Question: "What does it mean that Jesus rose ‘again’?"

Question: "What does it mean that Jesus rose
‘again’?"
Answer: In a few Bible verses, such as 2
Corinthians 5:15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14
(depending on the translation), and many of the
popular and ancient creeds, such as the
Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed , the
phrase rose again is used in reference to Jesus’
resurrection. As a result, rose again has become
commonly used terminology when referring to
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This can be
confusing, since again often means “an
additional time” or “once more.” Jesus “rising
again” sounds like Jesus rose from the dead
more than once.
While again can mean “an additional time” or
refer to a further instance of an event, it can
also mean “anew” or “afresh.” Again can also be
defined as “in return” or “to a previous place or
condition.” For example, in The Merchant of
Venice , Portia speaks of one who “swore he
would pay him again when he was able” (I:ii). In
describing a business transaction, Portia uses
the word again to mean “in return.” Similarly,
when used in reference to the resurrection of
Jesus, rose again does not mean “arose a
second time.” Rather, it means Jesus rose
anew. He returned to life. He came back to His
previous condition. Jesus was alive before; then
for a while He was dead; now He is back.
Similarly, the English word resurrect comes from
the Latin word resurrexit . Notice the prefix re- in
both the English and Latin words. Normally,
when the prefix re- is attached to a word, it
means the action is occurring an additional
time, i.e., repeated. But, just like the word again ,
the prefix re- can also mean “anew” or “back.”
When we say that Jesus was “resurrected,” we
do not mean that Jesus was “surrected” a
second time. We mean that Jesus returned to
life. He has life anew. What is being repeated is
not the act of coming back to life but the state
of being alive.
Saying, “Jesus rose again,” is simply a way of
referring to the resurrection of Jesus. Any
confusion over the word again should be
dispelled by the knowledge that words often
have multiple definitions. The key point is this:
“Jesus rose again” does not mean Jesus rose
from the dead more than once. Rather, it means
Jesus returned to life. Jesus was, for a time,
dead but now is alive again.