Christ is Risen: The Identity of Jesus

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

The resurrection of Jesus is the pillar of our faith and the foundation of our hope. The resurrection confirms Christ’s identity as the Son of God and gives believers hope that we will one day be resurrected as he was.

This Easter Sunday article will focus on how the resurrection confirms Christ's identity.

Christ’s Identity

According to Romans 1, the resurrection confirms Christ’s identity as the Son of God.

“[Christ] was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:3-4). 

These verses point to the two natures of Christ as God and man. 

According to the flesh, he is descended from David.

This is evident in the Old Testament passages concerning the Messiah’s identity. One very important passage is 2 Samuel in God’s covenant with David.

“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:12-14a).

Similarly, in Jeremiah, a similar prophecy is made. Only this time, it points to the Messiah as a shepherd descended from David.“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jeremiah 33:14-15). 

According to the Spirit, he is the Son of God.

This is the confirming cry of the resurrection. Jesus was who he said he was.

Christ confirms his identity when he argued with the religious leaders in John 5.

“But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’ This was why the jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:17-18). 

God himself confirms Christ’s identity early on in Jesus’ earthly ministry. 

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). 

All of Scripture testifies to Christ’s identity as a physical descendant of David and the Son of God in power. His resurrection confirms this is true. Jesus is the Messiah sent from God for the sins of his people. 

Our Response

The resurrection confirms Christ’s identity. So, what does this mean for us practically? How does this miraculous event impact us today?

Scripture is full of encouragement about how the resurrection gives believers hope, specifically in 1 Thessalonians 4:14: “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” This gives us hope that death is not final. Jesus has already won the battle over death. Death has been defeated. 

Here are some questions to reflect on today as we celebrate our resurrected Savior.

See what a morning, gloriously bright

With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;

Folded the grave-clothesTomb filled with light,

As the angels announce Christ is risen!

See God’s salvation plan, wrought in love,

Borne in pain, paid in sacrifice,

Fulfilled in Christ, the Man, for He lives,Christ is risen from the dead!

(Lyrics from "See, What a Morning" by Getty & Townsend)

Happy Easter from So We Speak!

Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.