Paragraph 2: On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead

Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part One › Section Two › Chapter Two › Article 5 · Paragraph 2 (§§638–658)

Paragraphs · 21

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Paragraph 2. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD

§638 — "We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus."vatican.va

I. the Historical and Transcendent Event

§639 — The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ…vatican.va
§640 — "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb.vatican.va
§641 — Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first to encounter the Risen One.vatican.va
§642 — Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning.vatican.va
§643 — Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact.vatican.va
§644 — Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost.vatican.va
§645 — By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he…vatican.va
§646 — Christ's Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus' daughter, the young man of Naim, Lazarus.vatican.va
§647 — O truly blessed Night, sings the Exsultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the realm of the dead!vatican.va

Ii. the Resurrection - a Work of the Holy Trinity

§648 — Christ's Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics.vatican.va
§649 — As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of man will have to suffer much, die, and then rise.vatican.va
§650 — The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine person of Christ who remained united to his soul and body, even when these were separated from each other by death: "By the unity of the divine nature, which remains present in each of the two components of man, these are reunited.vatican.va

Iii. the Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection

§651 — "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ's works and teachings.vatican.va
§652 — Christ's Resurrection is the fulfilment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures" indicates that Christ's Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.vatican.va
§653 — The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he."vatican.va
§654 — The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life.vatican.va
§655 — Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.vatican.va

In Brief

§656 — Faith in the Resurrection has as its object an event which as historically attested to by the disciples, who really encountered the Risen One. At the same time, this event is mysteriously transcendent insofar as it is the entry of Christ's humanity into the glory of God.vatican.va
§657 — The empty tomb and the linen cloths lying there signify in themselves that by God's power Christ's body had escaped the bonds of death and corruption.vatican.va
§658 — Christ, "the first-born from the dead" (Col 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls (cf Rom 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our bodies (cf Rom 8:11).vatican.va

Scripture cited · 168 verses

On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead