THE

RESURRECTION

OF

JESUS CHRIST

EXPLORING ITS THEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

AND ONGOING RELEVANCE

W. ROSS HASTINGS

© 2022 by W. Ross Hastings

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hastings, W. Ross, author.

Title: The resurrection of Jesus Christ : exploring its theological significance and ongoing relevance / W. Ross Hastings.

Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021030948 | ISBN 9781540965295 (casebound) | ISBN 9781540964922 (paperback) | ISBN 9781493434800 (ebook) | ISBN 9781493434817 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Jesus Christ—Resurrection.

Classification: LCC BT482 .H38 2022 | DDC 232/.5—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021030948

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016

Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations labeled The Message are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Dedicated to the memory of

J. I. Packer,

Supervisor, Mentor, Friend,

Fellow Consumer of Hot Food

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Resurrection as Good History

Part 1: Christ’s Resurrection Has Saving Efficacy

2. The Resurrection as the Seal of the Atonement

3. The Resurrection as the Substance of the Atonement

4. The Resurrection as the Ground of Participation in the Life of God

5. The Resurrection as the Ground of Vocation and Mission

6. The Resurrection as the Ground of the Bodily Resurrection

Part 2: Christ’s Resurrection Has Ontological Significance

7. The Resurrection Declares Jesus’s Unrivaled Supremacy

8. The Resurrection Signals Christ’s Entry into His Office as Great High Priest and King

9. The Resurrection as the Reaffirmation of Creation

10. The Resurrection and the Nature of the Second Coming

Conclusion

Bibliography

Subject Index

Scripture and Ancient Sources Index