‘For I come to declare that great and most comfortable article of our Christian religion and faith, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. … Assuredly, so highly comfortable is this article to our consciences, that it is even the very lock and key of all our Christian religion and faith.’1Richard Taverner, ‘Of the Resurrection of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. For Easter Day,’ The Second Book of Homilies, 14, in The Two Books of Homilies, appointed to be Read in Churches (Oxford University Press, 1859), 429; also published in Gerald Bray, The Books of Homilies: A Critical Edition (James Clark and Co., 2015), 417. For a part-edition in today’s language, see Lee Gatiss ed., The First Book of Homilies: The Church of England’s Official Sermons in Modern English, with a foreword by George Whitefield (Church Society, 2026).
‘The resurrection is unexplainable apart from the intervention of God in Christ. The empty tomb does not make sense as a sequel to the trials and crucifixion. Dead men do not just rise spontaneously from the dead. In the resurrection of Christ, we see the decisive, cataclysmic intervention of God in world history. The event transforms history, in the sense that the new age has broken in at last. Indeed, in this one Person, Jesus Christ, crucified and yet risen, the present age and the age to come meet and begin to overlap. The resurrection is an ultimate event.’2Mark D. Thompson and Robert C. Doyle, ‘Risen and Triumphant: 2 Systematic and Historical Reflection.’ Unpublished Lecture, 1; slightly amended.
The Book of Acts Runs on This
The book of Acts presents the gospel fundamentally in terms of Jesus’ kingship — the good news of the Kingdom of God.
To carry this message across the transition from Jewish to Greek categories of thought, Acts consistently deploys the paired terms ‘Lord’ and ‘Christ’ (Acts 2:36; 5:42; 8:12, 35; 9:20; 11:20; 18:5; 20:21, 25; 28:23, 31).
Central to that proclamation is Christ’s resurrection. In Acts, it’s Jesus’ rising from the dead that’s presented as the divinely appointed proof (pistin, Acts 17:31) of his ‘Christ-ship’, his Messiahship, and Lordship.3The material here is initially guided by David Seccombe, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 151-186. For more comprehensive consideration, see Benjamin Dean, Great Truths – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part II, ‘The Significance of Jesus’ Resurrection: God Declared the Full Identity of Jesus,’; https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-part-ii/.
The narrative opens on this note: the risen Jesus appears to his disciples, ‘presenting himself alive after his suffering by many proofs’ (Acts 1:3).
And the emphasis set at the outset is sustained throughout. Roughly half of Peter’s Pentecost sermon is given over to Christ’s resurrection (Acts 2:22-32), and the evangelistic addresses that follow maintain the same concentration (Acts 3:13, 15; 4:10; 5:30-32; 10:37-40; 13:29-31; 17:30-32; 23:6-10; 26:12-18).
Whether the audience is Jewish or Gentile, the cutting edge of the apostolic message remains: the proclamation of ‘the resurrection of the dead’ in and through Jesus (Acts 4:2; 17:18; 25:19).
Two Things at Once
That pattern reveals a twofold apologetic strategy on the apostles’ part.
First, to commend Jesus’ resurrection as historical fact. Second, to present it as evidence — authoritative testimony from God himself (Acts 17:31) — that the message of Jesus’ kingship and lordship is indeed good news.4See Howard Marshall, ‘Acts (Book of),’ in T & T Clark Companion to Atonement, 361-64. On the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, see Benjamin Dean, Great Truths – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part I – The Reality of the Resurrection, section 7, ‘The Reality of Jesus’ Resurrection; https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-part-i/; and in shorter more popular form https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-reality-of-jesus-resurrection/. Then to Garry Habermas’ massive work, On the Resurrection, Volumes 2 and 3, Evidences and Refutations (B& H Academic, 2024). Also, see Michael Licona, Raised on the Third Day: Defending the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (Lexham Press, 2020). Then refer to Ross Hastings, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Exploring its Theological Significance and Ongoing Relevance (Baker Academic, 2022).
Both halves are doing work. Establish only the fact and you have a curiosity. Assert only the meaning and you have a claim without grounds.
Impossible to Ignore
Then, as now, the claim that Jesus — publicly, bloodily executed — had come back to life arrested people’s attention like nothing else.
It’s among the gospel’s matters ‘of first importance’: ‘that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared …’ (1 Cor 15:3-5).
As David Seccombe puts it:
‘The death and resurrection of Jesus — if it is true — is quite enough to catch the attention of anyone and force the conclusion, firstly that God has done something quite out of the ordinary, second that there must be something very special about Jesus, and third that he must be the man who God has appointed to judge the world — given his prior claims and miracles.’5Seccombe, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 157; italics supplied.
Then, as now, the proclamation drew derision and mockery from many — yet it was at the same time met by the faith of ‘some’ (Acts 17:32-34).
