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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 first fruits, 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.
I Corinthians 15:17-26 ESV
This is Easter weekend.Good Friday was the day Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin. That is why it was good for us. He took the punishment we deserved on Himself and gave us the gift of His perfect record that He lived here on earth so we could stand before God as righteous. He didn’t sin in thought, word or deed nor did He sin by either sins of omission or commission. He lived a perfect life those 33 years He lived here on earth. But the righteousness we have before God is not ours, but that of Jesus.
The Law stated that blood needed to be shed to pay for sin and that is what happened. He died a horrible death on the cross, There was plenty of blood shed between the beatings, the crown of thorns, the nails, and the spear in His side.
And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 9:21-22 ESV
So our sin was paid for. But how did we know it was done and the payment was accepted? On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead as He promised He would. His resurrection showed He not only paid for sin, but was triumphant over sin and death. He had fully finished the job of redeeming His people. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead to tell about it, tells us that the work He did on the cross was accepted as sufficient.
As the I Corinthians passage says above. “ if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.”
That is what is so special about this weekend. It is the cornerstone of our faith…the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Hallelujah! He is risen. Just as He said.
For further Bible passages on Jesus’ resurrection (not counting those in the Gospels) see these places:
