Is the death of Jesus Christ or His resurrection more important?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Jesus dying for the sins of the world and His resurrection from the dead are equally important. In fact, they are mutually dependent on one another. It would be impossible for Jesus to do one act without the other and still be rightfully called the Christ. Some people mistakenly think that Christ is Jesus's last name, but it is actually a title. It is a title filled with prophetic and eschatological meaning. Christ means "Messiah" or "the Anointed One," and neither term could be applied to Jesus if He ONLY died or was ONLY resurrected. In order to be Christ, He must have done both.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The importance of both Jesus’s death and resurrection are not recorded in the Old Testament.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• If Jesus only died and was not resurrected, then God's Word has failed, Jesus is a false prophet, and we are still living under God's just condemnation. Jesus predicted His own resurrection (Matthew 17:22–23). If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is useless, and we are still in our sins.
• In 1 Corinthians 15:12–19, Paul (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) states, "Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, we would still be left in our sins.
• In 1 Corinthians 15:20–22, Paul confirms, "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
• Jesus Christ died as a propitiation for our sins, appeasing God's just wrath against us for our sins and cancelling the debt that we owed for our sin (1 John 2:2; Colossians 2:14). Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to vindicate that He is who He said He was. His resurrection is proof that He is, in fact, the Son of God and that He is the One whom the Father promised to send (Acts 13:32–36). His resurrection is also the basis for our future resurrection. Because He was resurrected, we can look forward to our own resurrection (Philippians 3:20–21).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

It is logically impossible to be resurrected without first dying. Obviously, no one can be resurrected from the dead without first being dead. However, if Jesus were to die, but not for our sin, and then be raised from the dead, we would not benefit at all from His resurrection. Such a resurrection would reveal His power over death, but it would not satisfy God's just wrath toward us. Since Jesus would not have suffered in our place and therefore would not have paid the penalty our sins deserve, we would have to suffer and pay the penalty ourselves (Romans 6:23). This means we would still be condemned. So, either way you look at it, whether you remove Jesus's substitutionary atoning death on our behalf or remove His resurrection from the dead, we would remain in the same tragic state. That is, we would remain "in our sins," which means we remain under God's just condemnation, awaiting His just punishment. Thankfully, amazingly, gracefully, this is not this case. As we continue to read 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reveals the truth of God concerning who Jesus is (i.e., the Christ). Jesus is the Savior of all who believe in Him, who trust in His sacrificial death for the forgiveness of sin and His glorious resurrection from the dead for eternal life (1 Timothy 4:10; Ephesians 1:7; John 11:25).

UNDERSTAND

• Jesus’s death and resurrection are equally important.
• Jesus’s death assures us that He atoned for our sins.
• Jesus’s resurrection assures us that He was God and that we are indeed forgiven and can have new life if we believe in Him.

REFLECT

• How does understanding the mutual importance of Jesus's death and resurrection deepen your appreciation for His sacrifice and victory over sin and death?
• How do you see the death and resurrection of Jesus as interconnected, and how does each contribute to the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life?
• What difference does it make for your faith to believe that both Jesus's death and resurrection are equally important events?

ENGAGE

• Why is it crucial that Jesus not only died but also was resurrected for our faith to be meaningful?
• How does Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15 emphasize the necessity of both Jesus's death and resurrection?
• What implications does the resurrection have for the future hope of believers, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:20–22?