The Resurrection of Jesus

Michael Hopkins
35 minutes ago
5 min read

A Bible Study on the Hope That Changes Everything

Compiled with reflections from Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints

Introduction

Every claim of the Christian faith ultimately rests on a single historical event: an empty tomb on the third day. Paul stated the stakes with striking honesty:

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins... If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." — 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19 (KJV)

There is no hedging in this statement. Paul does not present the resurrection as a nice addition to Christian teaching or a symbolic story about hope and renewal. He stakes the entire faith on whether it actually happened. Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints often opens his Easter teaching at Jehovah Saints by reminding his congregation, "Christianity isn't a philosophy that would survive an empty resurrection. Paul himself said if it didn't happen, throw the whole thing out. That's how much weight this one event carries."

This study will walk through the resurrection accounts, examine why the event matters theologically, and consider what it means for how believers live today.

Part One: The Events of the Third Day

The Empty Tomb (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-10)

Early on the first day of the week, women who had followed Jesus arrived at the tomb to complete burial customs, only to find the massive stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Matthew records an angel's announcement:

"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said." — Matthew 28:6 (KJV)

It is worth noting that in all four Gospel accounts, women are the first witnesses to the empty tomb — a detail scholars often point to as evidence of authenticity, since in first-century Jewish culture, women's testimony was not considered legally reliable. A fabricated account would have almost certainly used male witnesses to be persuasive to its original audience; the Gospel writers included women anyway, because that is simply what happened.

The Appearances

Over the next forty days, the resurrected Jesus appeared repeatedly and to multiple different groups: to Mary Magdalene alone (John 20:11-18), to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), to the eleven disciples behind locked doors (John 20:19-23), to Thomas a week later (John 20:24-29), to seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14), and — as Paul later records — to more than five hundred people at one time, "of whom the greater part remain unto this present" (1 Corinthians 15:6), meaning Paul was pointing his readers to living eyewitnesses they could go and question themselves.

Part Two: Doubting Thomas — Faith That Wrestles Honestly

One appearance deserves particular attention. When the other disciples told Thomas they had seen the risen Lord, he responded:

"Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." — John 20:25 (KJV)

Rather than rebuking Thomas for his doubt, Jesus appears again eight days later and invites him to do exactly what he'd demanded — touch the wounds. Thomas responds with one of the clearest confessions of Christ's divinity in the Gospels: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). Jesus' response then turns toward every believer who would come after: "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints often draws comfort from this passage for his congregation, teaching, "Jesus didn't shame Thomas for asking hard questions. He met him in them. If you've ever needed more than a secondhand story to believe, you're in good company — Thomas is proof that honest doubt and eventual faith aren't opposites."

Part Three: Why the Resurrection Matters Theologically

1. It Vindicates Jesus' Claims

Jesus repeatedly predicted His own death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19). The resurrection is God's public confirmation that Jesus' claims about Himself were true — that He was who He said He was.

"Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." — Romans 1:4 (KJV)

2. It Confirms Victory Over Sin and Death

Paul explains that Christ's resurrection is the guarantee that death itself has been defeated for those united to Him:

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?... But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." — 1 Corinthians 15:55, 57 (KJV)

3. It Guarantees Believers' Future Resurrection

Paul describes Christ as "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20) — the first of a harvest still to come. Just as Christ was raised bodily, believers are promised bodily resurrection as well, not merely a spiritual afterlife (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

4. It Empowers Present Christian Life

The same power that raised Christ from the dead is described as active in believers now:

"That ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." — Ephesians 1:19-20 (KJV)

Part Four: How the Resurrection Changes Daily Life

The resurrection is not merely a historical claim to be defended — it reshapes how believers live in the present.

It reorders fear of death. If death has been conquered, believers can face mortality — their own and that of loved ones — with grief that is real but not hopeless (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
It gives present labor eternal meaning. Paul concludes his entire resurrection chapter with a call to action: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
It grounds identity in resurrection power, not performance. Believers are called to walk "in newness of life" (Romans 6:4), a daily reality flowing from the same power that emptied the tomb.

Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints often closes his Easter message to Jehovah Saints with a reminder that the resurrection isn't only about the future: "We talk about the resurrection like it's just about where we go when we die. But Paul says that same power is already working in you right now. The empty tomb isn't only your future hope — it's your present strength."

Closing Reflection

The resurrection stands at the center of the Christian faith — not as a comforting metaphor, but as a historical claim with eyewitnesses, an empty tomb, and consequences that reach into how believers face death, labor, and daily life. Everything the Christian faith claims rises or falls on whether the tomb was truly empty on the third day, and Scripture answers that question without hesitation.

"Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead... but now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." — 1 Corinthians 15:12, 20 (KJV)

Discussion Questions for Group Study

What difference does it make that women were the first witnesses to the empty tomb, given the cultural context of the time?
How does Thomas's story shape the way you think about doubt within your own faith journey?
Paul says that without the resurrection, "your faith is vain" (1 Corinthians 15:17). Why do you think he ties the entire Christian faith so tightly to this one event rather than to Jesus' teachings alone?
How does knowing that "your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58) change how you approach ordinary tasks and responsibilities this week?
In what areas of your life do you most need to experience the "exceeding greatness of his power" (Ephesians 1:19) that raised Christ from the dead?