Why does it matter if Jesus rose from the dead?
This is a short evangelistic talk I delivered to guests at my house, after dinner and before pancakes on Shrove Tuesday 2025. It is adapted from my talk entitled The Hope of the Resurrection.
Hello everyone, glad to have you with us! We hope you enjoyed dinner and we'll start on the pancakes in a few minutes. Before that, let me share a few thoughts from the Bible. If you're here because a friend invited you along, you hopefully know that your friend is a Christian—a follower of Jesus Christ. One of the central aspects of Christianity is the Resurrection—that Jesus rose from the dead. Perhaps you've heard that Christians believe this, and it seems a strange and maybe intriguing claim, but maybe you're thinking “why should I even investigate this? What difference does it make if He even did? Why does it matter for me if Jesus rose from the dead?”
Let's see what an ancient doctor, historian and saint called Luke says. Luke wrote a biography of Jesus a few years after His life, which you hopefully have a copy of. This biography is in the Bible, and it contains his account of Jesus resurrection, of which we'll read a snippet, which you can find on page 79. For a little context before I read, Jesus, despite being innocent, was executed by being nailed to a cross three days before this event. However some people have just come to the disciples, Jesus' friends, with news that they have just seen Jesus and that they had a long theological conversation with Him. Here's what happens next, reading from verse 36 (that's the small number 36).
36As the disciples were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate before them.
Luke 24:36-43
The first thing we're going to see is that Jesus really wants us to understand that He's well and truly alive.
Three days earlier, His disciples had seen Him brutally murdered by being nailed to a cross, but here He is, alive and well. His disciples are absolutely not expecting this, and so no wonder that they're scared—look at verse 37 there. “But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.”
The disciples weren't stupid—they knew as well as we do that people don't just come back from the dead. So they see the man whom they just watched being crucified, and naturally they simply don't believe He's back alive again. I wonder what you'd think in their situation. The best explanation they have for the fact that they can all see Him and yet He's … dead is that they're seeing some kind of apparition, end of verse 37—and so they're terrified. And who can blame them? Of course the dead stay dead.
But look how clear it is that Jesus really is alive. He gently comforts them—see verse 38 there: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”. Then He helpfully points out to them that ghosts don't have flesh and bones, then He shows them His hands and feet: flesh and bones, the same flesh and bones as the disciples have. Jesus did not come back as some undead ethereal spirit, but as a real, living, glorified man. Take a look down at verse 39:
39“See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate before them.”
Luke 24:39-43
While they're all standing around open-mouthed with amazement, He doubly drives the point home, by asking them for a light snack, and eating it in front of them! I probably don't need to explain that ethereal apparitions don't eat kippers for breakfast. Make no mistake about it, Jesus is alive, which is Very Good News.
Why though? Why is it good news for us? Well it's because this event, Jesus parading His living body, which death could not hold down, is the victory parade of the King. He's not just defeated His own death, but death itself.
In contrast, imagine, if you will, a king returning from battle limping, having lost his crown and one of his arms, with a dozen scruffy archers left, and being escorted by enemy soldiers, and yet insisting that he was victorious and the enemy were completely crushed. It'd be a pitiable sight, and you'd probably conclude he'd also been bashed on the head during the battle. It'd be the same if Jesus had come back as a ghost. Not fully dead, but certainly not alive—bound by the chains of death, yet insisting He'd won.
No, here is Jesus, well and truly raised from the dead. Not as an undead ghostly spirit, but as a living, glorified man. He has returned from the great battle against death, utterly victorious, having vanquished His—and our—greatest enemy.
So, rather than the delusional defeated king, this is the king returning from battle on His noble steed, arrayed in gold and velvet, followed by ten thousand mighty warriors and the enemy king in chains. Death is dead and Christ has conquered, and His disciples are seeing the royal triumph. And as the King returns, He proclaims the good news to the people of His kingdom: no more death—instead life to the full, for evermore, for all who follow Him.
And we need this victory! Death is the dreadful reality facing us all, and there is no way out of it—except for by this Jesus, who can release us from its grip and free us from its curse. Jesus defeated death, and here He comes, proclaiming His victory in a truly triumphant victory parade.
And, Jesus' victory march is not celebrating some irrelevant triumph, won by a king just for his own sake. No, this parade is a celebration of triumph not just for the King, but for His whole kingdom, for all His people. It's for all those who rejoice at the victory, who turn to the king because of His great love for us, and who trust in Him. For them, death is no longer an eternal separation from God, something to be feared and dreaded, but rather the gateway to inexpressible joy in His presence eternally.
So why does it matter if Jesus rose from the dead? Well, firstly, His resurrection is the victory parade of the king, the king who has conquered death. And secondly, it's not just for Himself but for His whole kingdom, for all who follow Him. He has turned death from a dark and dreadful thing into the doorway to life eternal in the presence of the God of all joy and life.
Let's finish off with thinking about what difference this makes to the life of a Christian here and now. Take the disciples as an example.
At first, before they know what's going on, they're terrified—let's remind ourselves of verse 37. Jesus startles them by His sudden appearance, and they're frightened thinking that they're being haunted by some undead ghost. They haven't yet understood that they're watching the proclamation of the defeat of death, and they certainly don't believe that Jesus has been victoriously raised from the grave.
But after they see and feel His hands and feet, and the nail-holes left in them by the crucifixion, they understand what's happened, and are overwhelmed with joy. Have you ever received such good news that you almost don't believe it? When I proposed to my wife, I knew she would say yes, yet, when she said it, I could hardly believe it for joy! It was too good to be true—[show ring] yet here I am. For me, the only good news that topped hearing her say “Yes” was hearing for myself the news that these terrified men heard and saw.
What utter joy! Their good and loving master and teacher, arrested and murdered at the hands of wicked men, now triumphantly standing there, more alive than they are, announcing that death has been crushed, and bringing eternal life in God's presence for all who turn to Him. Not only have they got their beloved friend back, but they have witnessed the victory parade for the conquest of death.
Christians know this joy too. We will still face the struggles and pains of this life, and we will not be perfectly cheerful every day for the rest of our lives—but underneath the shifting sands of life, we have a firm foundation. Whatever comes our way, we can face it with an underlying peace and joy, knowing that nothing can ultimately harm us, as Christ has conquered death for us, turning our death into merely the doorway to eternal life in the kingdom of the life-giving Lord.
But perhaps you're not convinced yet—don't shelve this discussion. It has the most massive implications, so why not take some time to consider these claims seriously? This is a historical account, based on eyewitness testimony, of an event which instantly turned the disciples from cowards in hiding, fearing for their lives, into bold and unafraid witnesses, many of whom were tortured and even martyred, but never denied the truth of what they saw and touched. You might also like to ask the friend who brought you about how this joy and peace impacts their life!
And if you're listening to this and thinking “this sounds amazing—but how can I know if Jesus really rose from the dead?”. Or perhaps you've got other questions too—“how exactly did Jesus conquer death?”. Well, Luke tells us that he wrote his whole biography of Jesus “so that you can be certain”. So why not take home this booklet or find a copy online and just have a read through? It's about 2 or 3 hours cover to cover, depending on how fast you read! And why not ask whoever invited you any questions you have about it?
Let's get making some pancakes now, and let's keep the conversation going. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, so feel completely free to ask whatever you'd like to know about Christianity! Every question is a good question, so let's keep chatting about it as we get some pancakes going.