Understanding the Resurrection of Christ
(Excerpted by Dr. W. Nierras from the Catechism for Filipino Catholics, 06 Aug 2021)
619. The following pages shall first take up the importance and nature of Christ’s Resurrection; second, investigate its New Testament witness; third, study Christ’s Ascension; and finally, look at Christ’s promised Second Coming.
Importance and Nature of the Resurrection
620. St. Paul clearly affirmed the singular importance of the Resurrection in declaring: “If Christ was not raised, your faith is worthless” (1 Cor 15:17). This means that if Christ is not risen, Paul and all Christians would “then be exposed as false witnesses of God, for we have borne witness before Him that He raised up Christ” (1 Cor 15:15). In brief, if Christ be not risen, we are all idolaters! But the truth is: Christ IS risen, and his resurrection has revolutionized both the very notion and image of God, and the ultimate meaning and goal of our very own lives. 621. We can sketch the meaning and salvific importance of Christ’s Resurrection in five points (cf. CCC 651-55). First, his Resurrection confirmed everything Christ had done and taught. It fulfilled both Jesus’ triple prediction of his Passion, Death and Resurrection in the Synoptics (cf. Mk 8:31; 9:30; 10:32), and his triple prediction of being “lifted up” in John’s Gospel (cf. Jn 3:14; 8:28; 12:32). Christ’s exaltation vindicated all he claimed to be, as he himself asserted in his trial before the high priest (cf. Mk 14:61f). 622. Second, through his Resurrection, Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies promising a Savior for all the world (cf. Ps 110; Dn 7:13). The history of God’s Self-revelation, begun with Abraham and continuing through Moses, the Exodus, and the whole Old Testament, reached its climax in Christ’s Resurrection, something unprecedented, totally new. 623. Third, the Resurrection confirmed Jesus’ divinity. St. Paul preached that Jesus was “designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4; cf. Phil 2:7-8). Upon seeing the Risen Jesus, Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28). 624. Fourth, Christ’s death freed us from sin, and his Resurrection brought us a share in the new life of adopted sons/daughters of the Father in the Holy Spirit. “If then we have died with Christ [freed from sin], we believe that we shall also live with him” (Rom 6:8). 625. Finally, the Risen Christ is the principle and source of our future resurrection. This means Jesus rose not only to a “glorious” higher state of life himself, but also to become the source of this new life for all. “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself” (Phil 3:21). “In Christ all will come to life again” (1 Cor 15:22; cf. CCC 651-55). Nature of the Resurrection
628. The Resurrection was basically Jesus’ passage from death to new, definitive glorified life. Thus it can be described from three points of view: 1) as passage: an event in human history; 2) as the glorified life of the Risen Christ; and 3) as effected by the Blessed Trinity. 629. First, as an event, Christ’s Resurrection is both historical and trans-historical. It is historical in terms of the testimony of witnesses to the Risen Christ, the empty tomb, etc. But it surpasses and transcends history in that no one claimed to see the event, no one described how it took place, no one can explain what “risen, glorified existence” is essentially. Therefore, the passage to such a new state of life is necessarily a reality discerned through the eyes of Faith, not by the senses (cf. CCC 639, 647). 630. Second, the glorified state of the Risen Christ is both like and unlike the historical, earthly Jesus. He has personal continuity with his prior earthly bodily existence. The Risen Christ re-established direct relations with his disciples, even with the marks of his Passion. For it was the Crucified one whom “God freed from death’s bitter pangs and raised up again” (Acts 2:24). Yet, the Risen Christ also showed a clear discontinuity with his earthly state. In his risen state he transcends the bodily limits of time and space, and inaugurates the new and final creation, the final destiny of all. The Risen Christ is the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep . . . in Christ all will come to life again” (1 Cor 15:20, 22; cf. CCC 645). 631. Therefore, Christ’s Resurrection did not mean a return to earthly life. The Risen Christ is not like Lazarus, the son of the widow of Naim or the daughter of Jairus (cf. Jn 11:43f; Lk 7:15; Mk 5:41f). They were revived from death to resume their earthly existence, only to die again (cf. Jn 11:43-44; CCC 646). Christ arose to an entirely new “glorified” existence. We recognize this in the fact that “Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him” (Rom 6:9). Thus we pray: “Christ is the victim who dies no more; the Lamb, once slain, who lives forever” (Easter Pref. III). 