“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Isaiah 60:1-3 ESV
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” Matthew 28:5-6
“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 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. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 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. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death…Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:12-26, 51-58 ESV
The Christian life and worldview hinges entirely upon the resurrection and glorification of Jesus. All aspects of His work are necessary for the fullness of it to be completed, of course. But the resurrection is the very fulfillment of everything good, it is the fulfillment of every work of God beginning at creation. Every other story in scriptural history finds its purpose in the resurrection. Every metaphor is rooted in it. Without the resurrection, some say “it is just as good to follow Jesus even if He wasn’t risen for the good wholesome beliefs he taught and we will all be better men and women because of it.” But not according to God for if Jesus has not been raised then we were following a liar and we cannot consider him a good man. Ah the reasoning of man. Even some Christian’s find their belief in Christ only backed by this line of thinking. “Well if it’s all a sham at least I lived a good life.” If He was not risen then what good is a good life? “If He was not risen we of all people are to be the most pitied”…we are to be pitied? Yes for we still have our guilt. Like John Bunyan’s Christian would experience, our burden has not been removed and we have not been clothed in His righteousness, we have not been redeemed, we have not been made alive with Christ, we do not have a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, we do not have a hope that does not disappoint, we cannot rejoice in our sufferings, we cannot look forward to the resurrection for indeed If Christ is not risen there is no future resurrection for our souls, He has not borne our griefs nor carried our sorrows, we have not been given a new name, we have not inherited His promises, Christ is not our elder brother, He is not our Savior for if he was not risen then He is not God. If Christ is not risen then we can have no boldness to approach the throne of grace, He is not our great high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, we do not have the mind of Christ, we cannot find our rest in Him, His promises are void and He is not our shepherd. If Christ is not risen then we can echo Solomon’s vanity of vanity, all is vanity and striving after wind. All is vanity if Christ not raised, the very meaning of our life is nothing, a breath, a vapor that is once here and then gone. If Christ is not risen then perfect love has not cast out fear, all of our fears and doubts have a permanent residence in our souls and in Him we find no redemption through His blood, we are not justified by His grace for our guilt remains, the peace of Christ does not rule in our hearts, we are not God’s children if Christ is not risen but are “illegitimate children and not sons”. If Christ is not risen we cannot please God for we are filled with our sins, the Lord is not our helper so we will fear, we cannot rejoice with joy inexplicably and filled with glory, we cannot obtain the outcome of our faith the salvation of our souls. This is why we are to be the most pitied, for all the joy and peace and love and rest that is promised in Christ is not our inheritance. We are lost to the darkness forever.
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Christ is elder brother and Savior for “he has risen, just as he said”.
