What does the Bible teach us about the Resurrection?

Answer 1

He taught us that He is capable of doing it. He promised that He would extend resurrection to anyone believing in Him (John 6:44).

Answer 2

Answer:

That death to the physical body here on planet earth is NOT the end of consciousness, not the sum total of all life. Resurrection relates to a rebirth, drastic changes in a person such that the old "persona" is gone. Christ's resurrection teaches that God is above us, that Christ was holy as we have been told to be, and that God is all-powerful; who else can resurrect the dead (3 days later?)

Answer 3

A:

The first New Testament gospel to be written was Mark's Gospel, which originally ended at verse 16:8 with the young man telling the women that Jesus was risen and they fled in terror, telling no one. The 'Long Ending' (verses 16:9-20) that we now use was added to the gospel long afterwards to add details about the resurrection.

Scholars have established that the other New Testament gospels were based directly (Matthew, Luke) or indirectly (John) on Mark. Since the authors of these gospels would have known nothing about the mission of Jesus apart from what they learnt from Mark, the resurrection stories simply show the power of human imagination. The very considerable discrepancies from the resurrection account in Matthew to that in Luke and from both to that in John, are testament to this.

Answer 4

A:Beyond faith, to learn any lessons from the resurrection of Jesus we should establish what exactly happened at the resurrection. There are two different stories that tell us about the resurrection - the story of the empty tomb and the story of the post-resurrection appearances.

The first gospel to be written, now known as Mark's Gospel, has the women go to the tomb, to find the stone already rolled away and a young man alone inside. Matthew's Gospel says that the women went to the tomb and as they arrived there was an earthquake and an angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone, telling them to go back and say that Jesus was risen. Luke says that the women found two men inside; the men said that Jesus was risen. Later, Peter ran to the tomb to see for himself. John says that only Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and, seeing the stone already moved, she did not look inside but returned to tell the disciples. Peter and the beloved disciple ran together to the tomb. The discrepancies in the gospel accounts of the empty tomb prompted Archbishop Peter Carnley to write:

"The presence of discrepancies might be a sign of historicity if we had four clearly independent but slightly different versions of the story, if only for the reason that four witnesses are better than one. But, of course, it is now impossible to argue that what we have in the four gospel accounts of the empty tomb are four contemporaneous but independent accounts of the one event. Modern redactional studies of the traditions account for the discrepancies as literary developments at the hand of later redactors of what was originally one report of the empty tomb...There is no suggestion that the tomb was discovered by different witnesses on four different occasions, so it is in fact impossible to argue that the discrepancies were introduced by different witnesses of the one event; rather, they can be explained as four different redactions for apologetic and kerygmatic reasons of a single story originating from one source."

The lesson from this is that the gospel accounts must not be regarded as absolutely true and reliable. The authors, with the best of motives, wrote what they wanted their readers to hear, not knowing themselves what occurred, if indeed the tomb was found to be empty.

We must look at the subsequent appearances of Jesus in the same way. Mark originally ended at verse 16:8 with the women fleeing in terror, telling no one. This could be the closest account to what really happened - Mark was written as a gospel of hope, not fulfilment, because Jesus promised his imminent return on clouds of glory (chapter 13). After the later gospels provided various, somewhat conflicting stories of the appearances of the risen Jesus, the 'Long Ending' (verses 16:9-20) was added in order to more or less harmonise with aspects of the other gospel accounts.

It is difficult to take a lesson from the four accounts that we now have of the resurrection appearances unless we choose to ignore the disjunctions amongst the various accounts. Did he appear only once to the disciples, at a mountain in Galilee, where he commanded the to go forth to all nations (Matthew)? Or, for example, did he appear at a meal in Jerusalem on the evening of his resurrection then, having told them to tarry in Jerusalem, rise bodily to heaven (Luke)?

A: For Christians, Jesus' life, death, and resurrection are immutable facts of history. We can be assured our own resurrection is just as certain. We discover that only in a biblical world view do we become greater after death than we were before. Christianity is the only religion that holds the view that our bodies will someday be transformed into glorious, resurrected bodies, like unto Christ's resurrected body. In His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus had a body that was both spiritual (John 20:19,26) and physical (John 20:20,27, 21:13,15) in nature. Thus, our resurrected body will be a spiritual body, different from the present physical body (1 Corinthians 15:35-50); but will have continuity with the present body because Christ redeems the whole person (Romans 8:23). The bedrock of hope for Christian resurrection is the resurrection of Christ, the foundation of gospel preaching (1 Corinthians 15:12-20). Christ is the firstfruits of an upcoming harvest (1 Corinthians 15:2-23). Because of the resurrection of Christ, we have assurance of the resurrection of all persons- some to salvation, some to perdition. That is God's ultimate answer to death (1 Corinthians 15:12-58).

Answer 5

A:

There are several stories of the Resurrection of Jesus, in most of which he rose from the dead after three days and then appeared to his followers:

1. The original gospel story of the resurrection is the account in the earliest versions of Mark's Gospel, in which Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome had gone to the tomb with sweet spices to anoint Jesus' body, but found the stone already moved and only a young man inside. This account ended at verse 16:8, with the young man telling the women that Jesus was risen and they fled in terror, telling no one, and thus no appearance of the risen Jesus.

