[Res·ur·rect]

verb. To restore a dead person to life: to raise from the dead: bring back to life

A Peculiar Claim

The resurrection is one of the central claims of Christianity, which is that Jesus Christ who claimed to be God incarnate, died by crucifixion and rose from the dead three days later. And if you grew up going to church, the resurrection may be one of those terms you hear over and over again. Unfortunately, that also means that the peculiarity of the claim may get lost. But to claim that the resurrection was a historical, physical event is extraordinary. After all, when was the last time you saw a dead person come back to life?

Why it’s Important

The resurrection is the event on which the entire Christian belief hinges. Apostle Paul famously wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19 regarding the resurrection, that if the resurrection is not true, then all that Christians live for and believe in is in vain, for “if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” This also means that if someone were to find the remains of Jesus’ body, then the whole of Christianity would be proven false. In fact, the resurrection is what makes Christianity the only religion based on a historical claim: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And like any historical event, it is testable through the historical method.

So clearly, the resurrection is very central to Christians, which is why we celebrate Good Friday and Easter – they represent the salvation we have in the cross, the hope we have in the resurrection, and the extraordinary claim of Christianity that has continued to impact billions of lives and has shaped our history and culture since its explosive spread after Jesus’ death. 

Resources

The weeks leading up to Good Friday and Easter are also important times for us to reflect, remember, and remind ourselves of the miracle and gift of our salvation. At Gracepoint, we’ve gotten to develop over the years different resources to use in the weeks leading up to Passion Week (the week before Easter). These include an online Passion Experience, a Passion Reader with many excerpts by famous Christians and their reflections on the cross, and an online version of the Passion Reader. We’ll link all of these resources for you here as they’ve been helpful for many of our church members to take time out of our day to properly reflect and prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter.