Jesus Rose: Why Should I Care?

For [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

Acts 17:31

Christianity is the only religion based on the death and resurrection of its founder. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is unique: no other person has ever been raised from the dead in this manner. Jesus Christ alone has conquered death and entered into the new order of resurrection life.

In the Apostles’ Creed we declare, “I believe in Jesus Christ . . . [who on] the third day . . . rose again from the dead.” If Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, why should we care? Of what relevance is it to us? The answer is intimated in the Creed’s further declaration: “I believe in . . . the resurrection of the body.” Our resurrection, both spiritual and physical, is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for we are united to him by saving faith: “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5).

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

Unbelieving scholars reject the idea of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The late professor George Eldon Ladd said in his Theology of the New Testament that unbelieving scholars claim that the resurrection cannot be historical because it is not caused by any historical event and is without analogy. Such “scientific” historians will not accept a divine cause bringing about an effect in our universe because, according to these modern Athenians, the universe is a closed system in whose affairs God is not permitted to intervene. Modern man interprets history in terms of continuity and analogy, as an unbroken nexus of cause and effect. Therefore, unbelieving scholars will accept the death of Jesus but not his resurrection. To them, the resurrection of Jesus is a myth.

In the same way, these scholars also rule out every miracle in the Scriptures. They want to eliminate God from his own universe, even though he created it and upholds it. They refuse to let God act in history. Of them the psalmist declares, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God'” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1), and Paul says, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20).

The Testimony of Scripture

But the Scripture clearly testifies concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All four gospels record it; in fact, every gospel writer works toward the goal of proclaiming this truth. All four gospels speak of the empty tomb and the appearances of Jesus Christ to his disciples. As Dr. Ladd says, “If Christ is not risen from the dead, the long course of God’s redemptive acts to save his people ends in a dead-end street, in a tomb” (Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, Revised Edition [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974, rev. 1993] p. 354). He continues, “An objective act took place in a garden outside of Jerusalem in which the crucified and entombed Jesus emerged from the grave into a new order of life” (p. 355).

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus himself foretold his death and resurrection over half a dozen times. The Scriptures also record what the angel said to the women who came to the tomb: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” Finally, the Scriptures document that the Jewish Christians, though they were strict traditionalists, changed their day of worship from the seventh to the first day of the week in view of Christ’s emergence from the tomb on the first day.

The Empty Tomb

Many try to discredit the resurrection by claiming Jesus’ body was stolen from the tomb. Dr. Leon Morris makes the point that if the body of Jesus was stolen, it had to have been stolen either by his friends or by his foes. Otherwise, Jesus did truly rise from the dead.

What about friends stealing the body? The disciples were not expecting Jesus to come back to life, and the women came, not to see the risen Christ, but to anoint his dead body. The tomb was guarded by soldiers and sealed; how could the disciples steal the body? Not only that, the apostles died for their testimony about the resurrection of Christ. Why would anyone die for a lie? It does not have the power to make one suffer martyrdom. What about enemies stealing the dead body of Christ? Several times the apostles appeared before the Sanhedrin, who were troubled by the apostolic proclamation that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. But the Sanhedrin did not suggest that the friends of Jesus stole his body. Additionally, if enemies had stolen the body, the Sanhedrin could have produced it and put an end to the whole rise of Christianity, because the heart of Christianity is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Sanhedrin did not do any of these things. The truth is, as Dr. Morris says, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. There is no other explanation. (Morris,“Resurrection”, in The New Bible Dictionary, J.D. Douglas, editor [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962], 1086-1089).

The Appearances of Jesus

The empty tomb is only half the story. Scripture attests that after he was raised from the dead, Jesus appeared to his dispirited, dejected, unbelieving apostles at least ten times. He invited them to verify the reality of his resurrection body by touching him, to prove that he was not a ghost. The disciples saw him and heard him, and ate and drank with him. Doubting Thomas put away his doubts and confessed, “My Lord and my God!” And the Scripture tells us how these disciples, who never expected Christ’s resurrection, were so transformed by these appearances that they were willing to die for the gospel.

Jesus also appeared to his brother James, who apparently was an unbeliever, and James believed. Finally, he appeared to Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant man who was born a Roman citizen and who graduated from the prestigious universities of Tarsus and Jerusalem. As an enemy of Jesus Christ, he vigorously opposed the resurrection and persecuted Christians. But when Jesus appeared to him, Saul became so convinced of the truth of the resurrection that he became an apostle of Christ and suffered martyrdom for his faith.

Repentance and the Resurrection

What practical difference does the resurrection of Jesus Christ make in our lives? The answer to this question can be found in Paul’s address to the Athenian council that met on Areopagus Hill (Acts 17).

