If the Resurrection Really Happened, What Does That Mean?

Posted On December 11, 2020

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The short answer is this. If Jesus really rose from the dead, it means that the Bible is true. So, the entire Christian worldview, which is derived from the Bible, is true.

Let’s briefly review some of the ground we covered in prior posts, and then where it takes us from there.

We know what Jesus said, and that he told the truth

The New Testament is historically reliable. We know we have accurate copies of the original documents. And we have powerful evidence that the original writers told the truth.

In the New Testament, we see that Jesus claimed to be God, and predicted his resurrection from the dead to prove his authority. So if the resurrection happened, then Jesus was who he claimed to be, namely God.

Since God is absolutely morally pure, then he can not lie. Therefore, whatever Jesus said and taught was true.

Let that sink in for a minute. So much of the Christian worldview comes from the teachings of Jesus. Take a look a red letter Bible, in which every spoken word of Jesus is printed in red. We can be confident that it’s all true.

Consider one of the most beloved statements made by Jesus:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17). 

Because Jesus proved his authority by rising from the dead, we can be certain that this statement is true. Along with everything else he said.

But there’s more. Jesus taught that the whole Bible is from God. In that case, then the Bible is from God, and true. All of it. How did he do that?

Jesus affirmed the Old Testament

There are many ways that Jesus affirmed that the Old Testament is from God. For example, he affirmed its:

• Authority. Jesus (and his disciples) used the phrase “it is written” some 90 times.^[1] Every time Jesus said this, he was telling his audience that the Old Testament (the Jewish scriptures at the time) had the final word regarding the question at hand. 
• Permanence. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said that he had not come to replace the law and the prophets, a common term for the Old Testament at the time, but he came to fulfill them. Then he affirmed the eternal nature of literally every single letter and pen stroke of the Old Testament.
• Inerrancy. In John 17:17, for example, we see that Jesus confirmed the Old Testament is truth.
• Historical reliability. Jesus specifically referred to Adam and Eve (Matt. 19:4-5), Noah and the flood (Matt. 24:37-38), and Jonah (Matt. 12:40) as real people and events of history.

Jesus promised the New Testament

Additionally, Jesus promised the coming of the New Testament through the Holy Spirit.

Talking with his disciples one day, he said, “I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:25-26 NLT).

Speaking more of the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” (John 16:12-13, NLT).

With the Holy Spirit working through them, the apostles wrote the books we now know as the New Testament. This process is known as the Christian doctrine of inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16). And inspiration leads to inerrancy, because God can not make a mistake.^[2]

This changes everything

So as we step back, we see that the implications are breathtaking. If the resurrection happened, then the Bible is literally from God, and true. In fact, anything opposed to it is false.

This means we have a fully developed world view that we can know is correct. We know the Christian story—God’s story, and our story—is true. All of it. And it’s such good news, for everybody.

Life after death is real. Wonderful, eternal life is certain for those who choose to believe, and trust.

As if that’s not enough, there’s something else I’d like to point out. It means that the Bible is a stunning treasure trove of truth. And in the Bible, we have a spectacular opportunity to find out just who God is, and what he’s like. It’s no wonder that so many people throughout human history have dedicated their very lives to studying the Bible. Just who is God? We’ll look at that question in our next post.

But first, I want to leave you with a fascinating scene from the movie Risen, which is an amazing film that tells the dramatic story of the resurrection. In this clip, the Roman officer Tribune Clavius is questioning Bartholomew, one of the disciples of Jesus. Notice that although Bartholomew feels sorrow over the suffering of Jesus, there is also unmistakable joy.

What does the resurrection mean? Eternal life. For everyone. Everyone who believes. And it changes… everything.

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^[1]Norman L. Geisler Twelve Points That Show Christianity is True (Indian Trail, NC: NGIM, 2016), 198.

^[2]Inerrancy means “When all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false.” Source: Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd. Ed.