6 Reasons the Resurrection Matters

Dear friend,

How was your Easter weekend? Mine was joyful, despite the last month’s circumstances in my family being especially hard. I pray, too, that yours was equally joyful, no matter what you’ve been dealing with in your daily life, because it is the resurrection of our Lord that gives the greatest hope in every dark and difficult moment. 

To catch you up on my world and give you a bit of context for my writing today, my dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away on February 26. It was such a shock. He had just had a thorough doctor’s check in January, and as far as we knew, did not have any imminently life-threatening condition. The night before, he had been to Wednesday night church and his wife reported nothing unusual before turning in for bed. Yet, in the early hours of the morning, he died. It’s a great mystery, but whatever happened, it does seem as though he did not suffer.

In the weeks that followed, my father-in-law, who has Alzheimer’s and is in a nursing home, fell and was in the hospital for a few nights for observation after hitting his face terribly hard as he came down. Two days after that, my dear grandmother also fell and broke her femur requiring surgery. It’s been a tough time, to say the least!

Enter Easter. The appointed time we especially remember and celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. With sobriety, we remember He laid down His life for us. With exuberance we remember He took it back up again!

It’s because of that very act—taking His life back up again—that we have joy and comfort in this world, even when all seems dark and dim. It’s His resurrection that secures our salvation and gives us hope for a future without pain and suffering. His death paid the penalty for our sins, His resurrection proved His payment was sufficient!

In fact, Christ’s resurrection means all kinds of things.

This sweet reminder was given to me when my husband, Derek, shared a little mini message with us at the nursing home with my father-in-law, Stan, on Easter Sunday afternoon. We were gathered with Derek’s family to spend time with Stan and enjoy a time of worship together in a quiet corner (well, as quiet as a nursing home can be!). 

We sang together and reflected on Christ as Derek reminded us of 6 reasons why the resurrection matters. It was a blessing to me, and so I thought I might just repackage it and share it here, in hopes that it would bless you, too, my dear reader!

And so, here we have six reasons why the resurrection matters (and what to do about it!).

1. The resurrection proved that Jesus is God | Revere Him!

When Jesus rose from the dead, it proved He was God. Who else could lay down his own life and take it back up again! None but God Himself. We worship Christ, because Christ is God. Let us love and worship Him every day with our thoughts, actions, and interactions; indeed, with our whole lives!

“His Son…was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” - Romans 1:4

2. The resurrection proved that the Bible is true | Trust Scripture!

The Bible testifies to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It was foretold in the Old Testament, narrated in the Gospels, and proclaimed in the Epistles. If Jesus was not raised, our beloved book is full of lies and we are wasting our time with it. But Jesus WAS raised, and it is all true. Every word of it! So then, read it, love it, trust it!

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” - 1 Corinthians 15:14-15

3. The resurrection validated your faith | Nurture faith!

Futile faith. Wouldn’t that be a tragedy! Our whole lives spent on something that doesn’t matter. But it DOES matter, because Jesus did what He said He would do! Therefore, our faith is not futile, but precious. The nature of faith, though, is that we believe what we cannot see. And so, let’s nurture that faith daily. Because if we don’t, the things we can see and feel and taste and touch—both the trials and the delights of this world—will seek to pull us away and keep us from knowing the fullness of life we have in Christ. 

“For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile…” - 1 Corinthians 15:16-17a

4. The resurrection facilitated your forgiveness | Hate sin!

Sin requires a payment. Christ’s death on the cross satisfied that payment for all who believe in Him. Without the resurrection, though, Jesus would have just been another human and his death would not have been able to accomplish its purpose. But Jesus was not just another human… He is also God! And so He died, taking our punishment, but then He rose! Proving His deity, and securing our salvation. 

If our sin mattered so much the perfect Son of God had to lay His life down for it, let’s hate that very sin. Let’s run from anything that put our Savior on the cross. 

“… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” - 1 Corinthians 15:17b

5. The resurrection enabled your resurrection | Hope always!

If Christ is the “first” of “firstfruits” then that implies there will be a second. And a third, and fourth, and on and on! Because Jesus rose from the dead, others will follow. And what awaits us in that resurrection is more glorious than anything we could ever imagine in this world. With that knowledge tucked in our hearts, we have hope for every day. So let’s remember our risen Lord, and let Him carry us through every stormy trial of today.

“…if Christ has not been raised…Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” - 1 Corinthians 15:18-20

6. The resurrection ensured your judgment | Claim Him!

There is a day coming when all the world will be judged. Unbelievers according to their works (Revelation 20:12), believers according to Christ (John 6:40)! I would much rather be judged according to my Lord’s righteousness than my own, because I have none. And neither do you! But oh, praise be to God who has given us the righteousness of His own Son if we just believe (2 Corinthians 5:21)! What a gift. Let’s be bold about our Savior and claim Him before others, so that they can believe, too. He is a God worth serving. Worth loving. Worth everything!

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” - Acts 17:30-31

And so, dear friend, I hope that as you ponder these things, your heart fills with joy no matter what you face, because Jesus is alive!

As the beloved hymn says, because He lives, we can face tomorrow!

“Because He lives,
I can face tomorrow!
Because He lives,
All fear is gone.
Because I know
He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!"

**“Because He Lives,” words and music by Bill and Gloria Gaither