Through the early morning mist, three women sorrowfully trudged towards the burial tomb of their beloved Lord. They had come to anoint His body with sweet spices. As they walked, did they wonder, “How could our Lord have died?” “How could His own people, the people He loved have turned on Him?”

Yet as they neared the tomb, did a glimmer of hope stir within Mary Magdalene’s soul? 

Suddenly, before their eyes stood the tomb, the stone rolled away. And by the sepulchre sat a man in dazzling white raiment, who proclaimed “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” 

In one moment, sorrow turned to supreme joy. Tragedy became triumph. For their Lord and ours was risen for the dead, risen for evermore. 

This reality of the resurrection would forever change the lives of these women, the apostles, and millions more for time to come. This glorious reality profoundly affects our lives today. 

The Remarkable Resurrection 

Of all world religions, Christianity is the only religion in which the God of that religion became a man to die for His people. Further, Christ is the only God who demonstrated His power over death for all time. 

The resurrection stands as the critical linchpin of Christianity. If it is false, the gospel is a charade. But if it stands true—as it does—then life itself is forever changed.

I Corinthians 15:16-20 says, “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “The resurrection is a fact better attested than any event recorded in any history, whether ancient or modern.” 

Christ is risen indeed! Therefore, the resurrection is more than a one-time historical event; it is a glorious reality whose power continues to change us. As German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer asserted, “Outside of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I know of no other hope for mankind.”

The resurrection transforms reality in three distinct ways.

1. Resurrection Power Over Death 

Charles Spurgeon once said, “We Christians do not believe that Jesus Christ was the only one that ever rose from the dead. We believe that every death-bed is a resurrection; that from every grave the stone, is rolled away.” In the words of Christian apologist CS Lewis, “He [Christ] has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.”

Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” As Hebrews 2:9 says, Christ “tasted death for every man.” In John 14:19, Christ assured His disciples, “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.”

The resurrections sets Christ apart from every self-proclaimed messiah or prophet throughout history. While deceivers may be able to perform “signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9), only Christ can conquer the grave for all eternity. 

2. Resurrection Power in Our Lives

How could Peter deny his Lord on the eve of Christ’s crucifixion, yet boldly proclaim Christ’s message only fifty days later at Pentecost? How could the apostles go from forsaking Christ in Gethsemane to “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41)?

The answer lies in the resurrection. Christ’s triumph over death transformed cowering weaklings into ambassadors of grace. 

Though once a zealous persecutor of God’s church, the transformed Paul yearned to “know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10). For this, the resurrection, and for the glory and pain accompanying it, Paul was willing to discard all that he once held dear. Later, Paul would write to the Romans, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).

3. Resurrection Power Through the Gospel

When He ascended to heaven, did Christ leave His apostles to simply bask in the memory of the resurrection? Indeed not! Christ left them with a charge. The Great Commission was predicated on Christ’s all-encompassing authority “in heaven and in earth,” a divine authority proved beyond doubt by His resurrection. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20). 

This Commission is the joyous duty of every believer. We must preach the gospel of Christ in its fulness to a lost and dying world. For every soul, the choice is stark, with eternity hanging in the balance. Repent, believe on Christ the Son of God, and enter eternal life, or reject Him, and perish in hell. The resurrection empowers believers to proclaim these truths.

Further, the resurrection empowers us to disciple the nations, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” For a life touched by Christ must be a transformed life.

The Resurrection: The Only Hope

Ravi Zacharias noted, “Outside of the cross of Jesus Christ, there is no hope in this world. That cross and resurrection at the core of the Gospel is the only hope for humanity. Wherever you go, ask God for wisdom on how to get that Gospel in, even in the toughest situations of life.”

The hope of the resurrection assures our souls and empowers our entire being to be “stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,” knowing that our labour “is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).

And to further prove His goodness, God’s creation points to the resurrection power of the Lord of Life. In the words of Martin Luther, “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.”

Question: What does it mean to live in the power of the resurrection?