1 Corinthians 15:12-20 "What Does the Resurrection Mean?"
• Every year thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the "stations of the cross" to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket and, to his surprise, came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as they cross, but there they stopped. Far too many have gotten to the cross and have known the despair and the heartbreak. Far too few have moved beyond the cross to find the real message of Easter. That is the message of the empty tomb. (Lavon Brown)
Today, we’re going to talk about that empty tomb.
The tomb was empty because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
What does the resurrection mean?
It’s helpful to understand some of the theories that have been proposed over the years to explain the resurrection.
(Theories from the Believer’s Study Bible, Logos Bible Study System from Nelson Publishers)
1. Swoon Theory: Jesus did not actually die.
2. Spirit Theory: Jesus’ spirit returned but not his body.
3. Vision Theory: The disciples hallucinated.
4. Legend/Myth Theory: The resurrection is only a myth or story with a teaching point. A real Jesus is possible, even probable, but not really necessary.
5. Stolen Body Theory: The body was stolen by (1) the Jews (2) the Romans, (3) the disciples (Matthew 28:11-15), or (4) Joseph of Arimathea
(John 19:38ff.).
6. Wrong Tomb Theory: The disciples went to the wrong tomb, found it empty, and erroneously concluded that Jesus had risen.
7. Deliberate Lie for Profit Theory: The disciples fabricated the resurrection story for profit.
8. Mistaken Identity Theory: The disciples mistook for Jesus someone who looked like him.
9. A Literal, Bodily Resurrection: Jesus was raised form the dead, historically and bodily, by the supernatural power of God (1 Corinthians 15:3ff.).
As Christians, we believe in a literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Not reincarnation – Jesus didn’t come back as a bird or a cow or even another person.
No, Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
He came back as Jesus.
So, what’s the big deal?
Is it important to believe that the resurrection did really happen?
Is it necessary to believe that Jesus actually came back from the dead and lives on even today?
Paul gives us a list of "if-then" scenarios in this passage of Scripture to help us determine if it really matters.
These "if-then" scenarios will help us understand what the resurrection really means.
First of all, Paul says:
1. "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" (vs 12)
There are lots of people out there who simply don’t believe it’s possible for a person to be brought back from the dead.
They believe that when you’re dead, you’re dead, and there’s nothing else that can be done for you.
Fact is people are being brought back from the dead all the time.
Medical technology has become so advanced that we are able to pull people from the clutches of death after they stop breathing and their hearts stop beating for several minutes.
I heard of one case not too long ago where a woman had been declared dead and was tagged and on her way to the morgue when she suddenly gasped for air and sat up on the gurney.
Isn’t that amazing?!
And when those types of things happen we hail them as miracles of modern medicine.
But we have so much trouble believing that the God of the universe, who created everything out of nothing, can, by an act of his own will, raise a person from the dead.
And it gets even tougher to believe that he would purposely allow someone to die a painful death on a cross just to raise him up from the dead – for us – so that we can have life.
But that’s exactly what happened.
We preach that Christ has been raised from the dead to a world that doesn’t think it’s possible to raise people from the dead.
Could make us appear to be a little silly, but let’s persevere.
2. Paul goes on to say in Verse 13, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised."
And he repeats himself to emphasize his point in Verse 16, "For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either."
The Bible tells us that Jesus conquered death.
When something is conquered, there has to have been a battle.
When there’s a battle, someone has to emerge as the victor.
Both sides don’t often lose.
Jesus rose victoriously in the battle over sin and death.
That’s why Paul says "Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?" (15:55)
Death’s power has been defeated.
He also says, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (15:26) and "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (15:54)
If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, death would have been the victor.
Paul wouldn’t be able to say any of these things; and we would have no hope.
3. Paul continues in Verses 14 & 15, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised."
And, again, he repeats himself for emphasis in Verse 17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile;..."
People often confuse faith with religion.
Did you know that you can have a successful religion without having an ounce of faith?
Some people think you can pick and choose what you believe in the Bible.
They have a religion that says Jesus was a real nice guy, he had some really good teachings, and if you can apply some of those teachings you’ll be happier and life will be better, but that "raised from the dead stuff", I can do without that.
Christianity is built on faith.
Faith that Jesus is who he says he is.
Faith that Jesus will do what he says he will do.
Jesus says he is coming back to gather his own.
Paul says, if Christ hasn’t been resurrected, nothing we do matters.
Preaching is useless, faith is useless, nothing matters because no one is going to be raised from the dead anyway.
He even says that if Christ hasn’t been raised then we are nothing but deceitful liars, because we go around proclaiming that God raised Christ from the dead.
4. And, Paul says, "If Christ has not been raised, ... you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost."
If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, the only thing he would have been is a dead man.
He would have joined the ranks of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
He would have been no different than Buddha, or Mohammed, or Joseph Smith.
But, he did rise from the dead, and that makes him the Savior of all mankind.
Because he rose from the dead the payment for your sin and my sin was accepted.
5. Then, in Verse 19, Paul gives us something to think about.
He tells us why it is so important to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Paul wrote this at a time when professing faith in Christ was potentially dangerous.
Many Christians lived with the threat of death
or persecution.
In fact, throughout the 2000 year history of the
Church, up to this very moment, Christians have suffered torture, abuse, persecution, mockery, and death.
If this life is all there is, we’d to be nuts to endure such mistreatment.
Twentieth century American Christians may not live under the threat of violent oppression, but that doesn’t mean we don’t suffer persecution or that we don’t experience sacrifice.
The Bible says, "...all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
(2 Timothy 3:12)
That’s a promise.
It’s not a promise we like to claim but it is a promise nonetheless.
• Ted Turner has been about the business of bashing Christians for years. It seems to have gotten worse since his ex-wife, Jane Fonda, made a profession of faith. Just recently, he went on a tirade at CNN and began ridiculing some of the Catholic Christians because they were wearing ash on their foreheads in honor of the Lenten season.
This isn’t an isolated event.
Everyday there are business people who don’t get a promotion, applicants who don’t get hired, new neighbors who aren’t accepted into the clique, salesmen who don’t make the sale, writers who don’t get published, students who don’t get a fair grade, athletes who don’t get the starting position, actors who don’t get the part, and politicians who don’t get elected...all because they are bold enough to make a stand for Jesus Christ.
There is a price to pay for making that stand.
If there is no resurrection – if this life is all there is – we would be a foolish to allow ourselves to be even slightly inconvenienced for the sake of religion.
If there is no resurrection, Paul says, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" (15:32)
But if in fact Jesus is risen, then that changes everything...and the pain, and the sorrow, and the persecution, and the mistreatment, and even the little inconveniences have special significance.
In fact, every detail of our lives has special significance.
If there is no resurrection, the only logical purpose
for living is pursuing your own pleasure.
But, if Jesus Christ is risen the only logical purpose for living is to follow him and do his
will.
CONCLUSION
Easter is much, much more than Easter bunnies and candy.
Easter about a living Savior who is the source of our hope, the source of our faith, and the source of our life.
• On the Easter just before he died, D. William Sangster painfully printed a short note to his daughter. A deeply spiritual Methodist, he had been spearheading a renewal movement in the British Isles after World War II. Then his ministry, except for prayer, was ended by a disease which progressively paralyzed his body, even his vocal chords. But the last Resurrection Sunday he spent on earth, still able to move his fingers, he wrote: "How terrible to wake up on Easter and have no voice to shout, ’He is risen!’ Far worse, to have a voice and not want to shout."
HE IS RISEN!!
