The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ
Overview
Matthew, Chapter 28; Mark, Chapter 16; Luke, Chapter 24, Acts 1:1–11; John, Chapter 20
Theologically it makes more sense to treat the death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ together. The combined event is often referred to as the Paschal Mystery. The Catholic Church, for example, teaches that by his death Jesus freed human beings from sin and that by his Resurrection he opened the path to new life. Each Christian denomination understands Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection as related to human salvation, but each articulates the details a bit differently (check in with your pastor or denominational Web site). The art tradition tends to treat the Crucifixion and Resurrection separately so they are treated separately here as well.
The Paschal Mystery is also used as a way to understand the cycle of death and rebirth that is common in life. For example, at a certain point, one’s identity as a full-time student dies and one is reborn into a new life as a productive worker in the world. Jesus’ death and Resurrection can help to make sense of those necessary deaths and look with hope on new beginnings.
All four Gospels contain remarkably different accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension. The basic arc of the story is that the morning after the Sabbath or Passover (depending on the account), Mary Magdalene (and maybe some other women) came to the tomb and found Jesus gone. Mary (or all of the women) told the 11 remaining Apostles. Jesus appeared to disciples several times. After 40 days of such appearances, he ascended into Heaven.
Each of the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus has received detailed attention from artists. The links below cover the most commonly depicted moments. See the general Bible Stories section for What to Look For and Focusing Questions for stories omitted from the specific list.
Historical Notes
Although the Resurrection event was the most important aspect of Jesus’ story in the early Church, explicit depictions of the Resurrection were rare. Instead, stories and things that symbolized the Resurrection were depicted. The Jonah story for example was very popular. Jonah had spent 3 days in the belly of the fish just as Jesus had spent 3 days in the tomb.
Artworks depicting either the empty tomb or the resurrected Jesus usually focus on one story rather than trying to incorporate all the Resurrection stories into one image.
These subtopics can be explored more deeply at these links:
- The Jonah Cycle
- Resurrection
- Anastasis Icons
- Empty Tomb
- Noli Me Tangere (Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the Garden)
- Doubt of Thomas
- The Road to and Dinner at Emmaus
- Ascension
