When did Jesus rise from the dead?

For Christians, the resurrection is the belief that Jesus came back to life three days after he died on the cross. The Gospel of Luke (24:1–9) explains how Jesus’ followers found out that he had been resurrected:

• On the Sunday after Jesus’ death, Jesus’ female followers went to visit his tomb.
• A stone had been covering the tomb’s entrance. However, the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty.
• Two men appeared to the women in gleaming clothes. The women were frightened but the men said: Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again’ (Luke 24:5–7).
• The female followers then returned to tell Jesus’ apostles and other people that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Belief in the resurrection is very important to many Christians because:

• the resurrection shows that Jesus defeated death
• it is seen as proof of life after death
• the resurrection also proves God’s omnipotence and omnibenevolence
  

In the biblical book called 1 Corinthians,

St Paul, emphasises how important it is to believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. He explains that he himself saw Jesus after his resurrection, and that Jesus appeared to the apostles and over 500 other people.

For Jesus and the apostles, the timing of his resurrection has strong theological implications. The three-day timeline matters to the biblical narrative because it is the special day on which God creates new life and activates his covenant with humanity. How did the New Testament authors arrive at this understanding?

Jesus and the New Testament authors are drawing from a consistent third-day design pattern found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Exploring this pattern for ourselves can enrich our understanding of Jesus’ resurrection and the significance of the third day.

God resurrects new life up from the ground (the tomb)—in this case, Jesus. God acts to bring about the new covenant through Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection for all who believe. And finally, Jesus’ act of atonement occurs on a hill (mountain).

The imagery in Genesis 1-2 of new life rising up from the ground on the third day, along with the connection to the divine covenant throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, provides a poignant picture of the theological significance of Jesus’ resurrection. On the third day, Jesus’ resurrection is made all the more paramount. It is the climactic day of God’s plan for new life and covenant faithfulness. We have seen this beautiful picture playing out since creation, and its finale will be found in the future resurrection of Jesus’ followers and the restoration of all of creation.

When we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, we are not just following an historic tradition. We are engaging in a deeply meaningful theology centered around the third day and God’s redemptive work. The third-day design pattern is a reminder—God has initiated the process of resurrecting people to new life and bringing them into a covenant partnership.