What the Resurrection of Jesus Means Today

All of these gospels lead us to know Jesus. We meet the sinless, spotless Man-God, God’s only Son, who stands for truth and justice, and forgets no one.

The four gospels retell the story surrounding the life of Jesus, all with unique perspectives and details. It’s important to get a glimpse at the authorship of these books, because each writer’s life, traditions, and relationship with Jesus informed how they documented his life. Sometimes, the Bible feels so distant. We read the accounts of Middle Eastern men 2,000+ years after the fact, and it can feel like we have nothing in common with them. However distant it feels, it’s actually so close. Real people penned inspired words describing Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. We see their fears, failures, sins, personal struggles, triumphs, tears, laughter, and unique qualities. We see that the men and women Jesus spent his days with are very similar to us—different cultures, circumstances, and lives—but through their humanity, we can identify with them. More importantly, we see Jesus and how He loves, cares for, died for, and ultimately resurrected for real people. Through their eyes, we understand more about their personal relationships with Jesus and also how Jesus interacted with and loved real human beings.

To the best of our knowledge, although debated by some Christian historians, the four gospels were written by two disciples who were students of their Rabbi, Jesus. Through documentation, references to other scripture and historical events, and connections through details from the texts, it’s assumed that Matthew (Levi) and John were written by their namesakes accordingly. The other two gospels are believed to be written by Luke, a physician and known co-worker and traveling companion of Paul, andMark (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24). Two dedications to Theopholis (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2), vocabulary use, writing style, and details such as the usage of medical terms indicate that Luke—also the author of the Gospel of Luke—wrote the Acts of the Apostles, as well. 

Mark is traditionally understood as the author of the Gospel of Mark, although much of this is based on sources outside of scripture. In Acts 12:12, a woman named Mary held church in her home, and her son Mark is mentioned. Mark is also mentioned in Acts 12:25 when he traveled to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas: Barnabas was his cousin (Colossians 4:10). In Acts 13:36-41, we learn that Mark had deserted the pair in Pamphylia. This disagreement on bringing along Mark caused Paul and Barnabas to split, Barnabas taking Mark and Paul taking Silas as they went their separate ways to do ministry. It seems that despite his mistake with Paul earlier, later in life he matured and grew, gaining respect from Paul and the other apostles as a trustworthy minister of the Gospel (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24; 1 Peter 5:13). 

The gospels are so integral when we look at the resurrection of Jesus, because they each emphasize different qualities of Jesus and his godliness. The resurrection of Jesus is about more than a dead man coming to life. Jesus being raised from the dead is significant because he is God, the Messiah, the promised One, the conqueror of death, the only perfect person who has ever lived and ever will (Matthew 16:16; 1 Corinthians 15:21; Hebrews 5:1-10; 1 John 1:1-3).

Matthew, also known as Levi—who is widely accepted as the author of the Gospel of Matthew—was probably a Jewish man. We know Matthew was a tax collector, working for the Roman government. Tax collectors working for Rome were viewed poorly in ancient Palestine. They were known for taking extra from people by skimming the top off of their collections for themselves. There isn’t any evidence that Matthew was a shady tax collector, but if he was a Jew working for the Roman government, he would have been viewed as a traitor: a treasonous cheater working for the government who was oppressing and ultimately controlling the Jewish community in Palestine. In addition to not fitting in with his religious community, the Romans saw Jews as inferior. 

Although he was most likely despised by his community, Jesus befriended him, called him, and made him his disciple. Jesus didn’t affirm sin, encourage cheating one’s neighbor, nor did he engage in sin himself, yet he wasn’t confined by the judgements of others. Matthew 9:9 explains that Jesus asked Matthew to follow him, and Matthew did. He attended a party at Matthew’s home with other tax collectors present, and the Pharisees couldn’t understand how the man claiming to be God was eating with the community’s sinners club. Matthew 9:10-13 explains how Jesus saw his new friends and responded to the Pharisees’ complaints.  

