What Does Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Represent?

Today I want share with you what the death and resurrection of Jesus represents. How his death and resurrection offer forgiveness sins, accounts sinners right with God, a newness of life, and eternal life for those who confess and repent their sins and believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again for their salvation.

1.   Jesus’ Death and resurrection represents our sins forgiven for Salvation

a.  1 Cor 15:17 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Had Christ not risen our faith would be futile and our life according to v.19 is most to be pitied.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins”

Without the resurrection we would still be spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, Rom 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because of Christ death on the cross for our sins if we accept his death on the cross for our sin we are told in. Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”

Col 2:12-15 when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.

John19:28-30 After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

It is finished. Jesus endured the wrath of God for our sin. He paid the debt for our sins. Nothing else needed to be done. Jesus’ death on the cross finalized God’s redemption plan for salvation.

b. Allow me to make this clear that without the death of Jesus Christ there is no forgiveness of sin there can be no salvation without the resurrection. So, because of His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection we give glory to our Christ for our salvation. We are saved not by what we do but by what Christ has done!

2.   Jesus’ Death and resurrection represents Our Justification

a.  Romans 4:25 “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

b.  Jesus death for our sins was necessary for our forgiveness, and His resurrection was need so that God could justify us. Jesus was raised from the dead by God it proved that He had accepted Jesus sacrificial death for our sins, by pouring out His wrath on Jesus in our place and He would be able to justify sinners like you and me. The word justification means to be declared righteous. Rom 3:26 says that God is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God didn’t violate His Holy justice for sin because He punished Christ for our sins, so then He is just to justify us who are guilty of sin. God’s divine verdict of declaring those of us who believe in Christ righteous, have been pardon from the guilt and penalty of sin, and the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed (credited) to our account, this righteousness then allows us to be accepted by God.

      Paul says in 2 Cor 5:21, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

      We who have placed our faith in Christ have been made right with God. To quote Charles Spurgeon “You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if He were you.

3.   Jesus’ Death and resurrection represents Our Sanctification

a.  Romans 6:4  “Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.”

b.  We who have placed our faith in Christ have been spiritually baptized into Christ and united with Christ in his death and resurrection by the action of the Holy Spirit. Paul goes on to say, “in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in the newness of life.” When Jesus was raised from the dead, he received a newness of life a new quality of life, likewise since we are linked to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we to have a newness of life, being transformed from our old sinful ways, to a new quality of life by which we are being sanctified separated from sin and set apart to God to live holy.

4.   Jesus’ Death andresurrection represents Our Glorification

a. Romans 8:17-18 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”

Rom 8:30 “And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.”  

b.  1 Pet 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”

c.   Because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, we can know for a certainty that God will raise us from the dead clothe us with our glorified bodies and bring us into His presence to receive our inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, which has been kept in heaven for us.

d.  The death and resurrection of Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan of having our sins forgiven, to be declared right with God, transform our lives, and have eternal life.