The Resurrection Was Unique To Christianity
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is unique to the Christian faith - no other religious figure has ever predicted his own resurrection, and then accomplished it. All of the other world religions are based on a founder who lived in the past and whose religion is his only legacy. Mohammed died at age 61 on June 8, A.D. 632 in Medina. He is still dead. Confucius died and Buddha also died. They also remain dead - Jesus Christ is alive.
Summary
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith. It is mentioned over one hundred times in the New Testament. It was the main point for each sermon in the Book of Acts. Without it there is no Christian faith. Paul said the resurrection is important to the believer for a number of reasons. He said that Christian preaching is empty if Jesus did not come back from the dead. The faith of the believer is worthless if Christ is not risen because he is the object of the faith. In addition, Christ, is not whom He said He was. He would have been a liar. The apostles are also liars for testifying to a resurrection that did not occur. Furthermore, there is no forgiveness for anybody's sin. Those who have died believing in Christ have no hope. If hope in Christ is limited to this life, Christians are to be pitied above all people.
The resurrection is also important to the identity and mission of Jesus. First, the resurrection is important to His identity. The resurrection is the demonstration that Jesus indeed is the Son of God. The resurrection is also important to His character. Jesus would not have been a true prophet had He not come back from the dead as He predicted that He would. It is important to Jesus' ministry. If He did not come back from the dead then His ministry would have ended in defeat. Finally, it is important to His message. The centrality of the Christian message is that Jesus died and then came back from the dead. If He did not come back from the dead then there is no Christianity. Consequently we see that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely crucial to the Christian faith.
