Post 30: Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Image: Image of the empty tomb of Christ with the large stone rolled away, visual of the cross, and the sun shining into the tomb. The words "He is risen", are shown with the scripture reference Matthew 28:6 and the website name "bytesofsalvation.com" shown in the bottom left corner.
Summary: This post discusses a bit about the observance of East, and the biblical significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, offering a summary of the events of His resurrection and what His resurrection means for believers in Christ.
Observance of Easter
Easter is a Christian celebration honoring Jesus' resurrection from the dead, which occurred on the third day after His crucifixion and burial.¹ Easter is generally celebrated on the Sunday following Palm Sunday (See my post title Significance of Palm Sunday for details) and Good Friday (see my post titled "Celebrating Good Friday" for details). This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 5, 2026.
Many Christian denominations have a variety of special/unique Easter services that include messages geared towards the resurrection of Christ. For example, according to Wikipedia, "The traditional, liturgical observation of Easter, as practiced among Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and some Anglicans begins on the night of Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil which follows an ancient liturgy involving symbols of light, candles and water and numerous readings from the Old and New Testament", with services continuing on Sunday.¹
OT Scripture references on resurrection
After a bit of searching scripture, I found a few old testament scriptures that speak to God's power and authority over death and His ability to resurrect the dead. Isaiah 26:19 tells us that the "…dead shall live; their bodies shall rise...and the earth will give birth to the dead." In Ezekiel 37:1-14, the Lord causes Ezekiel to have a vision of a scorched long-dead valley of full of bones and then the Lord through Ezekiel causes the bones to live, showing that God intends to resurrect His people.
Daniel 12:2 says “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”, implying that there will be a future resurrection of all people, some to heaven and some to hell.
Jesus is the Resurrection
During His earthly ministry, as told in the Gospels, Jesus makes several statements that indicate His power over death. He declares himself to be the resurrection saying, "I am the resurrection and the life..." (John 11:25-26). In John 5:21,Jesus says, "For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will", confirming that He also has the power and authority to bring people back from the dead. Jesus also warns His disciples several times of His upcoming crucifixion and resurrection, telling them that He must suffer in Jerusalem and be killed, and then be raised on the third day (Matthew 16:21-23, Matthew 17: 22-23, Matthew 20:17-19).
The Sadducees question Jesus about the resurrection in Matthew 22:23-33. Believing there is no resurrection, the Sadducees present a scenario where a man who died having no children had 7 brothers. Their law states that the surviving brother must marry the widow and raise offspring, however none of the 7 brothers who also ended up being with the widow had offspring before their deaths, and then the woman died. The Sadducees then inquire as to whose wife she would be in the resurrection since all of the brothers had married her at one point in her life. Jesus then tells them that there is no marrying or giving away in marriage in the resurrection, for we will be like angels in heaven.
Jesus also demonstrates His divine authority over death through raising three people from the dead. Lazarus had been dead for four days, and Jesus went to his tomb and said with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out, raising him from the dead (John 11:38-44). In another example, Jairus' daughter died while Jesus was enroute to their house, but Jesus goes to their house anyway and raises the girl back to life (Mark 5:35-43). In this final example, the only son of a widow dies, and during his funeral procession, Jesus raises her son back to life (Luke 7:11-17).
Revelation 1:17-18 might be one of my favorite verses on Jesus' power over death, where it says "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." The context of this verse is that the Apostle John had been in exile on the Island of Patmos, and there received a vision of God's redemptive plan for creation which began with seeing the resurrected and ascended Christ.
A couple of other verses that I like concerning the resurrection of Christ are Romans 14:9 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Romans 14:9 states “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 tells us “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." These two verses also help to show us the authority that Jesus has over death.
Fulfillment of Jesus' Resurrection
The resurrection power that follows Jesus is also on full display as Jesus dies on the cross. Matthew 27:52-53 tells us that following Jesus' own crucifixion, tombs opening up with saints being raised from the dead and appearing to many in the holy city.
The bible tells us that Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day. Each of the four Gospels presents account of Jesus being resurrected, with people arriving at His tomb on the morning of the third day to find it empty and angels appearing at the tomb as well (Matthew 28:1-6, Mark 16:1-6, Luke 24:1-7, John 20:1-10).
After Jesus' resurrection, he appeared to many people. Matthew 28:8-10 speaks of Jesus appearing to two women shortly after they had departed His empty tomb to tell the disciples that He had been raised. Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:12-20, Luke 24:36-49, and John 20:19-23 talk about Jesus appearing to His disciples shortly after His resurrection. The Bible also tells us that Jesus appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Significance of the Resurrection
Christ’s resurrection is described in the bible as the "firstfruits" of those who have died, with a comparison is made between death coming through Adam and life coming through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).¹ Thessalonians 4:13-18 explains that those who believe in Jesus are given eternal life and will also be raised from the dead, providing the promise of eternal hope to the believer.
One significant aspect of the resurrection power is that the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead has now been available to believers through faith in Christ. Before Jesus died, he promised that the He ask the Father in heaven to send a helper to guide us in truth, help us live as believers, and remember Jesus's teachings (John 14:26). Being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, believers are also given a guarantee of eternal life and assured of their future redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5).
Having faith in Christ and His resurrection from the dead also enables the believer to have victory over sin. There are several verses that speak to the believer in Christ being able to die to sin and walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15). The bible also says that believers will have victory over death through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57, Romans 8:11, 1 Peter 1:3).
Resurrection unto life or judgement
The bible speaks about all people being resurrected, some resurrected to eternal life and some to judgement (John 5:28-29, Acts 24:15). The resurrection to eternal life guarantee comes only to those who believe in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross paying the penalty of our sins, and was raised again, defeating sin and death and offering salvation (John 3:16-17, John 5:24). Those who continue to reject the salvation that only Jesus can offer (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) will remain under Gods condemnation and will one day be resurrected to judgement (John 3:18, Acts 24:15).
Conclusion
What you believe while God graciously grants you breath in your lungs will determine whether you will be raised unto life or unto judgement (Hebrews 9:27). If you are a believer already, be encouraged in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and know that our final deliverance from sin and death is coming soon! If you are not a believer, I urge you to turn from your unbelief to believe in Christ alone to be reconciled back to God, and therefore included in the resurrection unto eternal life!
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