Resurrection

Resurrection | The Gospel of John

Kirk E. Miller

The following belongs to a series entitled “An Introductory Biblical Theology of Resurrection.” Read other posts belonging to this series here.

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The Gospel of John

The resurrection, both Christ’s and the believer’s, plays a central role in John’s Gospel. Because Jesus is one with the Father (5:17-18), His will is exactly the Father’s (5:19, 21; 6:37-40), and “whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (5:19). Just as God raises the dead (a prerogative seen in the OT as belonging to God alone [2 Kings 5:17][1]), so Christ raises whomever He wills. Christ came to do His Father’s will (6:38)—to lose none of those whom the Father had given Him to save, but to secure their resurrection (6:39-40). And because Jesus has life in Himself as the Father has life in Himself (5:26), presumably He is able to raise others to life (5:25-29). As Christ has life in Himself, all those in whom He abides and who abide in Him have life (6:53-58). Those who hear the voice of Jesus (5:25) are drawn by the Father to come to Christ (6:44), believe on Christ (6:47), metaphorically feed on His flesh and blood (John 6:54), and are raised to life in some sense now—they have eternal life presently and in this sense will never die (John 5:25; 6:40, 47, 57-58; 11:25-26). But after physically dying, they will also be raised bodily on the last day (John 6:40; 44, 54; 11:24). All will certainly be raised, but some to life and others to judgment (John 5:28-29).[2]

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Resurrection | Synoptic Gospels

Kirk E. Miller 2 Comments

The following belongs to a series entitled “An Introductory Biblical Theology of Resurrection.” Read other posts belonging to this series here.

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Synoptic Gospels

By the time of the Gospels, the belief in the resurrection of the dead has become much more established.[1] During His ministry, Jesus recognizes and teaches about the resurrection (Mt 5:29; 8:11-12; 10:28; 22:23-32; 25:31-46; Mk 12:18-27; Lk 13:28-30; 14:14; 20:27-38) and even raises individuals from the dead (although presumably they would eventually die again; Mt 9:18-26; Mk 5:21-24, 35-43; Lk 7:11-14).

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Resurrection | Introduction and the Old Testament

Kirk E. Miller

The following belongs to a series entitled “An Introductory Biblical Theology of Resurrection.” Read other posts belonging to this series here.

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Introduction

The resurrection is at the heart of the Christian faith. Therefore, a Biblical and redemptive-historical understanding of the resurrection is invaluable. This series seeks to present a concise and introductory Biblical theology of resurrection by systematically tracing its theme throughout the canon, beginning with the Old Testament, moving to the Synoptics, continuing with John’s Gospel, looking at Acts, examining Paul’s theology, and concluding with a brief look at resurrection in Hebrews, 1 Peter, and Revelation.

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Belief–The Only Valid Frame of Reference for the Resurrection of Christ

Kirk E. Miller 1 Comment

“The risen Jesus Christ cannot be discerned within the frame of the old conditions of life which by his resurrection he has transcended, and cannot be understood except within the context of the transformation which it has brought about. . . . The evidence for the resurrection can be handled and tested, appropriately, only within the orbit of its impact.”[1]

“We are not concerned here simply with what is often called ‘the hermeneutical circle’, but with the kind of circle which is posited by an ultimate fact which in the nature of the case cannot be brought within the same circle as other facts, but which stakes out the very grounds upon which experience and knowledge of it are possible.”[2]

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