632. Third. As effected by the Trinity, the Resurrection represents the definitive intervention of the Triune God into creation and our human history. As in all out-going divine acts, the Resurrection is effected by all three divine Persons working together, but each according to the distinctiveness proper to each (cf. CCC 648-50). Thus, like the source of Jesus’ divine sonship and mission is the Father, so too the divine power raising Jesus from the dead has its source in the Father (cf. Acts 2:24). Also, like Jesus’ very conception in the Virgin Mary, the divine power re-vivifying and glorifying the dead Jesus, body and soul, is the Holy Spirit. And as sharing equally together with Father and Spirit the one divine power, the Eternal Son works his own humanity’s resurrection as Jesus promised. “I have the power to lay down my life, and to take it up again” (Jn 10:18). New Testament Witness to the Resurrection 633. The New Testament gives witness to Christ’s Resurrection in three basic ways. First, the Kerygma or early preaching of the Gospel, proclaimed the central importance of Christ’s Resurrection. This was true for both the commission and authority of the apostles, and for grounding the Christian Faith itself. Second, Jesus’ Presence, both in the Risen Christ’s appearances, and then through the teaching, moral exhortation, and worship of the Apostolic Church, witnesses to his Resurrection. The appearances of the Risen Christ illumine how he relates to us through his witnesses, and the essential need for faith. 634. And finally, the Resurrection is proclaimed as the Christians’ future. It indicates how God saves, and illustrates this by the empty tomb. The empty tomb provides invaluable insight into our future by showing how God actually saves us bodily in Christ. We shall briefly investigate each of these three ways of witnessing to Christ’s Resurrection.
635. The early preaching contrasts Jesus’ death for sin with his Resurrection by God, and connects them with his appearances to his disciples and fulfilling Scripture. “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; . . . he was buried; . . . he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; . . . he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve” (1 Cor 15:3b-5). And again: “We believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Jesus who was handed over to death for our transgressions and was raised for our justification” (Rom 4:24-25). 636. In key texts, Jesus’ Resurrection is linked with the apostolic commission: “Paul, an apostle not from human beings nor through a human being, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead” (Gal 1:1). Matthew has the Risen Christ commissioning his disciples for their apostolic mission. “Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 28:18-l9). These texts show how Jesus’ Resurrection directly affected the first apostolic mission, creating the daily life and practice of the first Christian communities. 639. One particular phrase in the Easter kerygma is especially significant: “on the third day” (1 Cor 15:4; Acts 10:40). Throughout the Old Testament the “third day” signified a special point in salvation history, not merely numerical time. Moses told the people: “be ready on the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai” (Ex 19:11). Hosea prophesied: “He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence” (Hos 6:2). In the New Testament, Jesus used the phrase in predictions of his Passion, in invoking the sign of Jonah (cf. Mt 12:40), and in offering the Jews a sign of his authority to cleanse the temple: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19).
640. … Unlike the Old Testament prophets’ experience of hearing God’s word, the disciples’ encounter with the Risen Christ is constantly described in terms of seeing, sometimes even with “touching.” The women “embraced” the feet of Jesus (cf. Mt 28:9). To his disciples who thought he was a ghost, the Risen Christ said: “Look at my hands and my feet; it is really I. Touch me and see that a ghost does not have flesh and bones as I do” (Lk 24:39). To the doubting Thomas Jesus said: “Take your finger and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side” (Jn 20:27). 641. These appearances of the Risen Christ have three significant characteristics. First, they were different from visions totally within history since the Risen Christ showed himself as transcending the ordinary limits of time and space. Second, except for Paul, the Risen Christ appeared only to those who could identify him with the earthly, historical Jesus. These thus became the once-and-for-all original witnesses founding the Church. The Apostolic Age closed with their passing; from then on, Christians are those “who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:29). 642. Third, and most importantly, the appearances did not remove all doubts nor the need for faith (cf. CCC 644). Some doubted that the one who appeared was really Jesus of Nazareth, others that he was the Christ. A real change of heart, a conversion, was needed to “see” the Risen Christ as the apostle Thomas and the Emmaus disciples clearly show (cf. Jn 20:27; Lk 24:13-35). Matthew describes how “those who had entertained doubts fell down in homage” (Mt 28:17). This confirms the fact that faith is truly a gift. “No one can say: ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12: 3). St. Thomas Aquinas explains that “the apostles saw the living Christ after his Resurrection with the eyes of faith” (ST, III: 55, 2 ad 1m). 