Why Does The Resurrection Matter To Us?

Last Sunday we learned many of the truths about the resurrection. We all saw how the Apostle Paul proved the truth of the resurrection through the testimonies of 100s of people who saw the resurrected Christ first hand. But you might be asking, “Why does of any of it matter? Why should we be so concerned about proving that the resurrection of Jesus really took place?” I’m going to try to answer that question today.

PRAYER

Whether we actually realize it or not, we live pretty good lives with all of the inventions that man has produced over the last few centuries. For instance, the Gutenberg printing press, invented in the 15th century, revolutionized being able to mass produce words and ideas on paper. The Gutenberg press can be seen in the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany today. I have an actual page that was printed from the Gutenberg press.

The invention of the battery introduced in 1800, gave us a way to store energy. Edison’s electric light (1879) changed what could be done day and night.

Inventions like these have truly transformed the ways we live and work, but they’ve been around so long and are so commonplace today, we don’t give them much thought. Just think how difficult it would be to live in 2021 without lights and batteries.

I started off with these illustrations to say that not all life changing events should be taken so much for granted or overlooked by how it changed our lives. That brings us back to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His resurrection has been a central truth of Christianity for 2,000 years. Sadly, many Christians can tell you the details about the resurrection while never thinking about the way that truth effects their daily lives. Jesus’ defeat of the power of sin and death is a game changer for our lives, now and forever. And that in itself is reason enough for me to go a little deeper into the truth and study of the resurrection.

We’re going back to 1 Corinthians 15, where we left off last week. After what Paul had witnessed in seeing Jesus’ resurrected state, he was determined to speak all of the first-hand truths about this all-important event. He says in verse 14, “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.” Paul said this, again, because of some of the Corinthians Christians who didn’t believe in the resurrection.

Paul basically says in verse 15 that if there were no resurrection, then we would be lying if we proclaimed the risen Jesus. Have you ever stopped for a moment and thought about what the resurrection means for us and for all humanity for that matter? Paul uses an analogy in verse 20 to further explain that.

Paul says, “But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In the OT ceremony of the first fruits, the people brought their first and best portions of the harvest to give them as offerings to God. When the farmer gathered the first fruit, it was an indication that the entire harvest was soon to follow.

So, put that concept into what Paul said. He said Jesus was the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. If He is the first fruit, then Christ’s resurrection precedes the harvest of others, when Jesus’ followers will be raised from death, too. And this is the part I like the best. None of us are going to escape death. There is a 1:1 ratio that every one of us will die. But the good part is that Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that our death isn’t the end of the story. I’ll say it again, Death is not the end.

Now, let’s be fair and look at this from the atheist’s point of view. In an atheistic view of life, death is the end of the story. It’s the finality of every individual. In their way of thinking, no matter what you thought, said, or did in this life, you end up the same as everyone else, and the same as all matter: dead or destroyed.

Nothing you have done in life has any ultimate significance since you’ll face no judgment and have no afterlife. THIS IS A SAD, HORRIFYING, AND UTTERLY HOPELESS view when looked at logically. No matter what good or evil you did, in the end, you just die and go back to dirt. If you are an atheist, that’s how and what you believe. Born, lived, die, back to dirt, the end.

In striking contrast to this view are Paul’s words in verse 21-22. “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”