that Jesus died on the cross because He deserved it. He was declared guilty by a Roman court. And the Old Testament itself insists that anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.
 
But the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything. It showed that He did not die because of His own sin. Rather, He was bearing the sin of others, and that sacrifice pleased God so much that He raised Him from the dead.
 
Therefore, the resurrection of Jesus Christ serves as a form of vindication. It is proof that God agreed with what Jesus said right before He died: “It is finished.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is like an official certificate that proves that everything He did by dying on the cross was accepted by the Lord and that the work of redemption was truly and fully accomplished.
 
That’s the reason I would say that our salvation was accomplished not on the cross but in the empty grave. It’s not because I consider crucifixion less important, but because that’s how the Bible describes our salvation. Even the death of Jesus Christ would’ve lost its meaning if the resurrection hadn’t happened.
 
But both are important. If the crucifixion is what Jesus endured for our salvation, the resurrection is the event through which God officially declared the redemptive work to be genuine and perfect. I think that’s the reason the apostle Paul said, 
 
“If Christ has not been raised… you are still in your sins.” (1Co 15:17)
 
Paul also addresses the same issue in Romans. In today’s passage, he said, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Rm 4:25)
 
Here, Paul explains the relationship between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our justification. For us to be justified means that we’re no longer guilty but declared righteous before God.
 
By raising Christ from the dead, God the Father showed that He fully approved of Christ’s work of suffering and dying for our sins and that His work was complete. There was no penalty left to pay for sin, no more wrath to bear, no more guilt or condemnation, because it had all been completely paid for.
 
That’s the reason the apostle Paul said, “He was raised to life for our justification” (Rm 4:25). The resurrection of Jesus Christ shows that our sins are forgiven and we are truly justified by God based on Christ’s merit. By raising His Son from the dead, God declared that His righteousness would apply to us who believe in Jesus.
 
We also see this when we consider Jesus’ role as our High Priest. One of the main points of the book of Hebrews is that we have an eternal high priest who offered an eternal sacrifice to God on our behalf.
 
Hebrews 9:11-12 says,
“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” (Heb 9:11-12)
 
We already talked about what it means for Jesus to be our high priest and obtain eternal redemption by His own blood, not by the means of the blood of goats and calves.
 
In the Old Testament, the high priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day, he entered the Most Holy Place three times. First, he entered with burning coals and fragrant incense to make smoke to conceal the atonement cover.
 
Second, he entered with a bull’s blood to make atonement for his own sin.
 
Lastly, he killed a goat and entered the Most Holy Place with its blood to make atonement for all the sins of the people of Israel. That was the most important part.
 
Imagine being one of the Israelites standing there watching the high priest enter the Most Holy Place with the goat’s blood. When would you become confident that your sins have been forgiven? It’s not when the high priest enters the Most Holy Place. It’s when he actually comes out alive.
 
Let’s say the high priest entered the Most Holy Place with the goat’s blood for all the sins of the Israelites, but then died while he was inside. Then, you couldn’t be sure that your sins were forgiven. You might think that the sins of the Israelites were too serious to be forgiven. Or, you might think that the high priest gave the wrong type of sacrifice or broke the law. The Israelites could only be sure of the forgiveness of their sins if the high priest came out alive.
 
And the same principle can be applied to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He entered the true, heavenly Most Holy Place and offered the sacrifice for all people’s sins with His own blood, not the blood of a goat. That was what happened on the cross.
 
But the fact that He died on the cross itself couldn’t give us perfect confidence that our sins are truly forgiven. Only when He was resurrected, could we be sure of our salvation. That’s why I say that our salvation was truly completed in the empty grave on Sunday, which is also called the Lord’s day.
 
That’s what we continue to remember and proclaim as Christians. Our Lord Jesus Christ didn’t only die for our sins but was also resurrected from the dead, and by doing so, He perfectly achieved our salvation. His suffering, shedding of blood, and death were approved by God. And now, all those who believe in Him can be justified freely and completely on the basis of what He achieved on the cross and in the empty grave.
 
I hope that we all can be filled with the joy of salvation that we find in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today is the Lord’s day when He was raised from the dead. Today is the day we commemorate and celebrate His perfect salvation for us.
 
Now, let’s continue to go before God by singing about the wonderful salvation Jesus achieved for us. Let’s sing ‘O Praise the Name’ one more time and take time to pray.
 
_____________________
 
Today, we started to talk about the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died in our place by bearing our sins on the cross, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day. And what we know from this is how Jesus perfectly accomplished our salvation on the cross and in the empty grave.
 
So, as we go before God’s presence in our prayers, I want us to think more deeply about the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ—what Jesus did for us and the blessings we’ve received from it. Let’s give thanks to the Lord for all the amazing works He has done out of His grace and love. And lastly, let’s pray that our faith and our lives may be firmly built on the truth of Jesus Christ, especially His resurrection. Let’s pray.
 
[Prayer]
Dear God, thank You for giving us this great opportunity to think about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 
We’re gathered here today to celebrate the great salvation Your Son achieved in the empty grave. It tells us that we’re really forgiven and justified, and we’re so thankful for that.
 
Please continue to lead us to the truth of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit so that we may live out our faith in Him and show how good and loving You are through our lives.
 
Again, we thank You for everything You’ve done to make us righteous in Your sight and give us salvation. We trust in You and love You, Lord.
 
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
 
[Reflection Questions]
1. Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why do you think it is important for Christians to believe in it?
 
2. What are some obstacles that prevent people from believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? How can we show them that He really was raised from the dead?