HOW WAS CHRIST RAISED ROM THE DEAD?

 

The subject of Christ's resurrection is obviously of vital importance to the writers of the New Testament, appearing in over 80 passages, evenly divided between those which employ the word “resurrection” and those who use synonyms translated by the verb “to raise.”

 In terms of Greek nomenclature, Coenen says that egeiro ['raise up'], especially in the pass[ive] is used predominantly for what happened at Easter, i.e. the wakening of the Crucified to life, while anhistemi ['rise, arise'] and anastasis ['resurrection'] refer more especially to the recall to life of people during the earthly ministry of Jesus and to the eschatological and universal resurrection...the action of God on and through Christ is expressed by egeiro, while anhistemi expresses, as it were, that which happens in the realm of human experience.”

And Wanamaker states, “The apostle [Paul] normally employs egeirein (37 times) for the resurrection, whether Christ's or his followers. This verb is almost always found with an indication that it was God who raised Jesus and will raise his followers.”

There are plenty of prophecies given ahead of time concerning the coming resurrection and a lot more reflection afterward about the fact that it did happen, but virtually no details are given regarding the actual resurrection itself and “how” it was accomplished. One specific question in that regard is whether Christ rose from the dead by his own power or was raised by God the Father.

If one's only exposure to that question came from the old Easter hymn “He Arose,” then one would clearly think that Christ did it all on his own in order to emerge triumphant over death. But there are a number of places in the Bible indicating that is not the whole story. Thus, I would like to briefly canvass some of the key scriptures relating to the question.

And in a rather strange way I am reminded of the example of Pharaoh when confronted by the plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7-10) since there appear to be places where he hardens his own heart, others where God does the hardening, and yet others which are neutral and only state that Pharaoh's heart was hardened. We have the same sort of ambiguity here regarding the active party in Christ's resurrection.

God raised Jesus from the dead

First we have a number of NT passages in which this statement is taught in no uncertain terms:

Acts 2:24 – “But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it...:

Acts 2:27,31 – For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption...He foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ...”

Acts 3:26 – “God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you...”

Acts 4:10b – “...by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead...”

Acts 10:39b-40 – “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest.”

Acts 13:32-34 – “And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.”

Romans 4:24-25 – “It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Romans 8:11 – “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also...”

Romans 10:9 – “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I Corinthians 6:14 – “And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”

I Corinthians 15:15 – “...we testified of God that he raised Christ...”

In fact, Strachan makes the blanket statement: “In the New Testament Jesus is never represented as rising again by His own power.” But is that really true?

Jesus was or will be raised

In this category of passages, the passive is used to indicate someone else acting on Christ to bring about the resurrection. However, that agent is not actually named.

Without quoting these verses, they include: Matthew 14:2,28; 17:9; 20:19; 26:32; 28:6-7; Mark 8:31; 17:9 10:34; 14:28; I Corinthians 15:20; and I Peter 3:18. Here is how commentators respond to these passages:

Pannenberg states that “the raising up of Jesus implies a confirmation by God himself of his pre-Easter appearances that the pre-Easter Jesus remained dependent on this confirmation...”

Colin Brown: “In raising Jesus, God was active by the Spirit of holiness (Rom 1:4).”

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery: “The most frequently used image [for resurrection] is supplied by the word raised (approximately three dozen references), accentuating two aspects of Christ's resurrection – its dynamic nature and the idea that power came from a source beyond Christ himself...As a mighty act of God it evokes memories of the exodus, the biblical archetype of God's powerful saving acts.”

Knoppers points out that “the passive 'was raised' is a divine passive denoting an act of God...Jesus was raised by God as the first and determinative instance of the resurrection of the elect people of God and the renewal of the whole cosmos (I Cor. 15:20,23).”

R.E. Brown: “It was the sovereign action of God glorifying Jesus of Nazareth.”

N. Clark says that “the Empty Tomb stands as the massive sign that the eschatological deed of God is not outside this world of time and space or in despair of it, but has laid hold on it, penetrated deep into it, shattered it, and began its transformation.”

“Through an act of God, the dead and buried Lord had been awakened to life again...The resurrection of Jesus thus became the sign of God's triumph over the power of sin and death.” (Coenen)

The agent of the resurrection is not specified or is ambiguous

Matthew 27:63-64 – “...the impostor said when he was still alive, 'After three days, I will rise again.' Therefore...his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead.'”

