The Hope of the Resurrection E-Book

Patrick Schreiner

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 149

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2026

Beschreibung

Examining Jesus's Resurrection Through Three Realities:  Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Jesus's resurrection happened centuries ago, but evidence shows it is at the center of everything that is true, good, and beautiful today. These 3 attributes—or transcendentals—provide a simple framework for understanding reality, including Christ's victory over death and why it matters for your life. In this approachable study, New Testament scholar Patrick Schreiner explains the history, apologetics, theology, and ethics of the resurrection. First, he examines moral arguments and the death-to-life cycles in nature that point to Christ's resurrection. Next, Schreiner explores the theology of the empty tomb, including the new life in heaven that awaits believers. Finally, he reflects on the beautiful ways Jesus's death validates, personalizes, and ultimately ends your suffering. You will be inspired to pursue resurrection in your own life, dying to sin to experience abundant renewal in Christ. This short, engaging book is perfect for outreach and discipleship. Churches are encouraged to share it with groups during Easter services and year-round as a small-group resource. - Concise and Accessible: Combines a historical, theological, ethical, and applicational look at the resurrection in a brief, easy-to-understand format - Excellent Small-Group Resource: Share this book with both Christians and skeptics to help them fall in love with the reality of the resurrection - Great Easter Giveaway: Churches can buy this book in bulk to use during Easter services

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“The good news of the gospel is not just that Jesus died for our sins but also that he rose victoriously from the grave. In this book, Patrick Schreiner presents a convincing case that the resurrection of Christ is true, good, and beautiful. I hope this book gets a wide reading because it grounds our salvation in the reality that Jesus has conquered Satan, sin, and death. Thanks be to God.”

J. T. English, Lead Pastor, Storyline Church, Arvada, Colorado; Associate Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Deep Discipleship; coauthor, You Are a Theologian

“Patrick Schreiner’s The Hope of the Resurrection isn’t merely a defense of the historical truth of the risen Jesus—although Schreiner certainly provides that along the way. It’s also a celebration of the beauty and the goodness of the resurrection, coupled with a clear call to live in light of the resurrection. In a world where not only the truth of the faith is being challenged but also its goodness, this celebration may be the strongest defense of all.”

Timothy Paul Jones, Chair of the Department of Apologetics, Ethics, and Philosophy, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Did the Resurrection Really Happen?

“Patrick Schreiner has given us a clear, thoughtful, and deeply encouraging book on the resurrection. He shows why Jesus’s conquering of death matters—not only because the resurrection really did happen but also because it affects believers’ lives right now. This book will strengthen your faith and renew your hope. I’m glad to recommend it!”

Greg Gilbert, Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky

“The Hope of the Resurrection is a fantastic book. Schreiner writes in an accessible and interesting manner with extensive research behind his claims. Given that the resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith in terms of truth and spiritual practice, I highly recommend reading and studying this book so that you can truly understand what the resurrection means for you today.”

Sean McDowell, Professor of Apologetics, Talbot School of Theology; author, The Fate of the Apostles

“The resurrection of Jesus isn’t just a moment in history—it’s the miracle that defines all of reality. In The Hope of the Resurrection, Patrick Schreiner beautifully reminds us that the empty tomb not only secures our eternity but also transforms our everyday life. With clarity and depth, Schreiner connects the truth of Christ’s victory over death to everything that is true, good, and beautiful in our world. This book will help you see that the resurrection is more than something we celebrate once a year—it’s the power we live in every day. I can’t recommend it enough.”

Vance Pitman, President, Send Network; author, Unburdened and The Stressless Life

“Most Christians have huge gaps in their understanding and appreciation of the resurrection. This book closes these gaps. By drawing on rich theology, history, mythology, and more, Patrick Schreiner increased my hope and delight in the promise of resurrection. I can’t wait to share this book with my church family.”

