Why Is the Resurrection Important?
1 Corinthians 15:13-28
I want to welcome you here on this beautiful Easter morning. We sometimes call this Sunday, “Resurrection Sunday” because it is about cele-brating the resurrection of Jesus. But unfortunately on Easter Sunday the story of the resurrection some-times seems to take a back seat to the Easter bunny, and Easter egg hunts. Yet the resurrection is the foundation of our faith as Christians. But instead of focusing on the story of the resurrection today, I want to look at the importance of the resurrection. Why is an event that took place over 2,000 years ago so important in our fast paced technically advanced age?
The question, “What becomes of a person after death?” is the oldest question pondered by the mind of man. Thousands of years ago a man named Job, asked the question very clearly when he said, “If a man dies will he live again?” (Job 14:14)
There have always been many erroneous ideas about death. Some groups (Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventist’s) teach “soul sleep” that at death the body dies and disintegrates, while the soul or the spirit rests. Some religions teach “reincarnation” that is that the spirit is continually recycled form one form to another, even human to animal. “According to data released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (2009 survey), not only do a quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation, but 24 percent of American Christians expressed a belief in reincarn-ation. … Many people in the Christian tradition who more or less accept reincarnation may never have really thought through its implications for other aspects of their faith. What should be recognized, however, is that one cannot claim to believe in reincarnation without compromising key tenets of Christian faith, most notably the atoning role of Jesus’ life and death, the critical role of grace and forgiveness, and the prospect of eternity with our present embodied spirits resurrected, trans-formed and glorified.” [www.americamagazine.org/issue/christians-and-reincarnation]
Others such as the New Age (Bahia and Hinduism) believe, in “absorption” that at death the spirit is absorbed back into the ultimate divine force. The one thing that all of this false views has is at that at death, human individuality is forever lost. What-ever, if anything, survives is no longer the person, he or she once was.
What the Bible teaches is that there is life beyond the grave, and that we can be assured of that life because Jesus conquered death. But there have always been people who didn’t believe in the resur-rection – in his letter to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul addresses such a group.
The fact of the resurrection forms the basis of Paul’s argument found in the letter to the church at Corinth, that because Christ was raised, life beyond the grave for us is possible. The two ideas stand or fall together. It seems that some were saying that Christ had not risen from the grave without realizing what that meant about their own future. If Christ did not conquer death then you and I will surely not. The Apostle Paul put the importance of the resurrection in perspective when he said, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is in futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:7)
When Paul wrote about the importance of the resurrection, he framed it in a conditional sentence. He said, “If Christ is not risen.” (1 Cor. 15:17) Paul is not expressing doubt or uncertainty about the resur-rection. In the Greek language there are a variety of ways of expressing conditional though. In this instan-ce, it is a second class condition which assumes the falsehood of what is being said. Paul is just con-templating the awful alternative that if Christ is not risen (but He is)! He does this because he wants us to understand just how important the resurrection is to our faith.
What Difference Would It Make If Jesus Did Not Rise From The Grave? “A British agnostic once said, “Let’s not discuss the other miracles; let’s dis-cuss the resurrection. Because if the resurrection is true, then the other miracles are easily explained; and if the resurrection is not true, the other miracles do not matter.” [As quoted in Dr. Dan Hayden. “What If?” 1 Corinthians 15:17. Zion’s Fire. March-April 2000, p.9]
In 1 Corinthians 15:13-19 Paul demonstrates that the resurrection of Christ is essential to our faith. In these verses Paul deals with the world’s greatest “What If?” question. What would the world be like if Jesus had not been raised from the Dead? What if the women who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning (John 20) found nothing had happened, found the guards pacing back and forth and Jesus was still in His tomb?
In verse thirteen Paul says, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.”
As odd as it may seem to us today, it is not all that novel that a man was crucified. Over the course of history many men have died by crucifixion. In 519 B.C. for example the Persian King Darius crucified 3,000 Babylonians. In A.D. 66 the Romans crucified 3,600 Jews which started a revolt. By the time order was restored, the executioners had literally run out of crosses. So it is not merely that Jesus was crucified that was important. He was crucified, He did die, and He was placed in a tomb. There is no arguing those facts. And the one thing that upon which the friends and enemies of Jesus agreed is that on the first Easter morning the tomb was empty.