643. But the presence of the Risen Jesus was not confined to his appearances. Rather, Christ’s active presence was intensely felt by the early community, and linked with life in the Spirit. “We ourselves, although we have the Spirit as first-fruits, groan inwardly while we await the redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:23). Jesus’ presence was especially felt in three areas, corresponding to our present “Doctrine,” “Morals,” and “Worship.” First, as source of the teaching and authority of the Christian community’s leaders. Second, in the moral exhortations of the Pauline epistles. And third, in the community worship, especially Baptism and the Eucharist. Teaching 644. The Risen Christ commissioned his disciples: You are to “teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you” (Mt 28:20). Jesus and the Father abide in anyone who is “true to my word. . . . We will come to him and make our dwelling place with him” (Jn 14:23). Pauline Moral Exhortation 645. The Risen Christ’s Paschal pattern of new life through death determines the shape of all Christian life in the Spirit. Christ’s Resurrection makes spiritually present He to whom every Christian belongs. So Paul writes: “Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed” (2 Cor 4:10) … Liturgical Worship 646. The Risen Christ’s presence was experienced perhaps most clearly in the sacramental worship of the Christian community. First, “in baptism you were not only buried with him but also raised to new life with him because you believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead” (Col 2:12). The Eucharist, for Paul, makes present Christ’s Paschal Mystery: “Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26). John stresses the notion of abiding presence through the Eucharist: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56).
647. By itself, the tradition of the “empty tomb” does not prove anything. But when linked to the Risen Christ’s appearances, it is confirmatory of the Resurrection (cf. CCC 640). More important, perhaps, is what the empty tomb indicates about the nature of our salvation. For the corpse of Jesus was a symbol of the ultimate human sin, and God took that corpse and made of it the beginning of the new creation. Redemption in the Catholic sense, then, is not escaping from this sinful world, but transforming it with all its evil and suffering. Moreover, respect for material creation, against all forms of spiritualism, is once again affirmed. As He had done in creation and at the Incarnation, God once again enhances matter by raising Christ from the dead. PCP II strongly supports this respect for material creation in its appeal for “a passionate care of our earth and our environment” to preserve the “integrity of God’s creation” (PCP II 79, 321-24). |
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Christ’s Ascension
648. But the “raising” of Christ did not stop with his Resurrection from the dead. An integral part of Christ’s Paschal Mystery is his Ascension. The Risen Jesus told Mary Magdalene: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn 20:17; cf. CCC 659-60). John’s Gospel neatly unifies all dimensions of Christ’s Paschal Mystery (Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension) by Jesus’ assertion of being “lifted up” (cf. Jn 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-33). These correspond to the predictions of the Passion, Death and Resurrection in the Synoptic Gospels (e.g., Mk 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34). The predictions of both the Passion and “being lifted up” have two things in common. They speak of 1) the “Son of Man,” and 2) the divine imperative. “So must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn 3:143). And “The Son of Man had to suffer much. . . be put to death, and rise three days later” (Mk 8:31).
649. The primary meaning of being raised or “lifted up” is Christ’s exaltation, sovereign authority and power over creation and all history (cf. CCC 668-70). This recalls a “Suffering Servant” prophecy of Isaiah: “See, my Servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted” (Is 52:13). It also appears in two of Peter’s discourses in Acts expressing both Resurrection and Ascension. “The God of our fathers has raised up Jesus whom you put to death, hanging him on a tree. He whom God has exalted at His right hand as Ruler and Savior to bring repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31). Referring “lifted up” also to Christ’s Ascension to the Father, then, helps explain: “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will come to realize that I AM” (Jn 8:28). “I AM” was the name God revealed to Moses in Ex 3:14, which John’s Gospel uses to bring out the divinity of Jesus.
650. But the Ascension is also a saving event for us. Christ’s return to the Father was necessary for sending the Spirit: “It is much better for you that I go. . . . If I go, I will send the Paraclete to you” (Jn 16:7). Jesus’ Ascension to his Father did not separate him from the world. Rather, it made him even more present to his disciples. The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his seat at God’s right hand. The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere. The Lord continued to work with them throughout, and to confirm the message through the signs which accompanied them” (Mk 16:19-20). Paul also stresses this same active presence of “Christ Jesus who died or rather was raised up, who is at the right hand of God and who intercedes for us” (Rom 8:34).
