Romans 4:25 tells us that Jesus was “raised for our justification.”
To understand what this means, we have to remember that death was not a part of God’s original creation but was introduced as part of the punishment for sin (Genesis 2-3).
Jesus could die on the cross only because the sins of others were imputed to Him, placed on Him so that He could bear the punishment we deserve (Isaiah 53).
If Jesus had actually been a sinner Himself, there could be no salvation, for one sinner cannot atone for another sinner; an atoning sacrifice must be without blemish (Hebrews 7:23-28).
Christ’s resurrection proves that He Himself was not a sinner—in fact, God’s raising Christ from the dead is His declaration that His Son is perfectly righteous. Death could not hold Jesus forever because Jesus was not a sinner Himself, and God’s wrath on our sin was exhausted on the cross.
The Father had to raise His Son from the dead because perfect justice demands that death cannot hold on to a person when there is no sin present.
Christ had no sin of His own, and there was no sin left to be punished once Christ’s work on the cross was over. So, Jesus’ resurrection was a necessity.
We know that God accepted Christ’s payment for sin and that Christ is perfectly righteous because Jesus rose from the dead.
Thus, we know that trusting in Jesus alone will save us.
– TableTalk Magazine (May 2017)