The Resurrection of Jesus

This year, Easter Sunday falls on 9 April. During Holy Week, Christians remember the events of the final days of Jesus’ life: his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Judas’ betrayal, the Last Supper, his arrest and crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. Good Friday is a solemn day in the Catholic Church and is a chance for Catholics to reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death and give thanks for his sacrifice. However, Easter Sunday brings great joy, when Christians all over the world celebrate Jesus rising from the dead – the resurrection. Easter is the most important liturgical season in the Catholic Church. Belief in the resurrection is central to Christianity. Paul even goes so far as to suggest that without the resurrection, there is no point in believing in Jesus. ‘And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Cor 15:14).

The Nicene Creed is recited by Catholics during every Mass. It reminds them of the belief in the Trinity – three divine persons in one God. We pray that Jesus ‘was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures’. During his ministry, Jesus said, ‘I am the Resurrection and the life’ (Jn 11:25). When he rose from the dead, he confirmed this for his followers and also fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament.

There were no eyewitnesses to the resurrection. Each of the four gospel writers wrote about the events after the resurrection, when Jesus’ followers found the empty tomb. The accounts differ in some ways but are united on the main details. Luke writes that Mary Magdalene and some other women went to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body early on Sunday morning. When they arrived, they saw that the stone in front of the tomb had been rolled away. Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. Two angels appeared to the women, and they were frightened. The angels asked them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ The women remembered that Jesus had foretold this, and they went straight to the disciples to tell them. The disciples did not believe them and thought they were speaking nonsense. But Peter ran to the empty tomb (Lk 24:12).

Jesus’ followers were very sceptical at the beginning – they thought perhaps Jesus’ body had been stolen as the idea of him rising from the dead just didn’t seem possible. Once they saw Jesus’ new glorified body, they believed. During one of his appearances after the resurrection, Jesus said to the apostle Thomas, ‘Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!’ (Jn 20:29). Believing without seeing the risen Jesus, faith in the resurrection, is a key belief of Christianity.

What does the resurrection tell Christians about God?

• The resurrection confirmed for Jesus’ followers that he was the Messiah, the chosen one sent to Earth by God to restore God’s kingdom. The word Messiah is Hebrew, and the Greek translation is Khristos – Christ. So, when a Christian calls Jesus ‘Jesus Christ’, they are declaring their belief that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah.

• It proves that nothing is impossible to God – through the resurrection, God conquered death and ensured life after death for all who believe in God. Jesus’ resurrection freed God’s followers from sin and promised them eternal life.

For Christians, the empty tomb is a symbol of the resurrection, and the truth about Jesus. Jesus was indeed God in the flesh, with authority over life and death and all creation. He had the