651. Christ’s Ascension, then, brings out a number of basic truths of our Christian Faith. First, the Ascension marks Jesus’ exaltation into the heavenly realm of his Father. Second, it does not separate Christ from us because as he promised, from heaven he “draws everyone to himself” (Jn 12:32). Third, since “he lives forever to make intercession,” Christ continues to exercise his priesthood since he entered “heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf” (Heb 7:25; 9:24). Finally, the ascended Christ as Head of the Church gives us, members of his Body, the hope of one day entering into glory with him (cf. CCC 661-67).
Christ Will Come Again
653. We are aware of the living presence of the Risen Christ among us in the Holy Spirit sent among us. But we also know from the Creed that he “will come again to judge the living and the dead” (cf. CCC 687-82). In the first eucharistic acclamation we proclaim: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!” “Parousia,” meaning “coming” or “presence,” is the traditional term for Christ’s Second Coming as divine Judge (cf. Mt 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor 15:23; etc.). “The Son of Man will come with his Father’s glory accompanied by his angels. When he does, he will repay each man according to his conduct” (Mt 16:27-28).
654. In the early days Christians prayed for this coming of Christ their Savior: “O Lord, come! Marana tha!” (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20). But gradually this longing for their forgiving Savior gave way to gnawing consciousness of individual sinfulness and infidelity. The attitude of longing for the Lord was replaced by something akin to the Old Testament prophetic warnings. The “Day of the Lord” was pictured as a “Day of Judgment,” a Dies Irae (Day of God’s Wrath). In recent times there has been a renewal of the New Testament stress on Christ’s “saving presence,” and his Second Coming as introducing the final completion not just of the individuals but of the whole world. The final destiny of the human race is ultimately in God’s hands.
655. But confusion often arises today, partly due to the exaggerated interpretations of the final day by some fundamentalist sects. They overemphasize and interpret in literal fashion the poetic, apocalyptic descriptions of the end of the world given in the Bible, especially in Daniel and the book of Revelation. Biblical literature of this type has to be read in terms of its typical characteristics. First, while seemingly a revelation of the future, apocalyptic texts actually are usually a commentary on their own times. Second, the revelation is generally presented in a vision or dream, in which allegorical language and complicated symbolism are used. Third, the texts attempt by such means to portray the final end of world history and the fearful destruction of all the evil forces in the world.
656. Given such qualities of biblical apocalyptic literature, it is more important for us, Filipino Catholics, to focus on the basic truths of the Parousia. The first is that the Risen Christ as the Son of Man will “come to judge the living and the dead” (2 Tim 4:1). “The Lord himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel’s voice and God’s trumphet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes 4:16). Second, Christ’s Second Coming will be unmistakable since it will be accompanied by unprecedented signs in the heavens and on the earth. “As the lightning from the East flashes to the West, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt 24:27).
657. Third, regarding when the Parousia will take place, the Gospel is very clear. “As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father only” (Mt 24:36). Therefore, fourth, because it will come unexpectedly, “like a thief in the night” (1 Thes 5:2), we must “be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come” (Mk 13:33).
658. Lastly, because Christ is already in his glory, and has sent his Spirit among us, the “time” of salvation has already come. Now is the time when our salvation is being worked out in our daily acts with our neighbors. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory,” he will judge our acts according to one norm: “As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25:31, 40).
648. But the “raising” of Christ did not stop with his Resurrection from the dead. An integral part of Christ’s Paschal Mystery is his Ascension. The Risen Jesus told Mary Magdalene: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn 20:17; cf. CCC 659-60). John’s Gospel neatly unifies all dimensions of Christ’s Paschal Mystery (Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension) by Jesus’ assertion of being “lifted up” (cf. Jn 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-33). These correspond to the predictions of the Passion, Death and Resurrection in the Synoptic Gospels (e.g., Mk 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34). The predictions of both the Passion and “being lifted up” have two things in common. They speak of 1) the “Son of Man,” and 2) the divine imperative. “So must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn 3:143). And “The Son of Man had to suffer much. . . be put to death, and rise three days later” (Mk 8:31).