Had it not been for the resurrection, the ministry of Jesus would have ended, his followers would have scattered, His claims would have been ignored, He would have been just another religious martyr.
But if there was no resurrection what would the world be like today? Paul lists six life changing facts if Jesus had not risen from the dead?
1. If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Preaching Is Meaningless. (v. 14a)
“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty…”
If Christ Is Still in the Grave then… If there was no resurrection; then Jesus would not have conquered death, and death would be forever man’s conqueror. Without the resurrection, the good news would be bad news and there would be nothing worth preaching. Without the resurrection, the gospel would be empty hopeless message of mean-ingless nonsense.
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Preaching Is Meaningless and….
2. If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Faith Is An Empty Fantasy. (v. 14b)
“… and your faith is also empty.”
If Christ Is Still in the Grave then…! Bertrand Russell (20th century British philosopher and self-professed atheist) sums up for us what the natural outcome of life without a risen Christ would be when he said, “The life of man is a long march through the night, surrounded by invisible foes, tortured by weariness and pain, towards a goal that few can hope to reach and where none can tarry long. One by one, as they march, our comrades vanish from our sight, seized by the silent orders of omnipotent death.
Brief and powerless is Man’s life; on him and his race the slow, sure doom falls, pitiless and dark….For Man, condemned today to lose his dearest, tomorrow himself to pass through the gates of darkness., it remains only to cherish, ere yet the blow falls, the lofty thoughts that ennoble his little day.” [Bertrand Russell. As quoted by Ray Stedman, “What If..? Sermon on 1 Cor. 15:12-20. www.pbc.rog/dp/stedman/1corinthians/3604]
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Faith Is An Empty Fantasy and ….
3. If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Christians Are False Witnesses. (vv.15-16)
“Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. (16) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.”
If Christ Is Still in the Grave then…! If there was no resurrection then every person who claims to have witnessed the risen Christ and every person who preached that Christ has risen is a liar, including Paul and the other Apostles. To deny the resurrection is to call the Apostles and every other leader of the New Testament church not simply mistaken but liars. If Christ was not raised from the dead, they were liars who conspired together in their lies in order to present a consistent and harmonized account. They not only lied but they died for that lie. It is not inconceivable that people will lie, but there are few who are willing to lie for that lie.
Lee Strobel has written, “People will die for their religious beliefs it they sincerely believe they are true, but people won’t die for their religious beliefs if they know their beliefs are false.
While most people can only have faith that their beliefs are true, the Disciples were in a position to know without a doubt whether or not Jesus had risen from the death. They claimed they saw Him, talked with Him and eat with Him. If they were not absolutely certain, they would not have allowed themselves to be tortured to death for proclaiming that the resurrection had happened.” [Lee Stobel. “The Case For Christ” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998) pp. 247-248]
Do you really think that a man would give his life if he did not really believe what he was preach-ing? Tradition tells us that Matthew’s body was run through with a spear. Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexandria until his skin was torn from his body and blood seeped into the sand. Luke was hang-ed and John was thrown into boiling oil. Peter was crucified, upside down and Paul was beheaded. These would not have given their lives if they knew that the resurrection of Jesus was a fraud.
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Christians Are False Witnesses and…
4. If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Sins. Are Not Forgiven! (v. 17)
“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”
If Christ Is Still in the Grave then…! If there was no resurrection then Christians are no better off spiritually than non-Christians. Our assurance of forgiveness, our peace of heart and mind, our bright hopes of the world to come, are all imaginary. There is no hiding place, no hope for mercy, no loving Christ to say, “I’ve paid the penalty on your behalf, I’ve taken your place!” Instead when we stand before God we get everything we deserve for every evil and hatful act or thought we have ever had.
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Sins Are Not Forgiven and ….
5. If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Loved Ones Who Have Died Are Lost. (v. 18)
“… Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”
If Christ Is Still in the Grave then…! All those loved ones we thought had gone on to be with the Lord, whom we hoped to see again, we will never see again. Our parents, our friends, our children; those who have been taken suddenly; those to whom gave a weeping farewell in the hope that we would see them again in Heaven; we will never see again. A terrible silence has forever fallen, they are gone forever!
If there was no resurrection then every saint, Old Testament and New Testament, who died would have perished forever. Every Christian of every age would spend eternity in torment without God and without hope. Their faith would have been in vain, their sins would have been unforgiven, and their destiny would be Hell.
