Before we turn to the topic of the resurrection, let us note that when the church surrenders to false teaching, the clear vision of eternal life, God’s kingdom, and the resurrection—as the most glorious hope given by God—begins to fade.

One example of this is those teachers who insist that the Jews gave the world one exceptional person, the greatest person—“the Jew Jesus Christ.” By emphasizing this in the context of the entire message, they focus not on Christ as the Savior of Gentiles and Jews alike, but on Him as some kind of fruit of the greatness of the Jews themselves, for their own sake. Even when they mention the crucifixion of Christ, they do so in a way that makes it seem like a merit of the Jewish people rather than a shame for them.

A second commonly repeated claim is that one of the many merits of the Jews is that “the Jews gave the world the Word of God.” Such a statement is not the fruit of Christian faith and biblical theology, but of their distortion. According to these teachers, it appears that it was not God who gave the Word of God, but the Jews who gave it. Such claims are absurd from a Christian perspective, yet they are entirely compatible with Judaism, which denies the supremacy of Christ. This Judaism has crept into the modern evangelical church under the guise of “love for Israel, God’s people.”

The Apostle Paul uses extremely sharp language when he warns of the danger from false teachers who, in his time, were turning believers back to keeping the Law of Moses as a condition for salvation, including physical circumcision in order to observe that law (see Galatians). The danger of following similar teachings—or things that resemble a return to what has passed away and is vanishing—is real even today. In Philippians 3:2-3, the Apostle Paul calls such teachers of “false circumcision” “dogs.”

Philippians 3:2-3
2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of theof the flesh {Greek: “the cutting” – a contemptuous expression};
3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.

Circumcision from the time of Christ onward is no longer physical, but spiritual. It is accomplished through the Spirit of God and because of faith in Jesus.

In Revelation 22:15, “the dogs” are those who will be outside, along with the rest of the sinners, and who will have no access to the holy city, the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 22:13-15
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the rightto the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs {See Phil. 3:2.}, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Rev. 22:13-15)

The “falsehood” here refers to the question of who Christ is (see 1 John 2:22). You don’t even need to tell a lie—you simply have to love the lie, and the consequences will be tragic.

When the church surrenders to “Jewish fables,” the result is a blurring of the faith, following men rather than the Head of the church—Christ—and ultimately falling away from the glorious hope of the resurrection.

But the message of the gospel points in exactly the opposite direction: not the glorification of men and their tortured teachings, but of the One who glorified Himself through His sacrifice and became the High Priest of all who believe in Him.

The gospel, which is the foundation of the Christian faith, is that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to earth to accomplish a work through which there is forgiveness of sins for everyone and eternal life for those who believe.

The work of His death—innocent, for the sins of others—is the glorious obedience of Jesus to God the Father, whose will is resurrection and eternal life (John 6:37-40). The work of the resurrection is an act of God that cannot be achieved by human effort.

Today we will examine several biblical passages that will remind us of this, our greatest and most glorious hope as Christians—the faith in God and the resurrection to eternal life through God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

We will also point out, from the New Testament Scriptures (the Acts of the Apostles), the historical proof of why Christianity is the true path to God.

After His incarnation and growth in a normal Jewish family, according to the laws and customs of Moses, Jesus Christ began His ministry at about thirty-something years of age. This ministry lasted several years; some believe He was over 40 years old when He went to the cross (based on John 8, where it is said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old”).

After performing many good works and preaching repentance and faith—which are the requirements for entering God’s kingdom, which is near—and after contending with the ruling and corrupt religious and secular authorities, Jesus was unjustly accused of blasphemy and handed over by the Jews to the Roman authorities to be crucified, that is, put to death.

Even during His ministry there was division among the people as to whether He was the expected Messiah or merely an ordinary opportunist (John 7:40 ff.). This occurred after Jesus publicly declared that rivers of living water would flow from everyone who comes to Him (John 7:39).

In John 11:25-26, Jesus unambiguously declares that He is the resurrection and the life, and whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live. Thus it becomes clear that there is life beyond physical death.

Before He was tried and executed, Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly as the King of the Jews. The people celebrated what seemed to be the establishment of God’s kingdom (Matthew 21, John 12). The disciples were at the height of euphoria (John 12). At the same time, events took what seemed to them an unexpected turn—although Jesus had repeatedly predicted His death and resurrection, both to them directly and by quoting the Old Testament Scriptures that pointed to Him as the Savior.

On the third day after His death on the cross, He rose again. This was not a publicly visible event, but a secret one, accessible first and foremost to His disciples.

Matthew 28 describes the resurrection, the message Jesus gave to His disciples while explaining that He had risen, the reaction of the Jews and their leaders who prepared a conspiracy to lie about the resurrection, and the Great Commission: that by the power of the Holy Spirit the apostles and disciples should make disciples of all nations, spreading the teaching of Christ and obedience to all His commandments.

The resurrection is described in all four Gospels. We should note that in the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus explains to His disciples this historic, epoch-making event that had taken place, He reminds them that everything was foretold in their Scriptures (the Old Testament) and was being fulfilled before their eyes.

