The most important aspect to the gospel, that is to the good news of God, is that Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus did not stay dead, as other men do, but He rose, and through this resurrection, as Romans says, Jesus has been declared to be The Son of God indeed. As Paul said, His reason for writing His letter to the Romans was, “concerning [God’s] Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was…declared to be The Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead.” [Rom 1:1-4] Through the resurrection of Jesus, all of God’s promises, including that of salvation, are eternally secured. Most assuredly, Jesus’ resurrection is the most important aspect of salvation, and without it we are without hope. As it is written,
“Now if Christ is preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen: and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He did not raise up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then Christ has not been raised: and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins…If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” [1 Cor 15:12-17, 19]
One reason for Paul’s logic here is simply that Jesus promised He would be resurrected; now, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, He is a liar first and foremost, and not to be trusted; and if a liar, then that which The New Testament purports is also vain: for it is written therein, “[Jesus] did no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.” [1 Pe 2:22] The fact that Jesus said regarding His life, “I have power to take it again,” (that is, that Jesus would resurrect Himself), and even further, claimed, “This commandment I have received of my Father,” [Jn 10:18] is utterly outlandish. The quickest way to completely abolish all hope of any man following your ideals, doctrines, teachings, etc., is to make such an egregious claim as Jesus did, speaking of “the temple of His body,” to say, “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up;” [Jn 2:19-20] and again, speaking of Himself, “The Son of Man must be…crucified, and the third day rise again;” [Lk 24:7] and again, “The Son of Man must suffer many things…and be raised the third day.” [Lk 9:22] For when on the third day Jesus did not rise, if so be He was a liar as some men suppose, then why follow Him? He did not rise: He is a liar. If such were the case, sound and proper reasoning would conclude, forsake Him and His doctrine for He has not risen as He said He would. But the fact of the matter is that Jesus did indeed rise from the grave. His tomb remains empty, as Luke records, “and they entered in, and found not the body of The Lord Jesus;” [Lk 24:3] and again, as the angel pointed out to the women at the tomb, “be not affrighted: you are seeking Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen; He is not here…” [Mk 16:6]
Jesus’ resurrection, being central and significant to Christianity, is recorded for us in all the gospels. But let us further examine now Luke’s gospel, wherein the angels who were at Jesus’ empty tomb also bore witness to these events, saying to those who “entered in [to the tomb, but] did not find the body of The Lord Jesus,” “why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” [Lk 24:3, 5-6] And upon this word, the angel also added,
“Remember how He spoke unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” [Lk 24:6-7]
After His resurrection, He appeared to His disciples in addition to these women, and also many others; for Paul writes, “after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.” [1 Cor 15:6]. In Luke’s gospel we read an important account of one appearance of Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection, which shows that Jesus was not a spirit or ghost, as some suppose, but flesh indeed. Even as it is required for belief in Christ Jesus for salvation; as it is written, “hereby you know The Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,” and those spirits which “do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [are] not of God.” [1 Jn 4:2-3] Therefore, reading in Luke,
“And as they spoke, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘peace be unto you.’ But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, ‘why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me have.’” [Lk 24:36-39]
And again, after “they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb,” which “He…did eat before them,” [Lk 24:42-43] we read,
“And [He] said unto them, ‘thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are clothed with power from on high.’” [Lk 24:46-49]
Then after speaking, Jesus “was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” [Lk 24:51-52] These events are not stories or suppositions, but truthful facts from valid, reasonable first-person witnesses of these events. As Luke said, beginning his book,
“It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto you in order, most excellent Theophilus, that you might know the certainty of those things, wherein you have been instructed.” [Lk 1:3-4]
If Jesus had died and stayed dead, thus having been determined to be a liar, not having risen from the dead as was promised and prophesied, (for “He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” [1 Cor 15:4]), would not Jesus’ body have been easily discovered of The Pharisees, Jesus’ enemies; or even yet, His testimony not continued by the disciples to whom He promised such things? But as it is written, the Pharisees, upon hearing “all the things that were done,” did not seek to refute what was done, but rather, “gave large [amounts of] money unto the soldiers, saying, ‘say His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept.’” [Mt 28:11-13] And Jesus’ disciples, so convinced of Jesus’ resurrection and of the implications therein – mainly that Jesus was indeed The Christ and The Son of God – continued to believe in and confess and spread the gospel of Jesus even unto their violent deaths. For all the apostles who were with Jesus and “witness[es]…of His resurrection,” [Acts 1:22] witnesses that “God has raised from the dead [Jesus Christ, The Prince of Life],” [Acts 3:15] died violent deaths due to their confession and belief of Jesus (excluding John).
