The Resurrection — Death Had No Hold

On the first day of the week, before dawn, the stone was gone. Peter declared it at Pentecost: 'God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him' (Acts 2:24). The Resurrection insists on the physical, scandalous specificity of it: the same wounds in the hands, the same voice Mary recognized, the meal of fish on the beach at dawn. 'He is not here; he has risen, just as he said' (Matthew 28:6). My grave was no match for Your power. 'If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile' (1 Corinthians 15:17). But he has — and Paul ends the chapter with a war cry: 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' (1 Corinthians 15:55). Because of this, the believer participates: 'just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life' (Romans 6:4).