This is an unusual passage in that it appears to equate the verb forms “rise” and “be raised.”

John 3:14 – “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up.”

Superficially, this appears to refer to the resurrection, but all commentators agree that it refers to Jesus' crucifixion instead.

Romans 6:4 – “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; we too might walk in newness of life”

“Already the apostle had represented the Father as the active agent in Christ's resurrection (4:24,25). But here we have a unique expression. It is possible that 'the glory' refers to the glory in which Christ was raised from the dead. But it is more in accord with usage to think of the glory through which Christ was raised. The glory is the majesty of God, the sum of his perfections.” (Murray)

Romans 8:34b – “...Jesus Christ who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God...”

“Egertheis ['having been raised'] is aorist passive and may thus reflect upon the action of the Father in raising up Jesus (cf 4:25; 6:4; 8:11). But the rising of Jesus from the dead may be in view and thus be coordinate with 'apothanon ['having died'] and 'entugchanei ['supplicates'].” (Murray)

Romans 14:9 – “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”'

Murray: “The aorist is adapted to express his becoming alive from the dead. It is inceptive aorist. Most frequently the resurrection of Christ is represented as the action of God the Father. This instance could be taken as referring to the action of Jesus himself after the analogy of John 2:19; 10:17,18. But it is more likely that there is no reflection on agency. The thought is focused on the fact of his having lived again.”

I Thessalonians 4:14 – “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

However, Wanamaker translates it as “Jesus died and was raised,” indicating that God did the raising.

I Peter 1:3a – “Blessed be the God and Father...By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...”

“The perspective is first toward the past event of God's act in raising 'our Lord Jesus Christ' from the dead (1:3)...” (Boring)

As Coenen concludes: “The resurrection of Jesus is not described only with God as subject and Jesus as object; the vb. may be taken intrans. in the middle voice with Jesus as subject, i.e. 'he arose from the dead' (e.g. Rom. 6:4,9; 8:34, and especially in the Synoptics, Mk. 14:28; 16:6; Matt. 27:63). This change in usage shows that while the resurrecting power always issued from God, it belongs to the Son also, who is of one being with the Father.”

Jesus will raise himself from the dead

John 2:19 – “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Because of the ambiguity regarding the form of the original saying and whether it referred to the Jerusalem Temple, Christ's physical body, or the church body, I could find no commentator willing to go out on a limb and state categorically that Christ was expressing the fact that He had the power to raise himself from the dead.

John 10:17b-18 – “...because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.”

“It is undoubtedly the case that the New Testament prefers to speak of God as raising up Jesus, but Jesus several times predicted that he would rise...We ought not to put any opposition between the Father and Son in this manner, nor should we doubt that the habitual New Testament expression is that the Father raised the Son. But we should not overlook the fact that there is also a strand of New Testament teaching which says that the Son 'rose'. The present passage fits in with this strand.”

II Timothy 1:10 – “...which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel...” (Hoskyns)

Mitchell refers the reader to I Corinthians 5:26,54-57 for an explanation of the phrase “abolished death.' Those passages specifically state that God raised up Jesus.

Towner says, “Elsewhere in the New Testament, his death is distinguished from his resurrection as the event that canceled the power of death...this bringing to light of life from death occurred in Christ's experience of resurrection.” This appears to indicate that Towner feels this passage is neutral regarding the actual agent of the resurrection.

And on the other end of the spectrum is Knight, who states, “The combination of 'brought to light' with the prepositional phrase 'through the gospel' joins the once-for-all historical redemptive deed of Jesus (his life, death, and resurrection) with the message about it and one's response (implied) to it.”

Revelation 1:18 – “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

Mounce: “The emphasis is not on the resurrection but on the reality of Christ's continuing life.”

Ford: “Because he is the Living One, Christ has full power over the resurrection. He passed through death at a definite moment of history, but he lives forever. Hence he has the keys of death and Sheol...”

Bruce says that “since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.”

Revelation 3:21 – “He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Morris: “Christ overcame by the way of the cross and this act sets the pattern for His followers.”

Bruce: “Their [i.e. 'those who stood by with Him in His trials'] conquest, like His, is won by way of suffering and death.”

Conclusion – Perhaps the best tack here is to follow the lead of Hoskyns, quoted above, and remember that Christ and God are One in a manner which we have trouble comprehending. Therefore we should be cautious about drawing any hard-and-fast distinctions between the actions of the two.