The Resurrection As Our Foundation

INTRODUCTION

Every year, Holy week presents the opportunity to reflect on the final days of Jesus. We read in the gospel accounts:

the short-lived acclaim during His entry to Jerusalem on Sunday

the betrayal by Judas on Wednesday, to sell him out for 30 pieces of silver

the agony as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, while His disciples were unable to stay awake

the unlawful arrest and abandonment by His disciples

the unjust trial and flogging

the crucifixion and mockery while on the cross

Yet, we are also reminded in Isaiah 53:5 & 10, he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed… it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief.

Everything that took place this fateful week, 2,000 years ago, was the fulfillment of the ancient plan of God.

It was the will of God to crush Jesus for our benefit.

Jesus was the Passover Lamb of God, slain to bring deliverance from God’s judgment for our sin

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Now as we come to today… Sunday of Holy Week… the focus shifts from a forlorn, downtrodden demeanor and mindset to one of victory!!

As the women came to the tomb in the morning, they were met by two men… in dazzling apparel, who said, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen, (Luke 24:5-6).

Jesus Christ… crushed by God and rejected by men is not dead. He is risen!

This proclamation introduces us to arguably the most important doctrine in all of Christianity: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why does the resurrection matter?

Imagine buying a house that looks beautiful on the outside—but someone tells you the foundation has been removed.

The walls may still be standing… for now

The roof may still look good

But collapse is inevitable

The resurrection is the foundation of Christianity. Remove it, and everything else falls. Without the resurrection, there can be:

No salvation

No gospel

No hope

Christianity stands or falls on this truth

1 Corinthians 15:17 LSB

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

In order to grasp the importance of the doctrine of the resurrection, we are going to be in 1 Corinthians 15 this morning.

In this chapter, Paul clarifies that Christ’s resurrection is an essential component of the gospel they received. As the chapter unfolds, Paul addresses:

the historicity of Christ’s resurrection

its eschatological significance

the nature of resurrected bodies.

This morning, we will be looking specifically at the first two.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-20

Paul begins by reminding believers of…

The Evidence for Christ’s Resurrection

v. 1-11

The Testimony of the Church

v. 1-2

The Corinthians themselves are evidence:

They received the gospel

They stand in it

They are saved by it

A changed life serves as evidence that Jesus is alive because it represents a present-day, personal transformation that skeptics and believers alike cannot easily explain, reflecting the continuing power of a risen savior rather than a dead historical figure.

Think of someone who was:

Addicted to drugs, but now free

A slave to anger, but now gentle

Violent, but now peaceful

You don’t argue with that—you see it.

These are dramatic, lasting changes in character, purpose, and behavior that defy human logic. This is exactly what we are told in Scripture will happen in the life of the believer.

The Holy Spirit takes up residence in their life, and begins to work change in them as a result of their faith in Jesus Christ

John 14:15–17 ESV

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:23–26 ESV

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The Testimony of Scripture

v. 3-4

in accordance with the Scriptures (repeated twice)

Paul is stating that the OT predicted:

Christ’s death

Burial

Resurrection

If someone predicted:

The exact time of an event

The exact details

And it all came true hundreds of years later

You’d trust them.

The Bible didn’t guess—it foretold the resurrection, and God fulfilled it.

Isaiah 46:9–10 I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’

God is the only one capable of declaring long before an event takes place, that it is going to take place.

For hundreds of years, He sent prophets and gave clues about the coming Messiah

That Messiah was prophesied to die and rise again

The Testimony of Eyewitnesses

v. 5-7

Appearances to:

Peter

The Twelve

500+ at once

James

All the apostles

In a courtroom:

One witness = helpful

Several witnesses = strong

500 witnesses = overwhelming

And if they all agree? The case is settled.

The resurrection isn’t based on rumor—it’s based on eyewitness testimony.

The claims made by the Apostles concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus come from a place of having seen it take place.

There was a large number of witnesses

Many still alive at the time (verifiable)

Bart Ehrman (atheistic NT scholar):  It is undisputable that some of the followers of Jesus came to think that he had been raised from the dead, and that something had to have happened to make them think so.

Gary Habermas (Christian historian and philosopher):  It seems clear that the disciples were utterly persuaded that the risen Jesus had appeared to them.  The data are strong enough that this is granted by virtually all critical scholars.

Christianity is rooted in historical fact, not myth.

