Resurrection of Christ

The resurrection of Jesus (Biblical Greek: ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, romanized: anástasis toú Iēsoú) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, starting—or restoring—his exalted life as Christ and Lord. According to the New Testament writing, Jesus was firstborn from the dead, ushering in the Kingdom of God. He appeared to his disciples, calling the apostles to the Great Commission of forgiving sin and baptizing repenters, and then ascended to Heaven. For the Christian tradition, the bodily resurrection was the restoration to life of a transformed body powered by spirit, as described by Paul and the gospel authors, that led to the establishment of Christianity. In Christian theology, the resurrection of Jesus is "the central mystery of the Christian faith." It provides the foundation for that faith, as commemorated by Easter, along with Jesus's life, death and sayings. For Christians, his resurrection is the guarantee that all the Christian dead will be resurrected at Christ's parousia (second coming). The resurrection is seen as a theological affirmation that intersects with history as a precondition for understanding the historical Jesus, his suffering, and vindication. Secular and liberal Christian scholarship asserts that religious experiences, such as the visionary appearances of Jesus and an inspired reading of the biblical texts, gave the impetus to the belief in the exaltation of Jesus as a "fulfillment of the scriptures," and a resumption of the missionary activity of Jesus's followers. Scholars differ on the historicity of Jesus' burial and the empty tomb. Scholars of Jesus as a historical figure tend to generally avoid the topic, since many see resurrection as a matter of faith, or lack thereof, and outside of the scope of historical study. Easter is the main Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, symbolizing God's redemption and rooted in Passover traditions. The resurrection is widely depicted in Christian art and connected to relics like the Shroud of Turin, which some believe bears a miraculous image of Jesus. Gnosticism holds that only the soul is resurrected. Islam generally teaches that Jesus was not crucified but directly ascended to God; however Ahmadiyya Islam believes that Jesus survived the crucifixion and carried on his mission elsewhere.