The Death and Resurrection of Christ

by Elizabeth George March 26, 2024

Encouragement for Life

Christ’s death and resurrection is a core value of Christianity. The resurrection is the focal point of every truth Christ taught His disciples while on Earth. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). It was the resurrection that turned Jesus’ brokenhearted followers into courageous witnesses and martyrs who, in just a few years, would spread the gospel across the Roman Empire and beyond. The resurrection proclaimed the fact that when Jesus died, so did death. Here are three reasons why Christ died:

Jesus died to buy you back from the bondage of sin. Jesus told His disciples that He must die, and He told them why: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, mankind came under the bondage of Satan, sin, and death. Jesus’ death paid the ransom price that was necessary to satisfy God’s holiness and justice. God’s holiness required that the penalty be paid, and God’s love provided that payment in the death of the Son ( John 3:16). Jesus’ perfect life was the only sacrifice that could be offered that would satisfy God’s justice. Jesus died so you don’t have to die.

Jesus died to prove His power over death. Jesus had to die not only to pay the penalty for our sin, but also to show His power over death. The apostle Paul said Jesus “was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead”(Romans 1:3-4). Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves He is God and that He possesses eternal life, and that He can therefore give this same eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Jesus died to defeat death. At first glance, Satan appeared to be victorious in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, and their sin resulted in immediate spiritual death and ultimate physical death. Even at the cross, when Jesus died, Satan seemed to have won. But God turned Satan’s apparent victory into defeat when Jesus rose from the dead. Death is no longer a source of dread or fear for us—it “has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Christ overcame death, and a day is coming when all those who are in Christ will overcome it, too.

Are you a believer in Christ? If so, you will not experience spiritual death. With that in mind, take to heart the apostle Paul’s challenge to “stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

RESPOND:

Thank You, Lord, for the resurrection and the reality that death is defeated! Amen

RENEWING RESOURCES:

Commit your heart and life to Christ now, with the goal of becoming a man after God’s own heart–you’ll find it the most rewarding pursuit ever!

REFLECT:

Take time to thank God for what His death and resurrection means to you.

REMEMBER:

Christ’s resurrection is a core value of Christianity.