On Easter every year, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the fact that the grave is empty. Why is this so important? What does Jesus rising from the dead have to do with our faith? Well, it turns out it has everything to do with our faith and we are going to discover that purpose today. Let’s dig in. 

Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20 all tell the story of the resurrection. Jesus had died for our sin but why did he rise? He rose for our justification. Romans 4:25 tells us that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification”. Jesus’ death allows us to have salvation through his sacrifice (Ephesians 1:7). His resurrection allows us to be free from the guilt of sin and allows us to be made right in the eyes of God. 

The death of Jesus allows a hope to come alive. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. We have a living hope in Jesus because he was raised from the dead. If Jesus had stayed dead, we would have no hope. But since Jesus died and rose, we can share in the resurrection. That is the hope of the resurrection, that we get to be resurrected one day as well because we share in the resurrection. The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 deals with this idea of the resurrection and how we will share in this same resurrection. 

During this hard time in the world. Jesus gives us hope. The resurrection of Jesus gives us a living hope that this world is not the end. Jesus is alive, the grave is empty, Jesus conquered death, and we will live with him for eternity. That is the story of Easter and the story of the empty grave.