When Jesus says, “It is finished” (John 19:30), he speaks the truth in a qualified manner. The suffering aspect of Christ’s atoning sacrifice was completed through his Passion and death, and yet, to show the world he had definitively defeated sin, death, and the devil, Jesus needed to rise from the dead as he prophesied he would (Matt. 16:21).
Some Christians doubted that Christ’s disciples would rise bodily from the dead, a subject St. Paul addresses in further detail as 1 Corinthians 15 unfolds. On the day Jesus rises from the dead, we see an imperfect anticipation of this resurrection when many of Christ’s disciples rose bodily, though in an unglorified manner (Matt. 27:51-54). And then St. Paul draws a logical conclusion in today’s First Reading:
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. . .. [A]nd if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins (1 Cor. 15:12-13, 17, emphasis added).
In addition, Jesus’s redemptive sacrifice was not complete until he fulfilled the Day of Atonement sacrifices, ascending to the heavenly sanctuary, not one made by man on earth, where his sacrifice of Calvary culminated in everlasting glory (Heb. 9:11-14; see Lev. 16). And so, despite the glory of his Resurrection on that first Easter Sunday, Jesus makes this very point to Mary Magdalene (John 20:17-18).
Historical Evidence
And yet there is no Ascension without the triumph of Christ’s Resurrection. There is much historical evidence for Christ’s Resurrection. It’s not simply a matter of faith. At Catholic Answers (Catholic.com), we have many free resources you can access 24/7 on the Resurrection and other doctrinal issues.
Because Jesus defeats the devil, his paschal sacrifice is the definitive Christian exorcism, without which there would be no Rite of Exorcism—because Catholic priests would otherwise not have the power to cast out Satan and other demonic spirts.
For Our Benefit
In today’s Gospel Reading, we see Jesus exercising his dominion over the demonic world before living out his paschal sacrifice. How? As omnipotent God, Jesus is not limited by the created dimensions of time and space. Indeed, Jesus didn’t have to earn the right to exorcise the devil through his one redemptive sacrifice, which Catholic priests offer anew at every Mass in a sacramental manner. No, the Redemption is for our benefit, not God’s:
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, [including] Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out (Luke 8:1-2).
As the great Archbishop Fulton Sheen summarizes well,
Satan’s hold on the world is broken by the Cross. “On that Cross, he discarded the cosmic powers and enemies like a garment; he made a public spectacle of them and led them as captives in his triumphal procession” (Col. 2:15).
Similarly, if we follow Jesus faithfully in embracing our own crosses (Matt. 16:24-26), we will witness to others that his “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:8-10), and we will experience the power of his Resurrection both now on earth—in one way or another—and forever in heaven.