Luke Simmons, Lead Pastor, Ironwood Church, Mesa, Arizona; Pastoral Coach, Faithful and Fruitful

The Hope of the Resurrection

The Hope of the Resurrection

How Jesus’s Defeat of Death Changes Everything

Patrick Schreiner

Foreword by Gavin Ortlund

The Hope of the Resurrection: How Jesus’s Defeat of Death Changes Everything

© 2026 by Patrick Schreiner

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: David Fassett

Cover image: Getty Images

First printing 2026

Printed in the United States of America

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-9761-9 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-9763-3 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-9762-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schreiner, Patrick author  

Title: The hope of the resurrection : how Jesus’s defeat of death changes everything / Patrick Schreiner ; foreword by Gavin Ortlund.  

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, [2026] | Includes bibliographical references and index. 

Identifiers: LCCN 2025027669 (print) | LCCN 2025027670 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433597619 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433597626 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433597633 (epub)  

Subjects: LCSH: Jesus Christ—Resurrection | Resurrection | Theology, Doctrinal 

Classification: LCC BT482 .S35 2026  (print) | LCC BT482  (ebook) 

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025027669

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025027670

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2026-02-13 11:07:26 AM

To Kesid (13)

May you know Christ and his resurrection,

when God will wipe away every tear

Contents

  Foreword by Gavin Ortlund

  Preface

  Introduction: Death Is a Thief

Part 1

The Resurrection Is True

1  Historical Evidence

2  Cosmic Evidence

3  Existential Evidence

Part 2

The Resurrection Is Good

4  The Resurrection’s Centrality

5  The Death of Death

6  Life in Heaven

Part 3

The Resurrection Is Beautiful

7  Practice Resurrection

8  Practice Death

9  Commune with the Raised

  Conclusion: Changing Everything

  Notes

  General Index

  Scripture Index

Foreword

The world around us is languishing for lack of hope. We feel this when we read the newspaper or scroll social media. We often feel it in our own hearts!

The good news is that as followers of Jesus, we have the best hope imaginable: the resurrection of Jesus. We couldn’t have invented something so wonderful, so enthralling. Yet we often fail to fully appreciate the goodness, truth, and beauty of Easter morning. What makes the resurrection such a unique and powerful hope?

Jesus’s resurrection means more than a return to life. Several biblical figures were miraculously brought back to life (Lazarus, for example)—only to die again. But Jesus rose to a new kind of life, never to die again. He now possesses “the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16).

According to the apostle Paul, Christ’s resurrection is the “firstfruits” (1 Cor. 15:20) of our own. This is an agricultural metaphor. Essentially, it refers to the first batch from a harvest, a sign of what is to follow. This means that we can know what our resurrected bodies will one day be like by looking at what happened to Jesus on Easter morning. Moreover, God’s final redemption won’t be limited to humanity. All of creation will be caught up in it, being “set free from its bondage to corruption” (Rom. 8:21).

Putting 1 Corinthians 15:20 and Romans 8:21 together, we can say that Easter morning is the blueprint for God’s final redemption. What happened to Jesus’s body is a picture of what God will eventually do to this world.

This is a unique hope among the religions and philosophies of the world. Consider the physical nature of Jesus’s resurrection body, for example. In the resurrection accounts, Jesus’s body can be touched (Luke 24:39–40). He even eats fish to prove to the disciples that he is not a ghost (Luke 24:42–43)!

Most human cultures have lacked any notion of an afterlife involving physical bodies, and it was a source of mockery for the early Christians (e.g., Acts 17:32). Yet this hope provides a supreme source of happiness—it means that nothing good will be lost in the end. It is this very created world that shall be redeemed. This provides a dignity and meaning to our struggle in this fleshly life we now live. Everything matters. And even our suffering is ultimately working for God’s greater glory and our richer happiness. Since Jesus rose from the dead, we can truly believe, as Sam puts it in The Lord of the Rings, that everything sad will come untrue.

