After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.
Easter is the highest and most sacred holy day of the Christian calendar. It is, after all, a celebration of the most important event in Christian history and theology—the resurrection. I intentionally state that on Easter we celebrate “the resurrection” rather than more specifically “the resurrection of Jesus” because what happened on the first Easter Sunday has implications that extend beyond just the resurrection of the crucified Messiah.
All of the Gospels end with an account of the resurrection of Jesus. One could in fact say that the entire Gospel story moves inexorably toward this event. In our preaching and teaching today we don’t hear much about the resurrection unless, of course, it is Easter Sunday. We tend to focus on the fact that Jesus died for our sins and this is the appeal we often make to unbelievers as we present the gospel to them. While this fact is indeed true and important, without the resurrection of Jesus the crucifixion has no meaning. In writing to the Corinthian church, Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (I Cor 15.14 TNIV).
Luke also understood the importance of the resurrection as demonstrated in his two-volume work, Luke-Acts. He recounts two distinct episodes at the end of his Gospel that demonstrate that Jesus rose from the dead; however, he does not leave us there but in the beginning of Acts he tells us that Jesus spent forty days with his disciples “after his suffering” and “presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” It was important that the early disciples be convinced of the resurrection because it is there testimony on which our faith depends.
Believing in the resurrection didn’t come easily for them. At first they were afraid, thought they were seeing a ghost, and did not believe (Lk 24.37, 40). However, the powerful stories of Acts reveal to us that they did indeed become convinced. The centrality of the resurrection stands out in nearly every sermon in Acts.
Why, then, is the resurrection so important?
First, the resurrection of Jesus is the sign that sin has been overcome. We learn from Genesis that the penalty of sin is death and Paul writes in 1 Cor 15.25-26 that Jesus will reign until he has put all enemies under his feet and the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Jesus offered himself as a sinless sacrifice on the cross for our redemption but he was buried and raised again for our justification (Rom 4.25). By taking on himself the penalty of sin and defeating death through the resurrection, he purchases our salvation. As Paul writes, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” This is what we celebrate on Easter weekend.
Second, the resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee of our resurrection. The hope of the resurrection is the goal of our faith. In an article published in Christianity Today (March 24, 2008), Heaven is Not Our Home, N. T. Wright reminds us that the goal of our faith, often forgotten in modern Christian thinking, is not heaven but the resurrection. This is the explicit teaching of Scripture. Jesus says to Martha concerning the recent death of her brother, Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
Finally, Jesus provided “many convincing proofs” to his disciples that he was alive but what about those of us who have never seen the risen Christ? God provides us with proof of the resurrection through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that the presence of the Holy Spirit in us is proof positive that we belong to Christ and will live forever. To the Romans he writes, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
As we celebrate
Let us be reminded that what happened on Easter weekend nearly two thousand years ago is the heart of the gospel message. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are locked arm-in-arm for without the one there is not the other. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor 15.3-4). On the events of this one weekend rests all our hope. Those who believe in Jesus have this hope guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. This hope of the resurrection gives us hope not only in this life but in the life to come. While we must shed this mortal body, we live in hope that life does not end at death but continues on through Jesus and the promise of the resurrection to come.