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   The message of this primitive version of the Gospel seems to be that Jesus rose from the grave to heaven, but would soon return in clouds of glory, to rule his kingdom on earth.

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2. Sometime in the second century, the 'Long Ending' (verses 16:9-20) was added to Mark's Gospel, largely based on the account we find in Luke's Gospel. Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, then to two of them, then to the eleven disciples at a meal and was then taken up into heaven.

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   This Long Ending, and the other three gospels, changes the meaning of the Resurrection, because it is now clear that Jesus was resurrected for a period on earth. The Second Coming becomes less significant, compared to the fact of Jesus' appearances to the women and his disciples.

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3. In Matthew's Gospel, the story is that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. There was an earthquake as they arrived, and an angel came down from heaven and rolled back the stone, which he then sat on. He told the two women that Jesus was not here, but had risen. So, instead of entering the tomb, they returned to tell the disciples. On their way back, Jesus appeared to them. Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples at a mountain in Galilee, where he gave a parting speech.

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4. Luke's Gospel says that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women brought spices to the tomb. The stone was already rolled away and Jesus was nt there, but two men in radiant clothes said that Jesus was risen. After hearing their stoy, Peter ran to the tomb and looked inside. Jesus first appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaeus and then to the eleven at a meal, before taking them out towards Bethany, where he was taken up bodily to heaven on the evening of the same day as his resurrection.

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5. The resurrection story in John's Gospel is largely an elaboration of the story in Luke's Gospel. However, only Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, and she did not look inside but returned to tell the disciples that Jesus was risen. This time, Peter and the 'disciple whom Jesus loved' ran to the tomb and found Jesus was not there. Mary Magdalene seems to have returned to the tomb, because she also looked inside and saw two angels. She looked around and saw Jesus, whom she somehow thought he was the gardener. He appeared to ten of the disciples at a meal on the evening of his resurection and then to all eleven disciples at a meal eight days later, then at the Sea of Galilee.

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6. Acts of the Apostles continues on from the end of Luke's Gospel, but ignores Jesus' acension to heaven on the evening of his resurrection, but instead has Jesus taken up to heaven after forty days.

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7. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians (15:3-8), which actually pre-dates Mark's Gospel, it appears as if the resurrection and the ascension to heaven may have been the same event, as also seems to be the case in the original version of Mark's Gospel. Paul says that Jesus was seen first by Cephas (Peter), then the twelve, then by more than 500, most of whom were still alive, then by James and all the apostles, and finally by himself. However, Paul implied that the appearances were all of the same spiritual nature and no more real than the spiritual appearance he experienced. If so, this confirms that, for Paul, Jesus was not resurrected to appear on earth.

Another perspective:

Jesus' resurrection notwithstanding... there is another resurrection [two, actually] about which The Bible teaches that the world [including most of modern professing Christianity] remains virtually ignorant; due to the fact that most modern religions don't really believe that anyone dies.

They believe, instead, that the "immortal souls" of "dead people" go on living "somewhere else" in some other form, place or state of being. This belief by the religions of the world, according to their diverse ideas about the afterlife, negates in their minds and hearts the need for the resurrection of which the Bible teaches.

Not the "resurrection of Jesus Christ"... but the resurrection of everyone who has ever lived and died throughout the generations of man! That the Bible says is coming at the end of God's plan.

The people in Judaea, when Jesus walked the earth as a man, knew about "the" coming resurrection... but the knowledge of it seems to have been lost to us in these last days.

In fact, the "Sadducees" of Jesus' day, although they KNEW about the resurrection, didn't BELIEVE in it... and posed to Jesus what they thought was a question that was impossible to answer:

"...some Sadducees stepped forward - a group of Jews who say there is no resurrection after death. They posed the question: 'Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother's heir. Well, there were seven brothers. The oldest married and then died without children, so the second brother married the widow. This brother also died without children, and the wife was married to the next brother, and so on until she had been the wife of each of them. And then she also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in THE RESURRECTION? For she was the wife of all seven of them!'

"Jesus replied, 'Your problem is that YOU DON'T KNOW THE SCRIPTURES, and you don't know the Power of God. For WHEN THE DEAD RISE, they won't be married. They will be like the angels in heaven [angels are sexless]..." (Matt.22:23-30 NLT New Living Translation)

The Bible teaches death to be like "sleeping." A dreamless, unconscious, dormant SLEEP -- not being alive, aware and conscious of anything [see Eccle.9:5 & 10]. It teaches that the dead remain asleep until the time of the end, when they will awake in a resurrection to Judgment"

"...when people die... They breathe their last, and then where are they? ...people lie down and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be aroused from their SLEEP. I wish you would hide me with the dead [in the grave] and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again!