The Residents of Athens

By the time Paul arrived in Athens in the first century A.D., the city was long removed from the glory it enjoyed during its Golden Age of the fifth century B.C. Conquered by the Romans in 146 B.C., the Athenians of Paul’s day were philosophers and idolaters with far too much time on their hands. They were always seeking the latest news-not truth, but mere intellectual titillation.

The disciples of Epicurus, a philosopher of the fourth and third centuries B.C., were there in Athens. Sensualists and materialists, their chief end was to enjoy pleasure and avoid pain. Their motto would be, “If it feels good, do it.” They were utilitarian pragmatists who did not believe in the soul, in God, in heaven, or in hell. They did not believe in the resurrection of the body or in a future judgment. They maintained that once a person dies, that was it. Like most modern Western people, they were practical atheists.

Also living in Athens were the Stoics, disciples of Zeno, another philosopher of the fourth and third centuries B.C. Stoics were fatalistic realists, whose chief end was to live in harmony with nature while depending on reason. They strove to maintain a state of mind that could not be disturbed by pleasure or pain. They reasoned that although life is full of troubles, instead of avoiding them, one must just endure. “Grin and bear it” would be the slogan of a Stoic. Stoics saw no need for salvation. They were very proud of their self-sufficiency, self-control, and “I can do it” attitude. As pantheists, they did not believe in a resurrection of the body or in a Creator/creature distinction.

Finally, there were the idolaters. There were more idols in Athens than people-idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and marble. Romans 1:23 aptly describes such people: “They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” Thus, first century Athens was in a state of total moral degeneracy.

The Testimony of Paul

When Paul saw all the Athenian idols, he grew angry because the Athenians were dishonoring the true God by refusing to glorify him and give him thanks. So Paul began to preach both in the synagogue and in the marketplace. He spoke of Jesus Christ crucified, dead, and risen, and how the Athenians could have salvation through Christ over against the superstitions of philosophy and idolatry.

This is what all true Christians must do. I hope we are bothered enough by the ungodly ideologies, idolatry and materialism we see around us-in the world, in the workplace, and even in our families-to take action by presenting the gospel.

Some who heard Paul called him a babbler-one who picks up scraps of ideas and peddles them as his own. They brought him before the Athenian commission on religion and morals, which met on Areopagus Hill and began an informal inquiry into his “foolish” teaching. Paul’s reply to this Athenian council is found in Acts 17:22-31. The main points can be summarized as follows:

1. God is infinite and personal. This was something that the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers refused to believe.
2. God is the Creator of all that exists. The universe and everything in it was created by God’s command. This directly opposes our modern doctrines of evolution, the eternity of matter, and a closed universe.
3. God is the sustainer of life. The whole creation is sustained and nourished by God, who upholds it by the word of his power. Jesus said that God’s rain falls and his sun shines upon both the good and the wicked; he gives bread to all and supplies all our needs. So the universe is not a closed system. People speak as if it was, and God allows them to do so even as he supports them. He upholds people even as they express their hatred toward him.
4. God is self-sufficient and independent. He who gives life and sustenance to everyone is not in need of anyone’s help.
5. God is the sovereign ordainer and controller of all things. God controls not only the physical universe, but of nations and men as well. God alone controls history, decreeing when and where and whether individuals or nations should exist (Daniel 2).
6. God is the judge of the world. The idolatrous Athenians were proud of their intelligence, but Paul said they were ignorant. That is exactly the word we must use to refer to any person who negates God by his intelligence. (PGM) Such people may profess to be wise, but God calls them fools, because they are ignorant of reality. Paul told the Athenians that although God had overlooked such ignorance in the past, they were still culpable, for theyshould have known God through creation and conscience. God in his mercy did not wipe them out, as he did the antediluvian world and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But now the Athenians had no excuse, for Paul was there preaching the gospel to them.

   The days of God overlooking our ignorance are over as well. In the midpoint of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law. So the present time is one of great significance. Jesus Christ, the God/man, died for our sins and was raised from the dead, proving his deity, righteousness, and lordship. Just as the Athenians were no longer ignorant of the truth because Paul brought them the gospel, so are we. We must make a decision based on the gospel, either to surrender completely to Christ and be saved, or be judged.

7. God commands us to repent. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Lord of the world, and God commands everyone everywhere to repent and believe in him. There is no other way of salvation. Note, God is not inviting or pleading. Hecommands everyone to surrender to him and be saved.

