On the Third Day
… The Christian proclamation is that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. This is a central historical claim of Christianity, not merely a metaphysical or metaphorical one. The cross and the resurrection stand as the central foundations upon which all of Christian faith is built. As Paul puts in 1 Corinthians 15 – “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain…If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (15:14, 17). Remove the resurrection and you are not left with “good news” for all of humanity, but merely some “good advice” from a martyred sage.
It’s important that we understand what “resurrection” means and what it does not. When the biblical writers use that specific term, it does NOT mean: Continue Reading……