"If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me Hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release. You would call and I would answer [the resurrection], and you would yearn for me, your handiwork... My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover over my iniquity." (Job 14:10-17 NLT)

Jesus said: "...Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up. The disciples said, 'LORD, if he is sleeping, that means he is getting better!' They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good night's rest, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. Then He told them plainly, ' LAZARUS IS DEAD.'" (John 11:11-14 NLT)

The world, teaching the immortality of the soul, doesn't believe in death. To this world... death and life are THE SAME THINGS... not "polar opposites." Therefore, "THE resurrection" about which the Bible teaches is little known and/or understood; even and especially among modern professing Christians.

The FIRST resurrection will take place WHEN JESUS RETURNS. It will be the "resurrection of His saints"... God's "elect"... His "chosen ones"... His "ekklesia" [called-out-ones], or His "church." These are the ones whom God has been calling out of the world throughout the generations of man, to rule the Kingdom of God with Him over the nations of the earth for a thousand years.

"For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your Trust in God is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but that can't be True if there is no resurrection of the dead...

"But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become THE FIRST OF A GREAT HARVEST OF THOSE WHO WILL BE RAISED TO LIFE AGAIN.

"So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ. EVERYONE DIES because all of us are related to Adam, the First Man. But all who are related the Christ, the Other Man [Second Man], will be given New Life.

"But there is an order to this Resurrection: Christ was raised first; then WHEN CHRIST COMES BACK, all His people will be raised." (I Cor.15:13-23 NLT)

"Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to Judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the Word of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshiped the Beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. THIS IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life {resurrect} until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and Holy are those who share in the First Resurrection. For them the Second Death holds no power, but they will be priests of God [the Father] and of Christ and will reign with Him a thousand years." (Rev.20:4-6 NLT)

That's some of what the Bible teaches about "THE Resurrection."

Most of modern professing Christianity doesn't preach it, know about it or believe it, because, like most other religions in the world... it too doesn't believe that anyone dies; but that the "dead" are living somewhere else -- in heaven, hell or some other fanciful place where conscious, "living" dead people go.

And these beliefs negate the need in their hearts and minds for any future resurrection about which the Bible teaches.

Answer: The Greek word a·naʹsta·sis literally means "raising up; standing up." It is used frequently in the Christian Greek Scriptures with reference to the resurrection of the dead. The Hebrew Scriptures at Hosea 13:14, quoted by the Apostle Paul (1Co 15:54, 55), speak of the abolition of death and the rendering powerless of Sheol (Heb., sheʼohlʹ; Gr., haiʹdes). Sheʼohlʹ is rendered in various versions as "grave" and "pit." The dead are spoken of as going there. (Ge 37:35; 1Ki 2:6; Ec 9:10) Its usage in the Scriptures, along with the usage of its Greek equivalent haiʹdes in the Christian Greek Scriptures, shows that it refers, not to an individual grave, but to the common grave of mankind, gravedom. (Eze 32:21-32; Re 20:13; see HADES; SHEOL.) To render Sheol powerless would mean to loosen its hold on those in it, which would imply the emptying of gravedom. This, of course, would require a resurrection, a raising up from the lifeless condition of death or out of the grave for those there.

How do we know that the resurrection will really happen?Jehovah promises that the dead will live again. (Isaiah 26:19) They will be brought back to life. That is the hope of the resurrection.The Bible helps us to understand how Jehovah and Jesus feel about death. Jesus, who perfectly reflected his Father, knew the pain of losing someone in death. (John 14:9) When he was in Jerusalem, Jesus used to visit Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, who lived in the nearby town of Bethany. They became close friends. The Bible says: "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." (John 11:5) Jesus joined Lazarus' relatives and friends as they grieved over this loss. Seeing them, Jesus was deeply moved. He "groaned within himself and became troubled." Then, the account says, "Jesus gave way to tears." (John 11:33, 35) Did Jesus' grief mean that he had no hope? Not at all. In fact, Jesus knew that something wonderful was about to happen. (John 11:3, 4) Still, he felt the pain and sorrow that death brings.

In a way, Jesus' grief is encouraging to us. It teaches us that Jesus and his Father, Jehovah, hate death. But Jehovah God is able to fight and overcome that enemy! Let us see what God enabled Jesus to do.Lazarus had been buried in a cave, and Jesus asked that the stone sealing its entrance be taken away. Martha objected because after four days, Lazarus' body must have begun to decay. (John 11:39)The stone was rolled away, and Jesus cried out with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come out!" What happened? "The man who had been dead came out." (John 11:43, 44) Jesus did not claim to perform this amazing miracle on his own. In his prayer just before calling out to Lazarus, he made it clear that Jehovah was the Source of the resurrection, John 11:41, 42.The Bible teaches that "the dead know nothing at all." (Ecclesiastes 9:5) They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he knew "nothing at all." Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death.-John 11:11.

Answer 6

He taught us that He is capable of doing it. He promised that He would extend resurrection to anyone believing in Him (John 6:44).

Answer 7

That He truly was who He said He was - the Son of God - the firstborn of many who now sits on the right hand of the Father awaiting His time for the 2nd Coming.