place his body in the tomb. His death changed everything in their lives, and now even his body is “not here!”


From our vantage point, we


      responses of the women to the Res- urrection of Jesus. He is alive! They will see him! They must tell his dis- ciples. And Peter.  the tomb with fear, with trembling and astonishment. Their response is not at all what we expect. As one commenter wryly noted, “they were not poised on the brink of belief… they were utterly skeptical.” We might be tempted to say, “how foolish [they were] and slow to believe.” After all the post- Resurrection accounts present com- pelling evidence for the historical truth of the Resurrection.


Yet the


powerful truth of the Resurrection must be apprehended by faith not fo- rensics. As one theologian noted, the Resurrection is “a truth to be believed not discovered.” And more than that, it is a truth to be lived and shared. Our response to the Resurrection is the heart of our faith. Saving faith de- pends upon it. Romans 10:9 declares that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” And 1 Cor- inthians 15 reminds us that without the Resurrection, our faith would be in vain.


And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. … And… your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Cor 15:14, 17-19


But why is this true? Why is faith in the Resurrection necessary? Why must this be our response and what does this response look like? The New Testament answers these ques- tions in a variety of ways. In the Resurrection, God declares Jesus to be the Son of God with power. In the Resurrection, God has reversed


March/April 2026


the curse.   And in the Resurrection of Jesus, we who are united to Him by faith are raised to walk in the newness of life. Because Christ is raised, we too will be raised to eternal life. The Resurrec- tion changes everything for us. So “[t]hat those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 2 Cor 5:13 The Heidelberg Catechism emphasizes this even more succinctly when it  And then answers: First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he might make us share in the righteousness he obtained for us by his death. Second, by his power we too are already raised to a new life. Third, Christ’s resurrection is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection. – Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 17, Question 45


Through faith in the person and work of Christ, as revealed in the Scriptures, believers are united to Him in His resurrection and have been raised from the death of sin and transgression. The impact of this resurrection is transforma- tive. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The old man is dead, passed away. The believer is raised to walk in the newness of life in Christ. A life in which we are, …received into the number of His children, have His name put upon them, the Spirit of His Son given to them, are under His fatherly care and dispen- sations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow-heirs with Christ in glory. – Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 74


The Resurrection is a glorious truth to be believed and a new life to be lived. But it is also an urgent truth to be shared. As Jesus’ disciples, we are called to be witnesses of His resurrection and of our own as well. In the Gospels, Acts and 1 Corinthians only believers encountered the risen Christ. Only believers were witnesses to the Resurrection. And of course, the New Testament word witness is connected to the word martyr. Jesus’ disciples gave their lives to declare the truth of the risen Christ not because the Resurrection was the best explanation for the forensic data but because they had seen Him and been with Him themselves. As believers, we will face doubt and lack of assurance. The enemy of our soul will assault our minds, our hearts, and our wills. Yet remember the gentleness of all the angelic messengers at the empty tomb, directing Jesus’ disciples to “remember” his promise to be with them again. It was not the evidence of their eyes or their forensic insights that allayed their doubt. More evidence was not needed. Something much more profound was required. Only the presence of  What about you? Have you encountered the risen Christ? What is your


response to the Resurrection? For the men and women who encountered an empty tomb and a risen Christ, the Resurrection changed everything. Has the Resurrection changed everything for you? Has it changed anything for you? Has it given hope in grief? Joy in sorrow? Faith in fear? Have you met the Risen Christ, the Living One, who has defeated the last enemy, Death, and holds the keys to death and the grave?  or sorrow or disappointment, or the “not here” of the Resurrection? 


Reverend Howard Wheeler is the pastor of Pottsville ARP Church in Arkansas.


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