The principal subject of these verses is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. It is one of those truths which lie at the very foundation of Christianity, and has therefore received special attention in the four Gospels. All four Evangelists describe minutely how our Lord was crucified: all four relate, with no less clearness, that He rose again.
We need not wonder that so much importance is attached to our Lord’s resurrection: it is the seal and headstone of the great work of redemption which He came to do. It is the crowning proof that He has paid the debt which He undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle which He fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our surety and our substitute by our Father in heaven. Had He never come forth from the prison of the grave, how could we ever have been sure that our ransom had been fully paid. (1 Cor. 15:17) Had He never risen from His conflict with the last enemy, how could we have felt confident that He has overcome death and him that had the power of death, that is the devil? (Heb. 2:14) But thanks be unto God, we are not left in doubt: the Lord Jesus really “rose again for our justification.” True Christians are begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” They may boldly say with Paul, “Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died — yea rather, that is risen again.” (Rom. 8:34; Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 1:3)