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Loved Ones Who Have Died Are Lost and …
6. If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….We Are Of All Men Most To Be Pitied. (v. 19)
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” The New Living Trans-lation renders verse nineteen, “And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.”
If Christ Is Still in the Grave then…! We must give up our beautiful dream and go back to drab coldness and grim darkness described by Bertrand Russell. And it is all is made worse by the fact that we thought we had hold of something so beautiful, so marvelous. But if there is no resurrection it all crumbles into dust at our feet, it is all taken away from us and our darkness is all the more dark for what we have lost.
But praise God the story does not end in doubt or defeat. We read in verse twenty “But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again” (1 Corinthians 15:20 -NLT)
What a transformation that verse makes! It is a fact that the tomb is empty. It is a fact that Christ did rise from the dead.
Earlier in his letter to the church at Corinth (15:4-6) Paul asserted that Jesus had shown himself first to Peter and then to the other Apostles and after that He was seen by over 500 people the greater part of who were still living at time this was written (1 Cor. 15:6). In all, the Bible records ten distinct appearance of the resurrected Christ with regard to a variety of times, places and people. Luke writes that Jesus gave the Disciples “many convincing proofs” over a forty day period, before he ascended back to Heaven (Acts 1:3). No one has ever come up with a credible means to explain away the post-resurrection appearances of Christ.
Conclusion
The message of Easter is not that there is no death. The message of Easter is not that God will not let you die (John 11). The message of Easter is not that faith is easy. The Message Of Easter Is That The Tomb Is Empty and because it is empty, those who place their faith and hope in Christ in this life will live with Him in the life to come. So now is the time to make your decision. Do you believe that Jesus died as a sacrifice for your sins? Do you believe He rose from that garden tomb to prove that He was and is God? It’s your choice. Are you willing to accept His gift of eternal life today? He is waiting for your answer?
Let me close with this challenge for the believer in the congregation today. When we begin to believe the reality of the resurrection, that there is life on the other side of death, we start behaving differently on this side. This is what drove the Disciples out into their world – they had seen first-hand the reality of the resurrection.
Because the resurrection is a reality, our preparations for the next life are infinitely more important than our plans for this life! What kind of car we drive is not nearly as important as how we treat the people around us. How much money we have in the bank is not nearly as important as our willingness to share what we have been entrusted with. How successful we are in our field of work, academics or sports is not nearly as important as how faithful we are in serving the Lord in the local church.
“When George Bush served as Vice President under the Administration of Ronald Reagan he was called upon to represent the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev’s widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev’s wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband’s chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.” [Gary Thomas, in Christianity Today, October 3, 1994, p.26. www.bible.org/illus/r/r-57.htm]
Why Is the Resurrection Important?
1 Corinthians 15:12-28
The question, “What becomes of a person after death?” (Job 14:14) There were many erroneous ideas about death.
“soul sleep” that at death the body dies and disintegrates, while the soul or the spirit rests.
“reincarnation” that is that spirit is continually recycled from one form to another, even human to animal.
“absorption” that at death the spirit is absorbed back into the ultimate divine force.
What Difference Would It Make If Jesus Did Not Rise From The Grave?
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Preaching Is Meaningless. (v. 14a)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Faith Is An Empty Fantasy. (v. 14b)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Christians Are False Witnesses. (vv.15-16)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Sins Are Not Forgiven. (v. 17)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Loved Ones Who Have Died Are Lost. (v. 18)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….We Are Of All Men To Be Pitied. (v. 19)
“Why Is the Resurrection Important?”
1 Corinthians 15:12-28
The question, “What becomes of a person after death?” (Job 14:14) There were many erroneous ideas about death.
“soul sleep” that at death the body dies and disintegrates, while the soul or the spirit rests.
“reincarnation” that is that spirit is continually recycled from one form to another, even human to animal.
“absorption” that at death the spirit is absorbed back into the ultimate divine force.
What Difference Would It Make If Jesus Did Not Rise From The Grave?
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All ____________________ Is Meaningless. (v. 14a)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Faith Is An Empty ____________________. (v. 14b)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….All Christians Are False _____________________. (vv.15-16)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our ____________ Are Not Forgiven. (v. 17)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….Our Loved Ones Who Have Died Are _________________. (v. 18)
If Christ Is Still In The Grave Then….We Are Of All Men To Be ___________________. (v. 19)
