Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part 3)

III. Character of Christ's Resurrection

The Resurrection of Christ has much in common with the general resurrection; even the transformation of His body and of His bodily life is of the same kind as that which awaits the blessed in their resurrection. But the following peculiarities must be noted:

• Christ's Resurrection is necessarily a glorious one; it implies not merely the reunion of body and soul, but also the glorification of the body.
• Christ's body was to know no corruption, but rose again soon after death, when sufficient time had elapsed to leave no doubt as to the reality of His death.
• Christ was the first to rise unto life immortal; those raised before Him died again (Col 1:18; I Cor 15:20).
• As the Divine power which raised Christ from the grave was His own power, He rose from the dead by His own power (John 2:19; 10:l7-18).
• Since the Resurrection had been promised as the main proof of Christ's Divine mission, it has a greater dogmatic importance than any other fact. "If Christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain" (I Cor 15:14).

IV. Importance of the Resurrection

Besides being the fundamental argument for our Christian belief, the Resurrection is important for the following reasons:

• It shows the justice of God who exalted Christ to a life of glory, as Christ had humbled Himself unto death (Phil 2:8-9).
• The Resurrection completed the mystery of our salvation and redemption; by His death Christ freed us from sin, and by His Resurrection He restored to us the most important privileges lost by sin (Rom 4:25).
• By His Resurrection we acknowledge Christ as the immortal God, the efficient and exemplary cause of our own resurrection (I Cor 15:21; Phil 3:20-21), and as the model and the support of our new life of grace (Rom 6:4-6; 9-11).

A.J. MAAS
Transcribed by Donald J. Boon
Dedicated to Bishop Andre Cimichella of Montreal, and to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII
Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Reprinted by permission of copyright owner.