Did God validate the claims of Jesus by raising Him from the dead?

In this episode of the Seeker Series, we look at the resurrection as God’s public confirmation that Jesus is who He claimed to be, that He was sent by the Father, and that His promise of everlasting life can be trusted.

The New Testament does not present Jesus’ death and resurrection as random events. Jesus spoke beforehand about His betrayal, death, and resurrection, and the written record had already prepared us for a suffering and rejected figure who would be vindicated by God.

We also consider the testimony of the early followers of Jesus: their fear, confusion, skepticism, the empty tomb, the claim that Jesus was bodily alive afterward, and their later willingness to publicly proclaim that God raised Him from the dead.

But the resurrection does not replace Jesus’ promise. It confirms that His promise can be trusted.

And that brings us to our final question:

What did Jesus mean by eternal life?

Because it is one thing to hear the phrase. It is another thing to understand the promise. If we are going to believe Jesus for what He is actually offering, then we need to understand what He actually said.

Is eternal life something a person works toward, or something Jesus gives? Is it probationary or permanent? Can it be lost or forfeited? When does a person receive it? And what response is Jesus actually calling for?

Stay tuned because that is what we will explore in the final episode of the Seeker Series.