Why was the resurrection of Jesus necessary?

Answer 1

In early Christianity, not all sects accepted the story of the resurrection. For example, early Gnostic Christians saw Jesus as just a mortal man. Gnosticism focuses on a personal spiritual journey and not on doctrine and hierarchy. During the council of Nicea in 325 AD, the subject of Jesus' divinity was debated. The "winners" of the debate established Jesus as a unique & divine entity, prohibiting anyone else from claiming divinity through personal spiritual experience - which until this day is the exclusive jurisdiction of the church in the proclamation of saints. The resurrection was thus inscribed into the official doctrine of the church as the most compelling "evidence" for the divinity of Jesus. It was a key factor in establishing the church as the sole & rightful heir of that divinity on Earth.

However, you should be aware that stories of people rising from the dead were common place the Middle East in that era. In fact, the New Testament illustrates this:

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. - Matthew 27

Strangely enough, no other historical source corraborates this remarkable phenomenon or the resurrection. We have vast historical records from the Roman period detailing minute facets of everyday life, but somehow there is no record whatsoever of a few dozen dead roaming the streets in a Roman Prefecture capitol...

Answer:The Bible answers this question in 1 Corinthians 15:13-20 "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not be raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

There is a similar passage in the Book of Mormon stating "The Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Holy Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. Wherefore he is the firstfruits unto God."

"The bedrock hope of Christian resurrection is the resurrection of Christ, the foundation for the gospel preaching. Christ is the firstfruits of an upcoming harvest" (KJV Master Study Bible).

As radio talk show host and author Hank Hanegraaff points out, "What happened as a result of the resurrection is unprecedented in human history. In the span of a few hundred years, a small band of seemingly insignificant believers succeeded in turning an entire empire upside down. While it is conceivable that they would have faced torture, vilification, and even cruel deaths for what they fervently believed to be true, it is inconceivable that they would have been willing to die for what they knew to be a lie." As Dr. Simeon Greenleaf put it, "If it were morally possible for them to have been deceived in this matter, every human motive operated to lead them to discover and avow their error...If then their testimony was not true, there was no possible motive for this fabrication."