Why The Resurrection Is Important

Luke 24:1-10

Today, Christians across the country and around the world proclaim “He is risen!”  However, during the early hours on that day of Jesus’ Resurrection, that thought was not in anyone’s mind.  The people who were the closest to Jesus, whose hopes and dreams were all closely tied to Him, were now in the depths of despair.  That was all going to change, though, as they came to hear and believe the good news that Jesus had, indeed, risen from the dead. Everything He had said to them was true, and would change their lives for eternity. The Resurrection. How has it changed your life? Perhaps it hasn’t at all, and is only something you barely think about one Sunday a year. Let’s take a look at the resurrection today.

The women in our Scripture passage were not expecting to find Jesus risen from the dead (vs. 1).  They were bringing spices to anoint His dead body, which they were unable to do late Friday and Saturday due to the Sabbath. This was an act of love and devotion to Jesus, even though they hadn’t believed or paid attention to His words that after He was crucified He would rise again the third day. When they arrived at the gravesite, which was a like a room hollowed out of a cliff, they saw the stone rolled away, and a couple of men within. These men were really angels, appearing as men, and they had come to tell the women that Jesus had risen from the dead as He had said He would (vs. 5-7).

The women wanted to find Jesus to show a final act of devotion to Him, and they went to the grave.  He was not there. He was no longer dead. The women needed Jesus, but they were looking in the wrong place.  The angels asked the women why they were seeking the living among the dead. That is a question for us. Are we seeking what our heart truly desires and needs from the living Savior, or are we seeking it from the lifeless things of this world?

Why is the resurrection important to believers today?  We know why it was important for Jesus to die on the cross in order to pay the penalty for sin.  But what was important about the resurrection? For one, it showed that the Father was satisfied with the atonement of Jesus’ Blood for our sins.  The payment was made and accepted. Because of the resurrection we know that the kingdom of heaven has broken into human history. Those who have believed in Jesus are redeemed, and are not damned for eternity.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead shows that Satan and death itself has been conquered.  Jesus is the first fruits, or the first in a long line of those who will rise from the dead (I Corinthians 15:20). Because Jesus was raised, believers will also be raised from the dead and live with Him forever.

The resurrection of Jesus gives authority to the church’s witness.  It was the central message of the early church, and should be just as important a part of our message to the lost today.  It assures us that Jesus is alive and ruling His kingdom. He is not just a legend from the past. The resurrection gives meaning to the Lord’s Supper which Jesus instructed us to commemorate.  We break bread with a risen Savior, not the memory of someone long dead.

Finally, the power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us, to help us live in this wicked world today.  The resurrection of Jesus from the dead also helps us find meaning in the midst of tragedies we encounter throughout life. No matter what happens in life, the resurrection gives hope for the future. We serve a risen Savior, who walks with us throughout all of our life.