The Meaning of Repentance

The members of the Athenian council were the intelligentsia of the time. But God’s command to “repent” proves they were wrong in every aspect of their thinking-wrong about God, wrong about man, and wrong about the world. Repentance means we must change our entire outlook on life. Through Paul, God was telling them, “People of Athens, you are wrong about everything. You who are Epicureans, Stoics, and idolaters are blind to reality. You are fools. You are not enlightened; you are sinfully ignorant. You must change your thinking, philosophy, and practice. God commands you to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In Acts 26:20 Paul spoke about true repentance: “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Note, there are several steps involved: First, we must turn away from evil, ignorance, idols, and sin; second, we must turn to the living and true God; and third, we must proveour repentance by holy living. If we have not repented in this manner, then we have not truly repented and our salvation is false-there is no difference between us and unbelieving pagans.

Why Should We Care about the Resurrection?

Why, then, should we repent and believe? Paul tells us: “For [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). God has appointed a judgment day, and it is unchanging. This judgment will be based on justice according to truth, for God is truth, and it will be final. The Judge is already chosen for that purpose: he is the God/man, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). And the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee that all will be judged. So Christ’s resurrection is a divine threat to every person in the world who will not repent and believe on him.

Why should we care about the resurrection of Jesus? Because it is an announcement of divine judgment against all who do not repent and believe in him. The text says it is a guarantee. Today is the day of mercy and grace so that we might repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. But if we refuse, we must meet him as the righteous Judge on that fixed day.

What the Resurrection Proves

Jesus prophesied his own death and resurrection, and each of the four gospels records his resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of Christ proves the veracity of all his teachings. It proves that he is not just a man, but the God/man, very God and very man, one person in two natures. The resurrection proves that he was sinless and righteous, that he is our Savior who made atonement for us. It proves that he conquered death and is Lord over it, and that he is coming again in power and in great glory to judge the living and the dead.

The resurrection of Christ proves that there is a hell, for Jesus taught about hell more than anyone else. It proves that there is a heaven and angels, and a devil and demons, for Jesus spoke about these things. The resurrection of Christ proves that he came from heaven and went back to heaven, just as he said he would, and that he is now seated on the right hand of God the Father, ruling and reigning, with all things under his feet.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that all who believe in him shall have eternal life. It also proves that those who reject him shall be condemned. The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior and Judge.

Jesus himself tells us, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him” (Matthew 25:31-32). Everyone will be summoned, and they must come. Everyone who died will be raised up. In John 5:28 Jesus said, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out.”

It will be an effectual calling. On that day the Judge of all the earth will call, “Come out!” and all will come-all the scientists, politicians, and philosophers; all the Epicureans, Stoics, and idolaters; all who died in the ocean and all who died on the land. They will call for the mountains to fall on them, but the mountains cannot hide them from the sight of the Lord of glory.

Scripture declares that there are two effectual calls. One results in salvation, the other in judgment: “Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:29); “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32); “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels'” (Matthew 25:41); “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

Three Responses to the Gospel

How did the Athenians respond to Paul’s message? “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered” (Acts 17:32). “Sneered” is in the imperfect tense, which means they kept on mocking Paul, saying: “He is just an idiot and a babbler. He is an uneducated nobody.” The Sanhedrin said the same thing about Peter and John in Acts 4:13, calling them “unlearned idiots.”

Other members of the council were more diplomatic. They courteously dismissed Paul, saying, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” But we can surmise that he was not invited back to speak. But only a few believed and joined with Paul.

What about you? If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, I hope you will understand that today is your day of salvation and put your trust in Christ today. Unlike the Athenians, I hope you will say, “On this very date I committed my life to Jesus Christ. I surrendered to him and I have been saved. My sins are forgiven.”

If you have already surrendered your life to Christ, then rejoice in your salvation! First Corinthians 1:26-29 tells us: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” This is speaking about you and me. Praise God for choosing the nothings of this world! Powerful, influential, brilliant people generally do not receive Jesus Christ. But God has chosen us and united us to him in his death, burial, and resurrection. We have been made alive in Christ by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

We are no strangers to this resurrection power. It is the power by which we are changed and enabled to live the Christian life. So we love and obey God by that power. We pray to God by that power. We proclaim the gospel by that power. We say “No” to sin by that power. And one day we will experience the resurrection power in its fullness when he comes again. We will rise from the grave and will receive our glorious, imperishable, deathless bodies-bodies like unto that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I pray that today you will repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. And if you have already trusted in Christ, then you can rejoice, for Christ is risen and we are risen with him. He is coming again for us, and our salvation is sure. But if you reject him, I want to warn you that you must meet him on that fixed day. When he summons, you will come, and God’s word declares that you will be condemned to the eternal fire. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. May you surrender to him today and be saved. Amen.