The Resurrection of Jesus - Its Meaning for Us

"He was raised up." - MATTHEW 28:6.


NOT many days after Jesus died, the apostle Peter faced a formidable and hostile group of men. They were powerful Jewish religious leaders -the very ones who had orchestrated Jesus' death.  They men demanded an explanation. Peter had healed a man who had been lame from birth, and they wanted to know b y what power or in whose name Peter had done this.  The apostle Peter courageously answered: "In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you executed on a stake but whom God raised up from the dead, by means of him this man stands here healthy in front of you. - ACTS 4:5-10.

Earlier, Peter had fearfully denied Jesus three times.  (Mark 14:66-72) What accounted for his courage now before the religious leaders?"  Holy spirit played a vital role, but so did Peter's certainty that Jesus had been resurrected.  What made the apostle so sure that Jesus was alive?  And why can we be share that conviction?

That the dead could live again was not a new concept to Jesus' apostles; resurrections had occurred before they were born.  They knew that God had empowered the prophets of Elijah and Elisha to perform such miracles. 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:37) A dead man had even come to life when his body was thrown into a grave and it touched the bones of Elisha. (2 Kings 13:30, 21)  The early Christians believed that these Scriptural accounts, even as we believe that God's Word is true.

Very likely, all of us have been greatly moved by reading account of the resurrections that Jesus performed.  When he resurrected a widow's only son to life, she must have been astonished. (Luke 7:11-15)  On another occasion, Jesus resurrected a 12-year-old girl.  Imagine the joy and wonder of her previously grief-stricken parents when their daughter was back to life! (Luke 8:49-56) and how onlookers must have been thrilled when they saw Lazarus step from the tomb alive and well! - JOHN 11:38-44.


Next time: The Resurrection of Jesus-Its Meaning for Us - WHY JESUS' RESURRECTION WAS UNIQUE

From the jw.org publications