Back to: CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES SS1
Welcome to class!
In today’s class, we will be talking about the resurrection and second coming of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the class!
The Resurrection and Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Resurrection means coming back to life after death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was to show his victory over death. The account of the resurrection appears in all three synoptic gospels. They all stated that when the women disciples -Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James and Salome went to the tomb to embalm the body of Jesus, they discovered that he had resurrected. Matthew reported that there was a great earthquake; the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone and sat upon it. It was this angel that informed the women that Jesus had risen from the dead.
However, Luke and Mark did not report any earthquake. Mark reported that as the women were contemplating who would help them roll away the stone at the entrance of the tomb; they discovered that the stone was no more there. On entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right side dressed in a white robe and they were amazed. He told them:
“Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him” (Mark 16: 6)
The angel then directed them to go and inform his disciples to prepare themselves and meet him in Galilee. Mark added that the women left the tomb trembling and astonished and they could not say anything to anybody. Luke’s account was similar to that of Mark except that he added that as the women were perplexed over what happened to the body of Jesus, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. It was these men that informed them of the resurrection of Jesus. When the women told the news to the disciples, they did not believe them.
The significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
- The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis of Christian faith. Without his resurrection, there would be no Christian faith.
- God raised Jesus from the dead thereby confirming him as His son.
- Resurrection equally forms the basis of the Christian hope of salvation.
- It is an assurance that as God raised Jesus from the dead, so will God raise every Christian that dies in the lord on the lord on the day of resurrection.
Again, the resurrection of Jesus I the hope that he lord we are serving is alive and this is Christians’ hope of eternal life in the kingdom of God which is in Christ.
- It was the resurrection of Jesus from the grave that helped to encourage the early apostles to preach the gospel with boldness. The fulfilment of all that Jesus had promised gave the disciples and early apostles much confidence and trust in him.
- The resurrection of Jesus is central to Christian belief. To Christians, the resurrection is an assurance of Christ’s victory over sin and death.
- Christ’s resurrection day became for Christians the day of the lord, the day of salvation. Hence the shift away from the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) to the Christians first day of the week, Sunday- a day of devotion to God; the most memorable day.
- At baptism, Christians die to sin (symbolized by dipping into water) but with Christ’s resurrection, Christians rise in faith with Christ (symbolized when they are raised from the water).
Evaluation
Describe briefly the account of the Resurrection of Jesus.
Assignment
- Highlight five significance of the Resurrection of Jesus.
- Discuss briefly the relationship between baptism and resurrection.
In our next class, we will be talking about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We hope you enjoyed the class.
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