Who Raised Jesus From the Dead?
Jesus was raised from the dead. All Christians can agree with this statement. But a disagreement quickly ensues when you ask, “Who raised Jesus from the dead?” Some confidently declare that Jesus raised himself from the dead and offer it as proof that he is God. Others contend that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, while others insist it was the Trinity. But what does Scripture say? Let’s examine the evidence to determine who raised Jesus from the dead and learn why it matters that we get this right.
To be sure, the resurrection of Jesus is central to the gospel message. The New Testament speaks of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead more than fifty times. Of the thirty passages where attribution is given, God is credited with performing the miracle an overwhelming twenty-eight times. We’ll talk about the remaining two passages in a moment. But for now, here is a sampling of passages from the book of Acts:
Acts 2:32 (NASB) “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. (emphasis added)
Acts 4:10 (NASB) let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. (emphasis added)
Acts 17:30b-31 (NASB) …God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (emphasis added)
Clearly, someone called “God” raised Jesus from the dead. But who is this God? Scripture specifically identifies the one who raised Jesus from the dead as God the Father:
Galatians 1:1 (NASB) Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead) (emphasis added)
Ephesians 1:17 and 20 (NASB) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory…which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (emphasis added)
1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10 (NASB) …how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. (emphasis added)
Thus, it was God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. New Testament scholar and historian, Larry Hurtado, examined the New Testament evidence and offers this observation:
So, Jesus’ resurrection is presented, not as Jesus’ act, but God’s… Actually, a survey of all the NT references to Jesus’ resurrection will confirm this pattern, in which it is posited as the crucial act of God, not the act of Jesus.[3] (emphasis added)
Hurtado decisively rules out Jesus as the author of his own resurrection. After all, the Bible says the dead do not know or perceive anything, nor is there any activity, planning, knowledge or wisdom in the grave.[4] In other words, the dead can do nothing. What then is the source of confusion among Christians that causes some to think that Jesus raised himself from the dead? We’ll look at three reasons for the confusion.
Why do some Christians believe Jesus raised himself from the dead?
First, Jesus raised three people from the dead during his earthly ministry: the widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter and his friend, Lazarus.[5] Some theorize that if he raised others from the dead, he must have roused himself from the grave as well. They speculate further by reasoning that this feat “proves” he is God. What they fail to take into account, however, is that Scripture testifies that the signs, wonders and miracles Jesus performed were actually the result of the Father working through him and not a result of any innate power.[6] Hurtado pointedly summarizes his thoughts on the matter:
To portray Jesus’ resurrection as his own act demonstrating his inherent divinity is a gross misunderstanding of what the NT texts assert.”[7]
The second reason some are confused about who raised Jesus from the dead stems from a passage in John’s gospel that is interpreted to mean Jesus was the power behind his own resurrection. It’s one of the two times Scripture appears to say as much. In chapter 2 Jesus has just driven the money changers out of the temple with a scourge of cords because they turned the temple into a “place of business”:
John 2:18-22 (NASB) The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (emphasis added)
In verses 19 and 22, the verbs “raise” and “raised” are from the root word egeiró which means to awaken, to raise up.[8] In verse 19 Jesus says he will “raise up” the temple, referring to his body. But in verse 22–which was written after Jesus’ resurrection–John uses the passive voice when he says that Jesus was “raised from the dead.” Use of the passive voice implies that the action was something done to Jesus. In other words, Jesus was “acted upon” by an outside force or power.[9] If Jesus had raised himself from the dead, John could have easily and plainly said so. Instead, he used the passive voice: he was raised from the dead.[10]
No other Biblical author even comes close to saying Jesus raised himself from the grave. So why the apparent contradiction between Jesus’ statement that in “three days I will raise it up” and the preponderance of the evidence which says God did it? A moving passage from the book of Hebrews provides us with some insight.
Hebrews 5:7 (NASB) In the days of His flesh, He [Jesus] offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. (emphasis added)
With loud crying and tears, Jesus prayed to the One able to save him from death.
The suffering and agony Jesus endured is powerfully depicted in this passage. With loud crying and tears, Jesus prayed to God because He was the One who was able to save him from death. This clearly indicates that Jesus was not relying on some innate divine power to raise himself from the dead. Such an ability would make his gut wrenching petition pointless. Rather, Jesus was trusting God to keep His promise to not allow his body to undergo decay.[11] This is why Jesus cried out with his last breath, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”[12] (emphasis added)
Furthermore, Hebrews 5:7 says that Jesus’ highly emotive pleadings were heard because of his piety, that is, his reverence or fear of God.[13] The word “heard” in the Greek is eisakouó. Whenever it is used in Scripture in conjunction with prayer it always indicates that the prayer was answered by God. The person offering the prayer received that for which they had prayed.[14] Thus, it was God the Father who heard Jesus’ passionate, desperate pleas and raised him from the dead. Similarly, in John 11:41-44 Jesus prayed to the Father before he called forth Lazarus from the grave. It was God’s power who brought Jesus’ friend back to life,[15] but it was initiated by Jesus’ intercession. It is possible that this is what Jesus meant in John 2:19 when he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” His prayers to the “One who was able to save him from death” would in some sense be the catalyst for his resurrection as they had been for Lazarus’.[16]
The third reason some wrongly believe Jesus raised himself from the dead is found in John chapter 10:
John 10:17-18 (NASB) “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take [lambanô] it again. 18 “No one has taken [airô] it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority [exousia] to lay it down, and I have authority [exousia] to take [lambanô] it up again. This commandment I received [lambanô] from My Father.” (emphasis added)
This is the only other verse that at first glance seems to say Jesus’ raised himself from the dead. However, if one insists that to “take up your life” means Jesus raised himself from the dead, then in like manner the phrase “I lay down my life” means his death occurred by his own hand. Obviously, we know this is not the case. What then is being communicated here?