But there are solid and compelling reasons for believing it happened precisely as the New Testament describes. To approach the historical evidence with clear-eyed honesty — setting aside prejudice and preconception — is itself enough to prompt firm and personal faith in him.
It’s an event that may be tested and verified.6See Benjamin Dean, Great Truths – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part I, ‘The Reality of the Resurrection,’ https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-part-i/; for a shorter simplified form also see Benjamin Dean, The Reality of the Resurrection,https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-reality-of-jesus-resurrection/
Not Just a Spectacular Miracle
The central significance of Jesus’ resurrection, however, is not merely its status as a dazzling super-miracle — astonishing as that is.
Its colossal importance lies in what it means. The significance and value of the cross can be grasped only through Christ’s rising from the dead.
Before turning to that directly, it’s worth pausing on how transformative this event proved in practice:
‘When Jesus was executed, despair engulfed his followers: they seemed to have a dead leader and a lost cause. It was Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that transformed these broken and despairing people into the fiery apostles and martyrs of a new faith — a faith that within three centuries, and despite vigorous persecution would conquer the whole Roman empire. In the thought and preaching of the early church, the resurrection was seen as God’s mighty vindication of all Jesus’ claims: he really was the long-promised Messiah of Israel, the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners, the source of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to all who obeyed him (see for example, Acts 2:33-36; 4:10-12; 13:30-39; 17:30-32, and Rom 1:3-4). So, whichever period of church history we are student, it is always worth pausing and reminding ourselves of this: the entire history of the Christian church is rooted in one central reality — the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If Jesus of Nazareth had not risen, there would be no church history. The rest of the story … flows out of the resurrection.’7Nick Needham, Two Thousand Years of Christ’s Power, Volume 1, The Age of the Early Church Fathers. Revised Edition (Christian Focus, 2016), 47-48.
God’s ‘Yes’ to the World’s ‘No’
This vindication was not only the hinge of history — it was, and remains, God’s own answer to the world’s verdict on Jesus:
‘The resurrection of Jesus is an act of triumphant vindication which overcomes the world’s judgement on God’s Kingdom and his King. It is God’s “yes” in answer to man’s “no.” On the day of Pentecost the apostle Peter put the contrast starkly: “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up …” (Acts 2:23-24).’8Mark D. Thompson and Robert C. Doyle, ‘Risen and Triumphant: 2 Systematic and Historical Reflection.’ Unpublished Lecture, 1.
Notice the shape of Peter’s sentence. You crucified. But God raised. Two verdicts on the same person, delivered days apart, and only one of them stands.
—
- 1Richard Taverner, ‘Of the Resurrection of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. For Easter Day,’ The Second Book of Homilies, 14, in The Two Books of Homilies, appointed to be Read in Churches (Oxford University Press, 1859), 429; also published in Gerald Bray, The Books of Homilies: A Critical Edition (James Clark and Co., 2015), 417. For a part-edition in today’s language, see Lee Gatiss ed., The First Book of Homilies: The Church of England’s Official Sermons in Modern English, with a foreword by George Whitefield (Church Society, 2026). ↩︎
- 2Mark D. Thompson and Robert C. Doyle, ‘Risen and Triumphant: 2 Systematic and Historical Reflection.’ Unpublished Lecture, 1; slightly amended. ↩︎
- 3The material here is initially guided by David Seccombe, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 151-186. For more comprehensive consideration, see Benjamin Dean, Great Truths – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part II, ‘The Significance of Jesus’ Resurrection: God Declared the Full Identity of Jesus,’; https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-part-ii/. ↩︎
- 4See Howard Marshall, ‘Acts (Book of),’ in T & T Clark Companion to Atonement, 361-64. On the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, see Benjamin Dean, Great Truths – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part I – The Reality of the Resurrection, section 7, ‘The Reality of Jesus’ Resurrection; https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-part-i/; and in shorter more popular form https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-reality-of-jesus-resurrection/. Then to Garry Habermas’ massive work, On the Resurrection, Volumes 2 and 3, Evidences and Refutations (B& H Academic, 2024). Also, see Michael Licona, Raised on the Third Day: Defending the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (Lexham Press, 2020). Then refer to Ross Hastings, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Exploring its Theological Significance and Ongoing Relevance (Baker Academic, 2022). ↩︎
- 5Seccombe, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 157; italics supplied. ↩︎
- 6See Benjamin Dean, Great Truths – The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part I, ‘The Reality of the Resurrection,’ https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-part-i/; for a shorter simplified form also see Benjamin Dean, The Reality of the Resurrection,https://www.greattruthsglobal.org/the-reality-of-jesus-resurrection/ ↩︎
- 7Nick Needham, Two Thousand Years of Christ’s Power, Volume 1, The Age of the Early Church Fathers. Revised Edition (Christian Focus, 2016), 47-48. ↩︎
- 8Mark D. Thompson and Robert C. Doyle, ‘Risen and Triumphant: 2 Systematic and Historical Reflection.’ Unpublished Lecture, 1. ↩︎