Why Did Jesus Have To Rise From The Dead?

First off, let me just preface this by saying I am definitely not the final word when it comes to revealing the truths in the bible. I would love to hear what you think about the subject.

Why did Jesus need to be raised from the dead? This was a question I never thought to ask. When it popped up in my mind, I was saddened that I didn't have an explanation. I am blessed that God has allowed me to believe and I have no doubt in my mind that the gospel is true: Jesus came down to save us (while we were still sinners) by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. I am not much of talker, so I struggle to share the gospel with people. Even with my own family I'm at a loss for words when all I want to do is tell them how much God loves them. However, I try to practice in my head in case God ever moves me (pushes me, strongly) to share. All of a sudden I thought it was important to be able to explain why Jesus had to be raised from the dead.

So where did this question come from? We are studying the book of Romans in our missional community group. Quick side note. Been using this study guide (PDF link) and have really enjoyed it so far. About 8 units in, we were going through chapter 5 and I read the following verse:

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

I've been studying with my friend Gary and new friend and amazing teacher Floyd. We've been going throw 2 Timothy together and they have been showing me how to dig and look for God in His Word. So I'm focused on these two verses and start to think, "If we are justified and reconciled at the cross in Jesus' death...why did He have to be raised? What would be the difference if He hadn't been raised?"

Justified: to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation

Reconciled: to restore to friendship or HARMONY

If we were justified and reconciled at the cross, why did Jesus have come back to life? After the fall of man, we no longer lived in harmony with God. Once we are reconciled with Him, didn't that fix it? I brought the question up in our missional community. I'm blessed to be able to study with a group of people who know they are broken and are chasing after God and studying His Word. They shared verses with me and quotes from various authors, but I just couldn't grab a hold of it. I thought it all made sense to me before. This is the root of the gospel. We just heard a great sermon on Easter a couple months before this. It wasn't new...but all of a sudden there was doubt and I couldn't claim this truth for myself. There was no way I would be able to explain it to someone else who hadn't heard the gospel. I knew Jesus was raised to conquer death, but sin IS death. Wasn't that conquered on the cross? What was I missing? Once that doubt about why He had to be raised was planted, it kind of muddied up the whole picture for me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The more I thought about it, the muddier it seemed to get. It was like waking from a really crazy dream. You wake up and know the dream you want to share, but by the time you talk to someone, what was once clear is now faded. You know you KNOW the story you want to tell, but it's foggy and you just can't remember what it was.

It was back at the end of May when we were in Romans chapter 5. All I had at this point was Jesus came back from the dead to prove He was who He said He was. Three and a half months later, I finally began to understand. I was going through 2 Timothy 2 to prepare for my Saturday morning study with Gary and Floyd. I got to verse 8:

8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,

Pretty simple truth I already knew: Jesus was a descendent of David and was raised from the dead. I almost breezed by this verse. For some reason this simple verse pulled me back to it and I decided to look in my study bible to see what notes, if any, it offered for this verse. God choose this morning to help me understand, and for the first time I had an idea of why Jesus had to come back to life. It wasn't just a verse I could repeat to others, it was a truth I understood. It was mine. I am still cautious, there is so much I don't understand and know, so I could have some of it wrong. What was finally revealed to me...

Jesus died for our sins and three days later was raised from the dead. When we believe and are baptized in His name, we die with Him on the cross and are raised to new life in Him. This wouldn't be possible if He wasn't divine. So yes, it was to prove His divinity, but it wasn't just to say, "See? Told you so." If He doesn't beat death and come back to life, there's no proof He is who He says He is. Without proof, then He is just a really good guy with outstanding morals, peace and love...like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mahatma Gandhi. And if that is the case, then He would not be a valid sacrifice for the world's sin. Any other man who would give his life up for the world is not a worthy sacrifice. He would only be receiving the punishment he justly deserved. It'd be like going to court, stepping up in front of the judge and saying, "Let ME pay for this speeding ticket!" when you are the person who was speeding and given the ticket to begin with. Not much of a sacrifice. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. In this small verse, that I almost passed by with barely a glance, are two very important truths:

• Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead, proving His divinity
• Jesus was a descendant of David, proving His humanity, making Him a valid and worthy substitute for us to die on the cross in our place

These are my notes on verse 8 from my reading in 2 Timothy last Saturday, verse 7 rang true that morning:

2 Tim 2:7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.