Who Resurrected Jesus? Was It The Father, The Holy Spirit, Or Jesus Himself?

Who resurrected Jesus Christ? Did He resurrect Himself? Or did the Father or the Holy Spirit do it?

Your Resurrection

If you have never been brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, then you will not be resurrected to eternal life in the kingdom of God, but you will be resurrected to eternal life…but it’s not the one you want. Daniel the Prophet wrote about a time when the dead will be raised and then judged, but there are two radically different verdicts given. Daniel wrote that “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2), so in both cases, they are in an everlasting state. Those who are raised to eternal life through Christ are “those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Dan 12:3). The saved are typically witnesses for Christ and are used by God to “turn many to righteousness,” which is found only in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21). Someday, perhaps soon, we will all say, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Rev 1:7). Before we look into who resurrected Jesus Christ, make sure of your own election and calling (2 Pet 1:10), and do that today, while it is still called today (2 Cor 6:2), for if a person doesn’t repent and trust in Christ before He comes, or before a person dies, their fate is forever sealed (Heb 9:27; Rev 20:12-15). Get that taken care of before anything else! He could split the sky at any moment!

Lazarus’ Resurrection

When Jesus was told about Lazarus being sick, He was apparently in no hurry, waiting a few days to go to him, but then He heard that Lazarus was dead, so “Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him” (John 11:14-15). Jesus was glad for their sake that Lazarus died!? How is that good, Jesus? Jesus reminded Martha (and us) about what He had said earlier, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God” (John 11:40)? How so? Lazarus is dead and Jesus didn’t heal him? How does that glorify God? Wait! Here’s why Jesus waited: “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him” (John 11:45). Lazarus was allowed to die so he could be raised from the dead. Then, they “would see the glory of God!” Now, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. If Jesus had not said, “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43c), or if Jesus had not specified Lazarus by name, all who were in their graves would have risen because Jesus has resurrection power in His Word. That’s because He is God. But who raised Jesus from the dead?

Jesus’ Resurrection

Jesus died on the cross, but Jesus the Son of God never died. Jesus is God, and God cannot die, therefore Jesus the Son of God never died on the cross. Only His physical body died. He gave all He could to save us…even His own life. There was nothing more Jesus could have done, so the Man or physical body of Jesus died, but never did He die. He told the thief of the cross who had just repented of his sins, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). It wasn’t “In 3 days, I’ll meet you in Paradise.” If Jesus’ body lay in the grave, how could He be with the thief on the cross in that same day in Paradise? Again, it’s because Jesus is God and God cannot die, so who raised Jesus from the dead? Did He resurrect Himself? Or did the Father or the Holy Spirit do it? Jesus once said, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:18). Jesus laid down His life of His own free will, but He has the “authority to take it up again,” and since Jesus was in Paradise after He died, then Jesus must have still been alive after Calvary. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), so He gave His life voluntarily and not by force. He could have called down legions of angels, but knew it was the Father’s will to have Him die for those who would trust in Him.

Who Raised Jesus?

The Bible says that “God raised [Jesus] from the dead” (Acts 2:24), however, it seems that Scriptures say the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead (Rom 8:11; 1 Pet 3:18), but then Jesus says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19) and we know that He has the power to raise it up again (John 10:18), so who raised Jesus from the dead? Was it God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, or Jesus, the Son of God? Yes…it was….all three in fact. All three Persons are God, and so God truly did raise Jesus from the dead. Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25), so Jesus cannot die because He is God. His human body could die, but Jesus, never! Since Jesus never sinned, and sin is the wages of death (Rom 6:23), the grave could not possibly hold Him. It says that “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Who raised Jesus from the grave? It was God…and by that, we mean all Three Persons of the Trinity. That’s because God is the author of life, has authority over life, and has the power of life within Himself, no matter which of the Three Persons you are referring to.

Conclusion

Since we know that God raised Jesus from the dead, God desires to quicken you to eternal life too, and His Spirit can do just that. When God brings a person to repentance and faith in Christ, they are born again, or born from above by God’s Spirit (John 3:3-7). They become a brand new creation in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:17). They are now seen as having Jesus’ very own righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). Unless the Lord returns in our lifetime, we too shall be raised someday, and it will be “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:52-52). Aren’t you ready for that!?

Here is some related reading for you: Historical Evidence of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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