ANASTASIS (Resurrection)
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
What is the Word?
Every year we look forward to Easter, and for good reason. It is the day that we rejoice in our Lord’s victory over sin, death, and the grave. “Death has lost its sting” proclaims Paul (1 Cor 15:55-57), and we celebrate the trampling down of death and Jesus’ miraculous work on the cross. Yet, do we really know the full implications of the resurrection? To explore, let’s check out the Greek word for resurrection – anastasis.
How does the Bible use this word?
The word anastasis is a noun and is quite literal in its meaning. It is a compound word consisting of a combination of the words ana (up, again) and histemi (to stand). The words taken together literally mean to “rise up again” or “stand again.” It is found throughout the New Testament and especially in reference to Jesus’ rising from the grave.
Where in the Bible?
Jesus speaks often of the resurrection. Take, for example, in John, chapter 11:
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection (ἀναστάσει) on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection (ἀνάστασις) and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
-John 11:23-26
Notice here that Martha is referring to the general resurrection, something all pious Jews of Jesus’ day looked forward to. Jesus, however, correlates this resurrection to his own. The general resurrection is intimately tied to his own resurrection, as he is the first fruits of the resurrection of all (1 Cor 15:20). His resurrection is what prompts all others.
I am the Resurrection and the Life
Like Martha, Jesus reminds us all that we will all participate in the resurrection of the dead. He won for us eternal life and immortality, and we will all rise again to stand before him. Therefore, let us pray that we be faithful stewards of this earth until he comes again in glory as we rejoice in the victory of our God.