Bible Passages about the Resurrection 

For people who follow Jesus, Easter is more than just a fun time to gather with family and friends. For Christians, Easter is the ultimate celebration of life! We celebrate Easter because it marks the day that Jesus rose from the dead – or resurrected. For followers of Jesus, this day is all about the hope that we have through Jesus. Because of what happened on Easter, we know that death isn’t the end. Here are some sections of the Bible that talk about the resurrection, along with a little bit of explanation. 

1 Corinthians 15  

Before the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were written down, Paul wrote a letter to the church in Corinth which we know as 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul walks the Corinthian church through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what it means for followers of Jesus. In this passage, Paul argues that without Jesus’ resurrection, the message of Christianity and the Good News of Jesus is useless, and so is our faith in Christ. In 1 Corinthians Paul also talks about how Jesus’ followers will be resurrected like him, and what that will be like. The main point is this: Jesus defeated the power of death through his resurrection, not just for himself, but for all who follow after him.  

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  

In one of the earliest writings we have in the New Testament, Paul writes to the church of Thessalonica. In it, we hear again the refrain that “we believe that Jesus died and rose again.” Here Paul is providing comfort to some of the earliest followers of Jesus who had experienced the death of their brothers and sisters in Christ – the point of the message here is that Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope, and that those who have died, or ‘fallen asleep,’ will live again with Christ. Resurrection gives us hope! Scholars believe that 1 Thessalonians was written around CE 51, around 15-20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus – this helps us know that resurrection hope is an original and early part of what the first Christians believed!  

Mark 16:1-8 

The Gospel of Mark was likely the first fully written account of Jesus’ life. The earliest manuscripts of Mark end at verse eight, and it ends Mark’s action-packed and dynamic account of Jesus on question Mark. Some of Jesus followers, women named Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome came to the tomb where Jesus had been placed to anoint and prepare his body in accordance with custom. But when they arrived at the tomb, they discovered a surprise! The large, heavy stone that sealed the entrance had been rolled away, and a young man dressed in a white robe sitting at the entrance, who tells them, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” Mark’s Gospel’s earliest version’s end without encountering the resurrected Jesus, but instead invite the reader into the question that those first witnesses must have wondered, “What does this mean for me?”  

John 20-21 

John’s Gospel account of Jesus ends with two full chapters that detail a series of events that happen after Jesus’ burial and begin with an empty tomb, which is again discovered by Jesus’ women followers. In these chapters, Jesus appears to many people (which we can read about in 1 Corinthians 15), spends time with his disciples, or followers. John’s Gospel reminds us that he wrote these things down so that we may believe that Jesus is God’s anointed King, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name (John 20:31). 

Matthew 28  

Matthew 28 is Matthew’s account of the Resurrection. Matthew shows us again that Jesus’ women followers were the first to discover the empty tomb and to proclaim the news of the resurrection to Jesus’ other followers. Matthew ends with the resurrected Jesus commissioning his followers to go and make disciples of all the peoples of the world, teaching them to follow what Jesus taught, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Luke 24 

Luke’s account of Jesus’ life ends with the women who followed Jesus discovering the empty tomb, reporting the news to the other disciples, and Jesus then opening the minds of his disciples so they could understand all that the Old Testament had to say about him. He then tells his followers to stay in Jerusalem “until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke’s ending sets up the beginning of another book in the New Testament, written by the same author, that details the beginning of the church. 

We hope that these Bible passages about Easter have helped you as think through what Christians believe about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

If you’d like to celebrate Easter and learn more about Jesus’ resurrection, join as at First Baptist Arlington!