Sunday School Today: Christ’s Death and Resurrection Were Necessary

A.  Christ’s death

1. No one is saved by the life of Christ but through the death of Christ.  John 3:14-18.
2. It was part of God’s eternal purpose.  Hebrews 10:7.
3. It was necessary to fulfill Old Testament prophecies.  Isaiah 53:5.
4. It was necessary to provide salvation for man.  Ephesians 1:7.
5. The death of Christ was for others.  He died as a substitute.  1 Corinthians 15:3.
6. The death of Christ was sufficient.  It completely meets God’s claims because Christ endured and exhausted the judgment of God against sin.  It completely meets man’s need because it was the death of an Infinite Person and, therefore, its value is infinite.

B.  Christ’s resurrection

1. The bodily resurrection of Christ was necessary to fulfill prophecy, to complete the work of the cross (Romans 4:25), and to enable Christ to undertake His present work in heaven.
2. Christ’s resurrected body was real.  It was not a spirit (Luke 24:39).  It was the same body that was crucified because it had the print of the nails in his hands and the spear wound in his side (John 20:27).  Yet, it was a changed body with power to overcome physical limitations.
3. After His resurrection, Christ appeared to many of His followers at least ten times.  More than 500 reliable witnesses saw Him after He arose and testified that Jesus was, in fact, risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:6-8).

The resurrection of Christ is an important truth.  If there had been no resurrection, there would be no Christian faith.  This one event separates Christianity from all other religions.  All religions point to the grave of their leader and “savior.”  We do not have a dead God.  We have a living Savior who triumphed over death and the grave and is alive for ever more.  With the number of witnesses to this historic event, there is no doubt as to its validity.