The Power of Resurrection

 

 

The rising of Jesus Christ from the dead was

the biggest event that shook Jews and they

tried to fight it in all ways to the extent that

they said about resurrection that this last

deception will be stronger than the first

deception which is Christ’s Preaching.

So what was the power of resurrection and

what was its impact?

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1- Christ came out of the tomb while it was

closed…

This was not strange for Him or for the

miraculous power He has. He had also come out of

the saint Virgin Mary’s womb with her virginity

sealed.

Also in His appearances to His disciples after

resurrection He came into the place where they were

assembled while “the doors were shut” (Jn 20:19).

2- And of His resurrection power, Christ rose

from the dead by Himself without anybody

raising Him…

All those who were raised before, were raised by

others: The son of the Widow of Zarephath of Sidon

was revived by Elijah. Also the son of the

Shunammite Woman was raised by Elisha. And the

daughter of Jairus, the son of the Widow of Nain, and

Lazarus were raised by Christ. But Christ Himself rose

by Himself because He had the power of resurrection

in Him and it was not possible for death to capture

Him because He had the life in Him (Jn 1:4).

3- And Christ rose regardless of the tight

guarding, the tomb securing, the stone sealing and

the large stone which was against the door of the

tomb… The worldly power made all its efforts but He

was stronger than all this.

And His resurrection indicated that He was

stronger than all obstacles. His resurrection was a

triumph over all His opposers and those fighting

against Him, over death, Hades, the large stone, the

seals and the sticking strips of linen…

Therefore when St. Paul the apostle knew

Him, he said: “that I may know Him and the

power of His resurrection” (Phil 3:10).

He knew the power of His resurrection because

He saw Him after this resurrection when a Great Light

appeared to him on his way to Damascus (Ac 9).

Therefore, this apostle trusted in Christ’s resurrection

power which made him go into the fellowship of His

sufferings being conformed to His death. And this

same power in resurrection was experienced by St.

John the beloved from Christ when He appeared to

Him “and His countenance was like the sun shining in

its strength” (Rev 1:16).

His power while He was inside the tomb was

stronger than every power standing outside His

tomb.

He left the tomb on a time that nobody knew, on

Sunday at dawn, and the large stone remained in its

place until an angel came and rolled back the stone to

announce the resurrection which had already

happened. And thus, the women were able to see the

empty tomb.

4- Scenes of His power after resurrection:

These are some of the sides of His power seen by

people on Earth, besides His many appearances and

the power of ascending to Heaven and sitting at the

right hand of the Father, the power of entering the

place where the disciples were assembled while the

doors where shut and His power that converted the

disciples from weak frightened people to heroes

preaching with all their strength and without

objection…

And as was His resurrection powerful, there

was another power that preceded His

resurrection…

5- His power between death and resurrection:

This was His power after His death with

which He was able to open the doors of Hell, and

got out the spirits after He preached the salvation to

them (1 P 3:19). With this power He was able to

descend to the lower parts of the Earth, to lead

captivity captive, to give people gifts of redemption

then to ascend also after resurrection far above all

the heavens, that He might fill all things (Eph 4:8-

10).

6- The Lord Christ indicated with His

resurrection that He was more powerful than

death and that His death was not a weakness of

Him neither was His silence during His trial a

weakness of Him…

If He would have talked He would have refuted

the listeners and convinced them. But this was not

His aim, His aim was to redeem us. Therefore, when

they asked Him to descend from the cross He did not

although He was capable of doing it… But His aim was

to die for us, to go through passions on our behalf,

and to pay the price of sin as propitiation and

redemption for us…

Resurrection indicated that the silence of

Christ was not a weakness…

The power of resurrection was the strongest

response to those who accused Christ of being weak

and those who thought that the crucifix of Christ was

an evidence of His disability!!

Through resurrection, it was proved that the

silence of Christ had its noble aims.

He was silent because He wanted to sacrifice

Himself for us… Had He talked, He would have refuted

the listeners and convinced them. And if He defended

Himself, He would have won the case undoubtedly.

For how many times had He responded to the chief

priests, Jews elders and their priests and they did not

find an answer to respond back… But they saw the

power of His word while He was a 12-year old

youngster. And the people who heard Him confessed

that He was talking with authority.

The silence of Christ in His trial is an

evidence that He died willingly.

And He said about Himself that He lay down of

Himself, and no one takes it from Him. He has power

9

to lay it down, and He has power to take it again and

He lay it down on the crucifix time and took it on the

resurrection time.

Christ yielded up His spirit out of love and

sacrifice and not out of weakness and

helplessness.