While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (CSB)

The book of Matthew emphasizes the Kingdom of God, Israel’s King, and the fulfillment of the law. If Matthew was the author of his own book, it’s especially meaningful to read of the interaction between the God of the universe incarnated—loving and dying for a tax collector who the world looked down on, judged, and cast aside. Jesus was the friend of sinners, the new Moses, and the One God had promised from the beginning of sin entering the world (Genesis 3:15; Matthew 11:19; Romans 5:19). God met the sinners where they were. He didn’t say, “Come to me when you’re fixed, when you are no longer broken, when you make it, when people stop labeling you.” Jesus came to the sinful and broken, shared meals with them, loved them, and extended His merciful hands to them. He didn’t affirm sin but invited sinners out from death into new life. No one’s label or ugly reputation was too great for him. Not one person was too far gone or too sinful for Jesus to love and die for. 

The next gospel in the traditional order is Mark. Mark often emphasizes that Jesus was the Son of Man (Mark 2:10, 28; 8:31, 38; 9:9, 12, 31; 10:33, 45, 46, 48; 13:24, 26; 14:21, 41, 62; 15:39). This is a huge significance because it highlights Jesus as the incarnation of God, fully man and fully God. He was faced with the struggles of being a human being. Jesus felt all of the pains, hurts, pressures, and temptations, yet never sinned. His perfection is what made his sacrifice meaningful and able to save us from our sins. He is the perfect Lamb of God, spotless and without sin (1 Peter 1:18-21; John 1:29). No one else could’ve lived, died, and resurrected to pay the penalty of the sins of the world (1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 10:5-10). Hebrews 4:15 explains this perfectly, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.” (CSB)

Interestingly, the earliest manuscripts of Mark don’t actually include the resurrection. It’s hotly debated whether or not Matthew 16 should be included in the Bible today. If this is true, Mark’s gospel is the only one in this unique position.

The Gospel of Luke often focuses on Jesus’s friendship with rejects, outcasts, and social pariahs. The author shows that the gospel was not just for the Jews but for everyone. As we also read in Acts, the gospel is available to every people group, gender, and ethnicity. Luke’s gospel is extremely detailed and gives us much insight into the life of Jesus. Many scholars believe that Luke interviewed and documented the stories of many eyewitnesses to Jesus’s life, giving Luke details the other gospels don’t always include. Luke specifically points out and explains the accounts and stories of many women. He points out how the Kingdom of God is here and how it’s very much in contrast with the kingdoms in place at his time in the world. The first are last, the greatest are the least, and Jesus doesn’t sit among the religiously righteous Pharisees or leaders of Rome. Instead, he eats with sinners, does ministry with women, touches lepers, and is humble. Also, Luke and Acts are the longest books of the New Testament.

Lastly, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, is understood by most to have written his respective gospel (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). John’s gospel focuses on Christ’s deity. From beginning to end, we see Jesus as God’s one and only Son. He is loving, selfless, and perfect. John 1:1-18 explains how Jesus is the Word who became flesh. In John, we see the compassionate God of the universe reaching down to pick up those who need Him. He is rest for the weary, strength for the weak, and life for those who don’t yet know Him. Again and again, John documents Jesus healing the possessed, blind, mute, lame, and sick. Not only does Jesus perform healings to cure the physical ailments paralyzing the people around him, but he provides the only true healing for their very souls.

All of these gospels lead us to know Jesus. We meet the sinless, spotless Man-God, God’s only Son, who stands for truth and justice, and forgets no one. When you really get to meet Jesus through these words, you can feel your anger swelling at the Pharisees who try to trap him. Your heart can feel the joy of the sick who receive health after all of their suffering. Your love for Jesus grows as you see him come to the people outcast by society, reach out, and make them new. You feel fascination as he often answers questions in a unique way, sometimes with more questions, pointing you to something much deeper than you could find on your own. He is fascinating, real, genuine, and always seems to do the unexpected.

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