To help us better understand this passage it will help to look at some of the words in Greek. “Take” appears three times in this passage. The first and third time it’s used the word in Greek is lambanô which means to take, to receive. In fact, lambanô is translated as “receive” in verse 18 where Jesus says, “this commandment I received from My Father.” Next, the word “authority” used twice in verse 18 is the Greek word exousia which means power, authority and right. For example, exousia is translated as “right” in the following passage:
John 1:12 (NASB) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right [exousia] to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name[17] (emphasis added)
With these Greek definitions in mind, let’s read R.F. Weymouth’s translation:
John 10:17-18 “For this reason my Father loves me because I am laying down my life in order to receive it back again. No one is taking it away from me, but I myself am laying it down. I am authorized to lay it down, and I am authorized to receive it back again. This command I received from my Father.”[18]
In addition, Troy Salinger offers this translation:
John 10:17-18 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life, in order that I might receive it back again. No one takes it from me by force, but I lay it down of myself. I have the privilege to lay it down and the privilege to receive it again. This command I received from my Father.”[19]
God gave Jesus the authority to lay down his life for the sins of the world with the understanding that in doing so, he would receive his life back from God. To translate John 10:17-18 in this way removes the conflict created when it’s interpreted to mean that Jesus raised himself from the dead, something which is in stark contradiction to the rest of Scripture.
Why it’s important that God raised Jesus from the dead.
It’s important for us to know that God raised Jesus from the dead because it gives us hope that the Father will, in like manner, raise us up as well.
1 Peter 1:3 (NASB) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (emphasis added)
In one of the best known passages on the resurrection of believers, the apostle Paul writes that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”[20] Hurtado points to this truth as well when we writes:
In short, in NT texts, the resurrected Jesus is the literal embodiment, the initial instance, of what the consummation of redemption is to be for believers. So, it was pretty essential that it was as a human that Jesus was raised by God.”[21] (emphasis added)
Moreover, it is this truth that Paul uses to encourage himself and others in the face of great trials and persecution:
2 Corinthians 4:14 (NASB) knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. (emphasis added)
Furthermore, Paul encouraged believers in Rome in the same way:
Romans 6:4 (NASB) 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (emphasis added)
Romans 8:11 (NASB) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.[22] (emphasis added)
This is our hope! That God, who raised Jesus from the dead, will also give life to our mortal bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:14 (NASB) Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. (emphasis added)
If Jesus raised himself from the dead it misses the mark and robs us of true hope. We cannot raise ourselves from the dead, but must, like our brother[23] Jesus, truly trust that God will not abandon us to the grave. It is this belief that forms a part of our confession unto salvation:
Romans 10:9 (NASB) that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (emphasis added)
As Christians, we believe that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus will keep His promise to us, just as He did to him.
[1] John 8:54.
[2] John 6:57.
[3] Larry Hurtado, “Jesus’ Resurrection: Act of God,” Larry Hurtado’s Blog, March 23, 2018; accessed June 16, 2019, https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2018/03/23/jesus-resurrection-act-of-god/
[4] Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10 ; Job 14:21.
[5] Widow of Nain’s son: Luke 7:11-17; Jairus’ daughter: Luke 8:49-56; Lazarus: John 11:1-44. The people did not declare Jesus to be God, but rather a great prophet; the Christ (Messiah)
[6] Acts 2:22; 10:38; John 3:2; 5:30; 14:10.
[7] Hurtado, Ibid.
[8] egeiró, #1453 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
[9] “The passive voice conveys the idea that the subject is being acted upon by an outside force or power.” Precept Austin, accessed 6-18-19, https://www.preceptaustin.org/greek_quick_reference_guide#1
[10] John used the passive voice again in John 21:14.
[11] Do not all your holy one to undergo decay. Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27; 13:35, 37.
[12] Luke 23:46.
[13] piety in Greek is eulabeia and it means: piety, reverence, fear of God. #2124 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
[14] #1522 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance; See Luke 1:13 and Acts 10:31 where their prayers were heard and answered.
[15] John 14:10; Acts 2:22; 10:38, etc.
[16] Troy Salinger offers two other plausible solutions to the apparent contradiction posed by John 2:19-22.
See: “An Easter Myth,” Let The Truth Come Out Blog, February 6, 2018, accessed June 18, 2019.
See: “An Easter Myth,” Let The Truth Come Out Blog, February 6, 2018, accessed June 18, 2019.
[17] See also: 1 Corinthians 9:4-6 NASB.
[18] R. F. Weymouth, The New Testament in Modern Speech, (London: James Clark and Company, 1908), p 237.
[19] Troy Salinger, “An Easter Myth,” Let The Truth Come Out Blog, February 6, 2018, accessed June 18, 2019.
[20] 1 Corinthians 15:20.
[21] Hurtado, Ibid.
[22] Some may say this verse proves the third member of a triune God played a role in Jesus’ resurrection. But notice that Paul’s reference is not to a third member of a triune God, but the “Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead,” that is, the Spirit of God the Father. (Gal. 1:1) See also where the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of your Father” in these parallel passages: Mark 13:11 and Matthew 10:19.
[23] Hebrews 2:11, 17.
The above article was taken from:
One God Worship: Who Raised Jesus From the Dead?
One God Worship: Who Raised Jesus From the Dead?