The Testimony of a Special Witness – Paul

v. 8-10

Paul is living evidence of resurrection power:

Changed heart

Changed life

Changed mission

Imagine:

A man hunting down Christians

Throwing them in prison

Then suddenly becomes one of them—and suffers for it

Why would someone do that?

People may die for a lie they believe is true… but not for a lie they know is false.

Paul saw the risen Christ!

Acts 9:3–6 ESV

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Acts 9:15–16 ESV

But the Lord said to [Ananias], “Go, for he [Saul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

The Testimony of the Unified Message

v. 11

All preached the same message:

Death

Burial

Resurrection

From the beginning, the message never changed: Christ died… was buried… and rose again.

No disagreement in the early church about the resurrection

If the resurrection is so well established… why does it matter so much?

The Importance of the Resurrection

v. 12-19

The Logical Consequences

v.12-13

Knock over the first domino—every other one falls.

If there is no resurrection, then there is no risen Christ

If there is no risen Christ, then there is no Christianity

You can’t remove resurrection without collapsing everything.

Yet, there are so called “Christians” out there who try to give an alternate explanation to the Resurrection, making it something other than a bodily resurrection.

When you play with that fire, you are going to get burned.

The Theological Consequences if There Is No Resurrection

v.14-15

Preaching is meaningless

What am I preaching, if not the gospel?

1 Corinthians 1:23 LSB

but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness

1 Corinthians 9:16 LSB

For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim the gospel.

Without the gospel, I am merely a motivational speaker without something to motivate you with.

Faith is worthless You trust a chair by sitting in it. But if the chair is broken:

Your trust doesn’t help you

You still fall

Faith is only as good as its object. If Christ is not risen, then faith collapses. All witnesses are liars

Imagine 500 people trying to keep the same lie:

Under pressure

Under persecution

Facing death

Someone would crack.

The consistency and sacrifice of the witnesses point to truth, not deception.

Chuck Colson I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.

The Personal Consequences if There Is No Resurrection

v. 16-19

We are still in our sins

No forgiveness

No salvation

Believers who died are lost

Think of standing at a grave of a loved one with no belief in eternity:

No reunion

No hope

Just finality

Without the resurrection, death wins—completely.

Christians are most to be pitied

Faith = empty

Hope = illusion

If Christ is not risen, Christians have given their lives for nothing.

CONCLUSION

Paul’s answer: Christ has been raised! (v. 20)

Jesus is the only founding figure of a major world religion who is claimed to be alive today.

Confucius… dead!

Buddha… dead!

Muhammad… dead!

Joseph Smith… dead!

Jesus Christ… alive!

The resurrection is not just a doctrine to believe— it is a reality that saves, transforms, and gives eternal hope.

The reality is that God crushed His own Son under the weight of eternal wrath, to pay the debt owed for our sins. And He showed His approval of Jesus’ sacrifice by raising Him from the dead.

Acts 17:30–31 ESV

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

If the resurrection is an undeniable fact of history, are you willing to believe the rest of the message and heed the command to repent and believe in Jesus?

Call on Him as your Savior

It is your only hope of salvation and eternal life

CLOSING PRAYER

Crucifixion and Resurrection, Valley of Vision (adapted)

O, LORD, we are amazed that You should become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried.

The tomb calls for our adoring wonder, for it is empty and You are risen;

the four gospels attest to it,

the eye witnesses prove it,

our hearts’ experience knows it.

It is our longing to die with You

that we may rise to new life,

for we wish to be as dead and buried to sin,

to selfishness,

to the world;

that we might not hear the voice of the tempter,

and might be delivered from his lusts.

O Lord, there is much ill about us - crucify it,

much flesh within us - mortify it.

Purge us from selfishness,

from the fear of man,

from the love of approval and affirmation,

from the shame of being thought old-fashioned and foolish,

from the desire to be educated and relevant.

Let us consider our old life as dead because of crucifixion,

and never feed it as a living thing.

Grant that we would stand with our dying Savior,

to be content to be rejected,

to be willing to take up unpopular truths,

and to hold fast despised teachings until death.

Help us to be resolute and Christ-centered.

Never let us wander from the path of obedience to Your will.

Strengthen us for the battles ahead.

Give us courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.

Help us to be holy, happy people,

free from every wrong desire,

from everything contrary to Your mind.

Grant us more and more of the resurrection life:

may it rule us,

may we walk in its power,

and be strengthened through its influence.

For Your glory we pray,

In the name of our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ,

Amen.