The following brief descriptions come from Fox’s Book of Martyrs. Paul, who was perhaps the most influential apostle, who also wrote a large portion of the New Testament letters, “was apprehended by the order of Nero, and beheaded.” The same Paul, who once murdered and hunted Christians for sport and under the guise of religion, was saved of Christ Jesus and turned into a passionate witness, eventually shedding blood for His Lord who saved him. This same Paul wrote beautifully of this, saying,
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” [1 Tim 1:12-15]
Jude, who was called Thaddeus, “was crucified at Edessa, A.D 72,” and joining him in like-manner, by crucifixion, was Bartholomew, Philip, Andrew, Peter, and Simon. In addition to these fates, it is written regarding James the Less, “at the age of ninety-four, he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.” Mark, “was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria;” Thomas “was martyred by being thrust through with a spear;” and Luke “is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree, by the idolatrous priests of Greece.” [Fox’s Book of Martyrs]
With these few examples, we see the horrid deaths faced bravely by these apostles, by those who, having seen Jesus’ passion and subsequent resurrection, took diligent heed to the word spoken, “fear none of those things which you shall suffer…be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life;” [Rev 2:10] and, “he that is overcoming shall not be hurt of the second death.” [Rev 2:11] One of Jesus’ reasons for coming was to “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” [Heb 2:15] And in glorious and vivid belief of such things, tremendously unafraid of death, these men found themselves slaughtered as their Lord, experiencing as Paul prayed that he might, “the fellowship of His sufferings.” [Phil 3:10] Jesus, having conquered death, gives promise, “every one which is seeing The Son, and believing on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” [Jn 6:40] And again Jesus says, “and I give unto [my sheep who believe on me] eternal life; and they shall never perish.” [Jn 10:28] Those who give their lives to believe in Christ Jesus shall experience the resurrection of life. This comes through Jesus alone, who said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that is believing in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” [Jn 11:25] And so, these twelve apostles, being so steadfastly encouraged by Jesus’ words and examples, knowing surely that He had risen from the dead, gave their life for their belief, sealing their testimonies with blood.
Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, conquering death. As it is written, “Christ is risen from the dead,” and, “in Christ shall all be made alive.” [1 Cor 15:20, 22] “God has both raised up The Lord [Jesus], and will also raise up [those who believe] by His own power.” [1 Cor 6:14] For those who believe in Jesus; for those who give their lives in belief and service to Him, following after Him as He said, it is promised,
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Cor 15:54-57]
Jesus’ resurrection is undisputable. A man certainly, unquestionably dead was three whole days later unquestionably alive, no good, enduring evidence on the contrary ever being validated. Honest men who have had nothing to gain, who were brutally slain for their belief, have testified to their death of Jesus’ resurrection, as have hundreds of other faithful, witnesses through the years gone by. This same Jesus who we have been describing thus far is the same Jesus that rose from the dead, that now sits in heaven, enthroned with His Father; as it says, “but this man, after that He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” [Heb 10:12]
Those who choose to believe such things shall be saved. Those who do not shall be damned for eternity. Those who choose to believe are given a great hope of resurrection and life with God in eternity to come. As it says, “for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which have died in Jesus will God bring with Him.” [1 Th 4:14] And again,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” [1 Pe 1:3]
Yes, and once more,
“That if you shall confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man continues to believe unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession continues to be made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whosoever is believing on Him shall not be ashamed…for the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved.” [Rom 10:9-13]
As we have said, let us say it once more: Jesus Christ, that man who was born to Joseph and Mary some two-thousand years ago in Bethlehem, of a truth was The Son of God, The Messiah, The Savior of all men; for through His sacrificial death and shedding of blood, and through His resurrection out from among the grave three days later, a man may be saved. Through a man’s continued confession and belief in Christ Jesus – of whom He is revealed to be in scripture and of these things which He accomplished in Israel – a man is saved. That is, saved from eternal hell and damnation, separation from God. For this Jesus died upon the cross, suffering the torment and hell of God’s everlasting wrath for your sins, dear reader, and has risen again from the dead – not risen to condemn you, but as Christ says, “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” [Jn 3:17] As Joseph said to his brother who betrayed him, so too the risen Christ would say to us who have likewise betrayed and killed Him: “be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves…for God did send me before you to preserve life.” [Gen 45:5] Jesus does not condemn you, good man; no, but He longs for you to accept His gracious offer and be saved, for He “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” [1 Tim 2:4] Therefore, believe in Him, in His death and resurrection, repent from your sinful ways and follow Him, and so be saved from the wrath to come. Jesus was not raised again for your condemnation, but for your salvation, if you would but accept: For He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” [Rom 4:25]