Finding Hope for the Final Chapter
Dear Friends, as we approach the final chapter (or paragraphs) of our lives, it’s crucial that we understand what the resurrection of Christ means for us. In this week before we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, I am sharing an excerpt from my book Preparing for Glory: Answers to 40 Questions about Living and Dying in the Hope of Heaven.
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. (1 Cor. 15:17)
Do you believe?
A 2017 study revealed that 25 percent of British people who identified as Christians at that time did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.[1] And yet, as pastor and theologian Stephen Um explains, even atheist scholars find weighty evidence for the resurrection. Um quotes atheist philosopher Anthony Flew: “The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion.”[2] The resurrection is central to the gospel: if the resurrection didn’t happen, Paul tells the doubting Corinthians, our hope in Christ is pitiable (see 1 Cor. 15:19).
What happened on the cross and three days later?
On the first Good Friday, Jesus spent his last breath. To confirm his death, a Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear. With the permission of Pilate, a man named Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’s body from the cross, wrapped it in a linen shroud, and buried it in his tomb (see Mark 15:42–46). Christ’s followers were deeply grieved and confused, downcast and depressed the next day—the One they had thought would save them had died. How could it be? The disciples had never fully understood what he meant when he said, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matt. 17:22–23).
And then he appeared in a new body—a resurrected body. Many saw him:
- the women who went to the tomb to finish preparing the body for burial (see Mark 16:1)
- Mary Magdalene, who mistook Jesus for the gardener (see John 20:15)
- Thomas, who, at Jesus’s command, touched Jesus’s nail-scarred hands (see John 20:24–27)
- the disciples, who trembled together in a locked room when Jesus suddenly stood among them, saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19)
And that’s not all. Many more saw Jesus as he walked the earth in his resurrected body for forty days before ascending to heaven.
Why does it matter?
The apostle Paul insists that the resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the gospel. If it didn’t actually happen, he says, “then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:18). If it did, then the effects of the curse of Adam’s sin have been reversed: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (v. 22).
Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have hope for our loved ones who die in Christ. Those who trust in Christ are united to him by faith. Although we were once dead in our sins, we are now spiritually alive in Christ. When we die, we will be with Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:6–8). When Christ returns in glory, those who have already died, as well as those who are still alive, will be given new, immortal bodies in which we will live forever. This is the sure hope provided by Christ’s resurrection.
Prayer
Resurrected Jesus,
In our skeptical age, we are bombarded with temptations to disbelieve your miraculous resurrection. By your Spirit, give us the faith to believe that which we cannot see. We have been made alive in you, and one day we will live forever because of your resurrection.
In your trustworthy name. Amen.
Further Encouragement
Read Matthew 28:1–15; 1 Corinthians 15:1–19.
For Reflection
Christ truly was raised from the dead. How does this change everything you would otherwise believe about death and eternal life?
Hi! I’m Elizabeth, and I love learning about older adulthood! I’m a writer, speaker, and coach who helps people navigate the issues of aging, caregiving, legacy, grief, and end-of-life. I wrote Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions about Living & Dying in Hope of Heaven and several devotionals. Every month, I send out an email with free and paid resources for aging graciously. If you’d like to get this email on the first of the month, sign up here: http://eepurl.com/b__teX.
Prefer to read this via email or in an app? Find this article on Numbering Your Days with Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage.
[1] “Resurrection Did Not Happen, Say Quarter of Christians,” BBC News, April 9, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39153121.
[2] Stephen T. Um, 1 Corinthians: The Word of the Cross, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 373.
