Who is Jesus? Resurrection Sunday 2025 - Athol Barnes | 04.20.25

He is Risen!

In 2019 we were all struck by the spectacle of the fire that destroyed the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The world seemed to be in anguish over the destruction of an 860-year-old building. Why were we so caught up in the destruction of a building most of us have never even seen in person? 

One reason is that we, as God’s created beings, desire transcendence; we have a desire for something that endures beyond our lives. We desperately want to know that eternity is real and achievable. The thought that everything we see around us will one day fall to decay is simply too hard for us to face (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We were made for so much more than the accumulation of wealth and knowledge and the pursuit of comfort and happiness; we were made for eternal glory with Jesus.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead after paying the price for our eternal salvation on the cross. Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest Old Testament prophetic Scriptures that points to the death and resurrection of Jesus. These words also remind us that Jesus was not a victim of a terribly botched trial nor of mistaken identity. Everything that happened to Jesus happened on purpose in fulfillment of prophecies like Isaiah 53. Jesus is the creator God who took on flesh; he was born and lived at a specific time in history to die on a Roman cross and then to be raised to life. Only Jesus could do what He did; only Jesus who was fully God and fully man could pay the price for the sins of man.

In Isaiah 53:10-12 we see five key attributes of Jesus starting at verse 10a, “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…”
 
 

Jesus is – the Perfect Sacrifice

Under the Law of Moses, there were multiple different types of offerings. The guilt offering was one of these, and this offering provided a way to be cleansed from unintentional sin. It also provided restitution when someone had been personally wronged because of a sinner’s actions. It covered both unintentional and unknown sins. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote that Jesus was a guilt offering on our behalf. Jesus knows every sin we have (or will) commit, even the ones we don’t realize. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins, including the sins we are yet to commit and including our unintentional and unknown sins. 

Does this mean we can sin without consequence? Absolutely not; it was our sin that drove Jesus to the cross—past, present, and future. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, the only pure spotless lamb of God (see Hebrews 10:11-14).

Jesus is the Risen Lord

Jesus is alive! Isaiah 53:10b-11a says, “he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied…”

Only living people see their offspring; only living people have extended days and prosper.

This is the line in the sand that differentiates Christianity from any other world religion. Our God is alive; the tomb where he was buried was only occupied for a few days. Paul clearly stated this in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; this is the Good News: he is risen!

Not only did he rise from the dead, but he rose with a body that will never decay, the same kind that we will also get one day if we believe in Jesus as Lord. The resurrection of Jesus is our glorious hope of a certain eternal future.

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