Luke 24:25-27
25 And He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Also, at the end of the chapter, when He appears before the apostles who were still struggling with partial unbelief:

Luke 24:44-49
44 Then He said to them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things.
49 And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Here we see that the resurrection is connected with the inauguration of God’s kingdom precisely through the Holy Spirit. Moreover, He had to open their minds so that they would understand that in Him was fulfilled “everything written about Him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.” The Old Testament as a whole and without ambiguity points to Jesus Christ as the expected Savior. Furthermore, the Old Testament prophesies the sufferings and resurrection of Christ, as well as the subsequent mission of Christ and the church through the gospel to all nations, for the salvation of everyone who believes (vv. 46-47). The apostles are witnesses of this. But afterward, all disciples who, through faith, revelation, and the power of the Holy Spirit, will testify to the truth. For this purpose Jesus instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit, so that what He taught and prophesied in John 7:39 about the living water (which is the Holy Spirit) would be fulfilled. This testimony is also backed by the perfect authority given to the Lord Jesus—authority in heaven and on earth. This is the proclamation of the victorious church, through the blood of the Lord, declaring its authority over death and sin through Him.

In the Acts of the Apostles we have a record of how the church, empowered by faith in the risen Lord, is already carrying out His mission: to be His witnesses and witnesses of His resurrection. After the apostles dramatically healed the lame beggar at the temple gate, they were brought before the authorities:

Acts 5:27-33
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,
28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree.
31 God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

Despite the Jewish authorities’ prohibition against preaching the truth and their maneuvering to claim they were not guilty of Jesus’ death, the apostles boldly exposed them and declared that they had no intention of stopping being witnesses. They had seen the risen Jesus. They were full of the Holy Spirit, who was testifying through them about Him. They declared that the Jews and their leaders had killed Him, but He is alive and is the Leader and Savior at the right hand of God the Father. The reaction to the witnesses of Jesus was the same as the reaction to Jesus Himself—they wanted to kill them.

Yet here is the proof of the truthfulness of Christianity and the message of eternal life through faith in Christ. Gamaliel’s advice in the following verses is that every movement led by man rather than by God fails. But if a movement is given by God, it will endure over time and will not collapse when its leader is killed (Acts 5:34-42). And that is exactly what happened. Two thousand years later, the testimony about Christ has not ceased. The leader of the movement was killed, yet in reality He is alive. God’s kingdom is expanding. Faith is growing. Death is still present, but it seems to have no power over Christians.

We who are gathered here today are witnesses to the resurrection. Jesus conquered death through His obedience and as an expression of God’s love. Captivated by this love, we stand for His name without fear of death, without fear of being persecuted and humiliated, because His name is worthy to be glorified through every stand we take against lies, fear, and persecution.

Additionally, 1 Corinthians 15 speaks about the resurrection. Besides divisions, sexual immorality, taking fellow believers to secular courts, and obedience to false apostles, the Corinthian church had another problem: they had a distorted understanding of the resurrection—some of them denied that there is a resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12). The Apostle corrects this error in chapter 15 of the epistle, where he categorically defends the truth and reality of the resurrection. We as believers have the same task—to “not be deceived by bad company that corrupts good morals” and not to sin, but to live with the hope of the resurrection (v. 33; vv. 16-23). This hope begins here and now, through faith in Christ given to us by God.

The Apostle Paul also makes a direct connection with the teaching of Jesus in John 12, where Jesus declares that the time has come for Him to be glorified, and that a grain of wheat must die in order to produce much fruit. If it does not die, it remains alone.

1 Corinthians 15:22-23
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.

And here we have a passage that may seem difficult, but actually gives us a clear picture of the eschatological events at the coming of Christ, with which the resurrection is also connected.

1 Corinthians 15:24-28
24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For “God has put all things in subjection under His feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that He is excepted who put all things in subjection under Him.
28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all.

Death has already been defeated now—it was defeated on the cross of Jesus; but at the coming of Christ it will be destroyed. Then will come the full triumph of the life won by the sacrifice of the Lord. The end comes when, at the complete triumph of Christ over the enemies of God, He will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, after every authority and power that does not submit to the kingdom has been destroyed. Jesus must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. That means that even today, at this very moment, Jesus is reigning, but in this reign there are still elements that oppose His kingdom. He is putting all enemies under His feet, and the final fulfillment of this work comes with His coming and the day of judgment. After this complete subjection of the enemies of God through the work of the Son, when the kingdom is handed over to God the Father, then the Son Himself will also submit to the Father who put all things under Him.

We live in a time when the fulfillment of this glorious vision is drawing closer with every passing day. The enemies of God and of Christ lie, kill, and destroy, and their kingdom appears invincible. But it is not so. They are slaves of fear, of death, and of sin; slaves of the pride from which they draw their last strength and final breath.

Resurrection and life await the witnesses to the name of Christ and His glorious work of the gospel—the eternal covenant from God.