Resurrection facts for kids
Resurrection means coming back to life after someone has died. It's like waking up from a very long sleep, but after your body has stopped working. Many religions and old stories talk about people or gods being resurrected.
Old Stories and Gods
The idea of resurrection can be found in ancient writings from the Middle East. These writings come from polytheistic religions, which means they believed in many gods. For example, some old Egyptian and Canaanite stories tell about gods like Osiris and Baal being resurrected.
In Greek mythology, many people were given eternal life by being brought back from the dead. Some of these people, like Alcmene, Castor, Heracles, and Melicertes, even became gods. However, the Greek philosophers of that time usually did not believe that a dead body could physically come back to life.
Major Religions
Christianity
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected. They also believe that all people will be resurrected after they die. This belief comes from the Gospels and the writings of Saint Paul in the New Testament.
The resurrection of Jesus is the Christian belief that he came back to life through a miracle. He died by crucifixion on a Friday and rose from his tomb to new life on Sunday morning. This amazing event is celebrated every year at Easter.
The story of Jesus Christ's resurrection is written by the evangelists in the New Testament. These are the authors of the four Gospels. Christians believe that Jesus' resurrection is a very important part of their faith. They believe Jesus died on the cross to save people. When he was resurrected, Jesus defeated death. He is now alive forever and sits at God's right hand. This gives Christians hope for a new life after death, because his resurrection shows what they believe will happen to them too.
The Bible teaches that a resurrected body is different from a living human body. Our bodies now can be weak and get sick. But a resurrected person's body is changed and can live forever.
All four Gospels tell about Jesus being raised from the dead. They also tell about three times when Jesus brought other dead people back to life:
- Daughter of Jairus: Jairus, a leader of a synagogue, asked Jesus to heal his daughter. While Jesus was on the way, Jairus was told his daughter had died. Jesus told him she was only sleeping and woke her up with the words Talitha kum.
- The Young Man from Nain: A young man, the only son of a widow, was being carried to be buried in Nain. Jesus saw the widow crying and told her not to. Jesus then told the dead man to get up, and he did.
- The Raising of Lazarus: Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus who had been dead for four days. Jesus went to his grave and commanded him to get up, and Lazarus came back to life.
Islam
In Islam, the Quran also talks about a bodily resurrection for those who have died.
See also
In Spanish: Resurrección para niños