And as He rose in power. We should not

forget that He died in power…

He cried out with a loud voice when He yielded up

His spirit while His body was extremely worn out,

dried out of its blood and water and exhausted from

the whipping, walking, beating, bleeding and hanging

on the cross…

And He died in body… But in His Godhead He

was alive and never dying.

In His death, He preached salvation to those who

rested in hope, He managed to open the closed

Paradise and enter the robber along with Adam and

his sons, the Old Testament saints.

He also managed to rise and His resurrection

makes fun of the guards and the seals and large

stone placed against the tomb door.

It did not happen that anyone, other than Christ,

defeated death with his own authority alone, rose by

his will and came out of a sealed tomb with a large

stone on the door and guarded by armed guards.

7- Christ’s power of resurrection was

devastating to Jews chief priests and to all

Sadducees.

It was an evidence of their crime in putting Him

to trial and delivering Him to be crucified. Also it was

an evidence of the lying of all their former allegation.

And by resurrection they become convicted before the

people.

Therefore, when the disciples started preaching

the resurrection in every occasion, the chief priests

said to them: “Did we not strictly command you not

to teach in this name? And look, you have filled

Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this

Man's blood on us!” (Ac 5:28).

The power of His resurrection also used to

frighten the chiefs of Jews because it was an

evidence of His righteousness because if He was

convicted, He would have never been able to

rise. And as was resurrection an evidence of His

righteousness, it was at the same time an evidence of

the injustice of these chiefs and that they framed

Him; those who rejoiced when they thought that they

got rid of Him and killed Him.

The talking about His appearances after they

killed Him frightened them…

And the apostles, the saints, never stopped

rebuking them on this point specifically. And so saint

Peter the apostle told them after the miracle of

healing the lame man: “the God of our fathers,

glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up

and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was

determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy

One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be

granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom

God raised from the dead, of which we are

witnesses…” (Ac 3:13-15).

8- As for the Sadducees, they do not believe in

resurrection. Thus, Christ’s resurrection was a

dangerous practical proof on the path their

doctrines and teachings were heading.

Therefore, they fought resurrection with all their

power and fought against the disciples in preaching

resurrection. And so the bible says: “Then the high

priest rose up, and all those who were with him

(which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were

filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the

apostles and put them in the common prison…” (Ac

5:17, 18).

But the power of resurrection was stronger than

all of them and their fighting.

Truly, His resurrection from the dead was

stronger than His descending form the cross.

Also His resurrection was an evidence that He

died willingly and not forcibly.

Especially that He rose by Himself without anyone

raising Him. And came out of the tomb while it was

sealed as He came out of Virgin Mary’s womb with her

virginity sealed…

Truly, as He said about Himself that He has power

to lay it down, and He has power to take it again (Jn

10:18).

9- His resurrection was an evidence that He is

stronger than death and consequently He is also

stronger than all the human power which kills

and puts to death.

He was more powerful than the injustice of the

evil ones, and all their conspiracies and authority.

They did all they could until they condemned Him,

nailed Him on the cross and challenged Him

mockingly and thought that they won especially that

Christ remained all the time of His trial with their

challenges silent… “as a lamb to the slaughter, And as

a sheep before its shearers is silent” (Is 53:7).

His resurrection indicated that His death was

a sacrifice and not by coercion.

And to believe in His resurrection means that we

believe in His love, sacrifice and redemption to

humanity. And this entails believing in His power and

in all what He said before about Himself and His

relation to the Father.

This is the power of Him who died in body,

and His Godhead was alive and never dying.

It is the power of Him who said to St. John in the

Revelation “I am the First and the Last. I am He who

lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive

forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades

and of Death” (Rev 1:17, 18). This is the power of

Him who rose “having loosed the pains of death,

because it was not possible that He should be held by

it” (Ac 2:24).

10- And the power of the resurrection of Christ which

makes it special than every other raising is that it is

a resurrection with no death after it, a

continuous eternal resurrection…

All those who were raised from the dead, died

again and still until now under the authority of death

waiting for the common resurrection, but as for

Christ, he rose alive to forever and ever, and death

has no authority over Him. And thus the Bible called

Him “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”

(1 Co 15:20)…

11- And of the power of the resurrection of

Christ is that it is a glorified resurrection…

He rose with a glorified body that: does not get

tired, does not get sick, does not decay, and does not

get thirsty or hungry… A body that was able to come

out of the sealed tomb and come in with the doors

shut and can ascend to Heaven.

And we are waiting in the common resurrection to

be raised in a body like this too. And as the apostle

said: “we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord

Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it

may be conformed to His glorious body…” (Phil 3:20,

21).