Nothing Else Matters

How the Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything

Nancy A. Almodovar

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781666718102, 9781666718119
• eBook ISBN: 9781666718126
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

It is said that Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, a leading scholar in the history of Christianity and Sterling Prof. Everett of history at Yale University, on his deathbed confessed this: If Christ has not risen from the dead, nothing else matters.If Christ has risen from the dead, nothing else matters.I came across this quote in my research for the "Apologetics Together" courses that I offer on social media and was immediately awed at its profound implications. Indeed, if Jesus has not risen, we must agree with Saint Paul that the world remains in their sins and are eternally lost. However, since Jesus has risen, those who have placed their trust in him are assured of salvation and eternal life. This book looks at the prophecies and fulfillment in the Scriptures which assure us that he who died on the cross at Calvary rose again on the third day for our justification.

1

Scripture Speaks

As I am writing this, there are tears of gratitude and joy welling up. Why? The sheer number of verses from Scripture which deal with the resurrection of Jesus Christ is vast. Over one hundred Scripture texts speak of the fact that Jesus told his disciples that he would rise from the dead and, after he did, include the disciples’ testimonials to that historic fact. This is where Pelikan’s quote leaves such an impact. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, nothing else matters. However, the fact that Jesus did rise from the dead means that nothing else matters. Nothing else in this life has the power to change men, women, and children everywhere. Nothing else—the struggles, the trials, the persecutions, the suffering, and/or death—really matter in light of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week and, as Saint Athanasius said, has conquered “sin, death, and the devil.”1 Oh, we await that great day when all things will be put under his feet in a final blow to our greatest enemies, and yet we rejoice that the enemy, death, has been conquered and life—eternal life—is offered to all who will believe in the gospel.

Therefore, in this chapter, I am simply going to let the Scriptures speak and end with the text that will be looked at in the remaining chapters. In my research, I looked for these three words: “risen,” “raised,” and “resurrection.” I removed all those in reference to those whom Jesus raised from the dead and focused only on those that refer to him, whether promise or fulfillment.

What the Scriptures say about the promises of Jesus’ resurrection and our own, as well as the fulfillment of these prophecies, does not begin in the New Testament but also comes straight from the Old Testament as well. In fact, the first promise is given in Gen 3:15 (the first evangelical promise), as Luther writes: “For if the serpent’s head is to be crushed, then death must certainly be done away with.”2 So, as we look at what the Scriptures say, we begin with Genesis and move through the Old Testament and into the New Testament. Therefore, as Martin Luther writes, “The Christian faith in the resurrection of the dead is as old as is the proclamation of the Gospel”3 (see Gen 3:15).

Old Testament Texts on the Resurrection of the Dead:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Gen 3:15, italics added)

Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23–27, italics added)

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Ps 16:9–11, italics added)

I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. (Ps 118:17–18, italics added)

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. (Ps 49:15, italics added)

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. (Isa 25:8, italics added)

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. (Isa 26:19, italics added)

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Isa 53:10, italics added)

Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. (Hos 6:1–2, italics added)

I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. (Hos 13:14, italics added)

At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Scripture Speaks
• Chapter 2: Songs of the Resurrection
• Chapter 3: If-Than
• Chapter 4: Jesus Seeks the Lost
• Chapter 6: Everything Has Changed
• Chapter 7: Pivotal
• Chapter 8: The Feast of the Resurrection
• Bibliography