Gary Habermas on the Meaning of the Miracle of the Resurrection
From The Risen Jesus & Future Hope (p112), Habermas writes:
Miracles by their nature, point beyond themselves to a message of religious significance. Jesus claimed that his miracles were indications that his message was true. This would especially apply to his resurrection. Objections fail to alter this stance.
Jesus made some rather exalted personal statements, chiefly by using the titles “Son of God” and “Son of Man” among other teachings. Further, he claimed to be God’s unique agent in establishing the Kingdom. The eternal destiny of his hearers depended on their response to his call.
I pointed out many reasons why god raising Jesus from the dead is best understood as His placing His stamp of approval on Jesus’s entire message. This is by far the best conclusion regarding the meaning of this event. Other options inqdequately address the historicity of the resurrection, the evidence for theism, and/or Jesus’s messsage.
For these reasons, then, we may affirm the truth of Jesus’s teachings… concerning himself and his message of the Kingdom… Jesus called his listeners to respond to him and his message, since he was God’s personal agent of salvation… These teachings would especially be vindicated by Jesus’s resurrection.