Following Jesus’ death, He was buried, and His tomb was closely guarded (Matt. 27:62-66). While the extra security prevented any possibility of Jesus’ body being stolen by His disciples, it did not stop God from raising His Son from the dead. As an angel said to Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ mother Mary, “Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath been crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, even as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matt. 28:5-6).
After His resurrection, Christ appeared to over five hundred brethren, including His apostles (1 Cor. 15:5-8). They bore witness to the truth of His resurrection. Through the written Word, we can have the same faith in Christ’s resurrection that His apostles did (John 20:29-31).
Through the written Word, we can also see the significance of His resurrection. Notice 1 Thessalonians 4:14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
Christ was the first to be raised to never die again. Because He was raised, the righteous have hope of being raised to eternal life in heaven on the Day of Judgment (1 Cor. 15:20).
As the hymn says, “Hallelujah! Christ arose!”
– Michael Hickox