649. The primary meaning of being raised or “lifted up” is Christ’s exaltation, sovereign authority and power over creation and all history (cf. CCC 668-70). This recalls a “Suffering Servant” prophecy of Isaiah: “See, my Servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted” (Is 52:13). It also appears in two of Peter’s discourses in Acts expressing both Resurrection and Ascension. “The God of our fathers has raised up Jesus whom you put to death, hanging him on a tree. He whom God has exalted at His right hand as Ruler and Savior to bring repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31). Referring “lifted up” also to Christ’s Ascension to the Father, then, helps explain: “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will come to realize that I AM” (Jn 8:28). “I AM” was the name God revealed to Moses in Ex 3:14, which John’s Gospel uses to bring out the divinity of Jesus.
650. But the Ascension is also a saving event for us. Christ’s return to the Father was necessary for sending the Spirit: “It is much better for you that I go. . . . If I go, I will send the Paraclete to you” (Jn 16:7). Jesus’ Ascension to his Father did not separate him from the world. Rather, it made him even more present to his disciples. The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his seat at God’s right hand. The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere. The Lord continued to work with them throughout, and to confirm the message through the signs which accompanied them” (Mk 16:19-20). Paul also stresses this same active presence of “Christ Jesus who died or rather was raised up, who is at the right hand of God and who intercedes for us” (Rom 8:34).
651. Christ’s Ascension, then, brings out a number of basic truths of our Christian Faith. First, the Ascension marks Jesus’ exaltation into the heavenly realm of his Father. Second, it does not separate Christ from us because as he promised, from heaven he “draws everyone to himself” (Jn 12:32). Third, since “he lives forever to make intercession,” Christ continues to exercise his priesthood since he entered “heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf” (Heb 7:25; 9:24). Finally, the ascended Christ as Head of the Church gives us, members of his Body, the hope of one day entering into glory with him (cf. CCC 661-67).
Christ Will Come Again
653. We are aware of the living presence of the Risen Christ among us in the Holy Spirit sent among us. But we also know from the Creed that he “will come again to judge the living and the dead” (cf. CCC 687-82). In the first eucharistic acclamation we proclaim: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!” “Parousia,” meaning “coming” or “presence,” is the traditional term for Christ’s Second Coming as divine Judge (cf. Mt 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor 15:23; etc.). “The Son of Man will come with his Father’s glory accompanied by his angels. When he does, he will repay each man according to his conduct” (Mt 16:27-28).
654. In the early days Christians prayed for this coming of Christ their Savior: “O Lord, come! Marana tha!” (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20). But gradually this longing for their forgiving Savior gave way to gnawing consciousness of individual sinfulness and infidelity. The attitude of longing for the Lord was replaced by something akin to the Old Testament prophetic warnings. The “Day of the Lord” was pictured as a “Day of Judgment,” a Dies Irae (Day of God’s Wrath). In recent times there has been a renewal of the New Testament stress on Christ’s “saving presence,” and his Second Coming as introducing the final completion not just of the individuals but of the whole world. The final destiny of the human race is ultimately in God’s hands.
655. But confusion often arises today, partly due to the exaggerated interpretations of the final day by some fundamentalist sects. They overemphasize and interpret in literal fashion the poetic, apocalyptic descriptions of the end of the world given in the Bible, especially in Daniel and the book of Revelation. Biblical literature of this type has to be read in terms of its typical characteristics. First, while seemingly a revelation of the future, apocalyptic texts actually are usually a commentary on their own times. Second, the revelation is generally presented in a vision or dream, in which allegorical language and complicated symbolism are used. Third, the texts attempt by such means to portray the final end of world history and the fearful destruction of all the evil forces in the world.
656. Given such qualities of biblical apocalyptic literature, it is more important for us, Filipino Catholics, to focus on the basic truths of the Parousia. The first is that the Risen Christ as the Son of Man will “come to judge the living and the dead” (2 Tim 4:1). “The Lord himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel’s voice and God’s trumphet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes 4:16). Second, Christ’s Second Coming will be unmistakable since it will be accompanied by unprecedented signs in the heavens and on the earth. “As the lightning from the East flashes to the West, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt 24:27).
657. Third, regarding when the Parousia will take place, the Gospel is very clear. “As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father only” (Mt 24:36). Therefore, fourth, because it will come unexpectedly, “like a thief in the night” (1 Thes 5:2), we must “be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come” (Mk 13:33).
658. Lastly, because Christ is already in his glory, and has sent his Spirit among us, the “time” of salvation has already come. Now is the time when our salvation is being worked out in our daily acts with our neighbors. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory,” he will judge our acts according to one norm: “As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25:31, 40).