When the mighty angel spoke at Christ’s tomb, saying, “Your Father is calling You,” the Savior came out from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Christ had proclaimed in triumph, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Only the Deity could speak these words. All created beings are dependent on God, receiving life from Him. Only He who is one with God could say, “I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it up again.” See John 10:18. HH 360.6
Christ rose from the dead as the first fruits of those who slept, and His resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord. For more than a thousand years when the people went up to Jerusalem to the Passover, the sheaf of first fruits, the first heads of ripened grain, was waved before the Lord as a thank offering. The grain harvest could not continue until this was presented. The sheaf dedicated to God represented the harvest. So Christ’s resurrection is the representation and pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14. HH 360.7