Sermon text preached by Rev. Hesham Shehab
Sunday, April 4, 2021
Burbank, Ill. 

The great British theologian N.T. Wright said: “Jesus’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord’s Prayer is about.”

This is why the resurrection of Jesus is the most important event that took place in the history of human race.

First, the resurrection witnesses to the power of God Himself. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has power to raise the dead. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse death itself, and only He can remove the sting and gain the victory over the grave. In resurrecting Jesus’ body from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is also important because it validates who Jesus claimed to be, namely, the Son of God and Messiah. According to Jesus, His resurrection was the “sign from heaven” that authenticated His ministry. The resurrection of Jesus Christ, attested to by hundreds of eyewitnesses provides proof that He is the Savior of the world.

Another reason the resurrection of Jesus Christ is important is that it proves His sinless character and divine nature. The Scriptures said God’s “Holy One” would never see corruption (Psalm 16:10), and Jesus never saw corruption, even after He died.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only the supreme validation of His deity; it also validates the Old Testament prophecies that foretold of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection. Christ’s resurrection also authenticated His own claims that He would be raised on the third day: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”.

If Jesus Christ is not resurrected, then we have no hope that we will be, either. In fact, apart from Christ’s resurrection, we have no Savior, no salvation, and no hope of eternal life. As Paul said, our faith would be “useless,” the gospel would be altogether powerless, and our sins would remain unforgiven (1 Corinthians 15:14–19).

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), and in that statement claimed to be the source of both. There is no resurrection apart from Christ, no eternal life. Jesus does more than give life; He is life, and that’s why death has no power over Him.

Jesus confers His life on those who trust in Him, so that we can share His triumph over death (1 John 5:11–12).

Jesus is “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). In other words, Jesus led the way in life after death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is important as a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith.

As Christians, we know that God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Hebrews 10:12).

St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (cf. Hosea 13:14).

The importance of the resurrection of Christ has an impact on our service to the Lord now. Because we know we will be resurrected to new life, we can endure persecution and danger for Christ’s sake, just as our Lord did. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, thousands of Christian martyrs through history have willingly traded their earthly lives for everlasting life and the promise of resurrection. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Because Jesus’ disciples died for the Gospel, salvation in His name has reached the end of the earth.

Briefly, why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? It proves who Jesus is. It demonstrates that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It shows that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that the bodies of those who believe in Christ will not remain dead but will be resurrected unto eternal life.

N.T. Wright said: “Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.”

Because He lives, we have hope. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow.

Amen.

• The message above was adapted from different sources.

Read more from Hesham Shehab… https://xpian.news/?s=hesham&submit=Search…

Hesham Shehab

Educator, Journalist, Columnist, Islamic Expert, Muslim Expert, Human Rights Activist, Pastor at Salam Christian Fellowship | Website

Adjunct Faculty at College of DuPage, Formerly Adjunct Faculty at American University of Beirut and Pastor at Peace Lutheran Church Lombard, IL Name pronounciation: HI-shahm SHI-hab  Hebrews 12: 4 & Philippians 1: 29