On top of all this, Jesus is actively at work in his own resurrection life in this intervening time between Easter and his final return. He is our risen priest, interceding for us from the throne of heaven (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). He is our risen King, advancing his kingdom and subduing the nations to his saving rule (Acts 2:30–32). And he is our risen prophet, sending his Spirit to illumine the gospel and advance the truth (Acts 2:33). The Jesus we worship and love every moment is specifically the risen Jesus—who is actively working to save us with that resurrection power.

Obviously there is much to unpack in these glorious truths that will strengthen and help believers! Patrick Schreiner’s primer on this doctrine is simply outstanding for this task. It is wise, articulate, deep, and compelling. It will instruct, illumine, encourage, and edify. Schreiner is a model theologian and biblical scholar who has made important contributions to other aspects of Christ’s saving work, including his transfiguration and his ascension. Now the church can benefit from Schreiner turning his focus to help us better understand the resurrection.

In this book Schreiner approaches Christ’s resurrection in terms of its truth, goodness, and beauty. This is a wise strategy. Some treatments of the resurrection focus only on its truth. It becomes a theorem to be proven. Such an approach actually fails to touch the deepest needs and anxieties of modern human hearts. On the other hand, the truth of the resurrection is essential to its goodness and beauty, and many are helped by considering historical evidences that witness to its truth.

I am thrilled that this book is available and hope it will be widely read and enjoyed! As you read, may you experience the same “joy” and “marveling” (Luke 24:41) that the disciples felt when they saw the risen Christ. Tolle lege!

Gavin Ortlund

President, Truth Unites

August 2025

Introduction

Death Is a Thief

I remember the day my grandma died.

My mom and dad called while I was away at college and told me she had passed away. She was eighty-two, and she had an aneurysm. I hadn’t yet lost many close relatives in my life. Two of my grandparents had died before I was even born.

When I heard the news, I was in shock. I couldn’t quite fathom that I wouldn’t see her again. I didn’t live near her during my childhood, but every summer we would travel to Oregon to visit her on an iris farm in Salem. When we arrived at her house, I remember always being greeted by the smell of the mint plants lining her walkway. When I smell mint, I still think of her.

Death is a reality that we can’t escape. It is coming for you—whether you like it or not. And death is a thief. It steals from us. It steals our lives, relationships, possibilities, and what we care about most. As one atheist affirms, “What do we truly desire, above all else? To be understood, to be loved, not to be alone, not to be separated from our loved ones—in short, not to die and not to have them die on us.”1

Stop and ponder what death has stolen from you. Has it taken your parents? Your child? A friend? A spouse? A grandparent? What will you be thinking when death comes for you? There are a lot of different attitudes toward death. Some despair because we can’t defeat death. It claims all, and it does so at inopportune times. Death doesn’t care if you are young or old, rich or poor, male or female. It comes for you. Death is inescapable and universal. “All are from the dust, and to dust all return” (Eccl. 3:20).

Others try to defy death. They put antiaging creams on their faces, eat healthy, and exercise as much as they can to stave off death. It only works for a little while though. Death catches up to us like an Olympic sprinter. Others are obsessed with the mystery that death holds. We don’t get to speak to those who have died and to hear what happens on the other side.

I think that most people have a natural fear of death because it is such an unknown to us. Death hurts so much because—in the truest sense—it is unnatural. Death is not proper to human nature. Every human was made for life, not death. No matter what you think of death, however, the reality can be stated plainly: You are going to die. The stats are pretty compelling. Death’s batting average is nearly a thousand. The reaper is coming for us all. Hades has a headlock on humanity. The question is What comes next?

Christians argue that Jesus has broken the power of death; therefore, the resurrection comes next. It is not the resurrection that interrupts the natural order; death is the interruption. Resurrection restores the natural order. We are all going to die, and we will all be raised. Contrary to what many Christians believe, the resurrection is for everyone—Christian and non-Christian alike. Everyone in the tombs will hear Jesus’s voice and arise (John 5:28–29).

The question is this: Will you rise to everlasting life or to judgment (Matt. 25:46)? If you rebuff the one who broke Hades’s headlock, then you will experience not only the first death but also the second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). Those “in Christ” don’t have to