"Hope in The Resurrection”

Today is a day of celebration, it is a celebration of new life, a reflection on the purpose for the reason for celebrating and a resurgence in our hope in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ has been the topic of much controversy since the day it happened.

Skeptics have tried since the very first resurrection Sunday to disproof that Jesus truly did rise from the grave. Some believe that Jesus’ body wasn’t resurrected and walked out of the tomb they in fact believe that Jesus’ body was stolen in the night. This theory was begun by the ones who killed Him in the first place let’s look at Matthew 28:11-15,

Matthew 28:11–15 NASB95

11 Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ 14 “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” 15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

So, you see the story about Jesus’ body being stolen was fabricated by the Jewish religious leaders for the purpose of falsifying the claim that Jesus is the Messiah. They wanted to take away the validity of His resurrection because they believed if they did than no one would believe Him or His disciples. It was a power trip for the religious leaders. If the resurrection was believed by the Jewish community then they would have believed what the Scripture said, and they would have turned to Christ instead. So, the religious leaders had to protect themselves and their power. The way to do so was to change hope into to doubt and despair.

This is one theory that the body was stolen another is that Jesus didn’t actually die. The Koran, which was written some 600 years after Jesus’ resurrection, speaks of Jesus not dying on the cross that it was only to appear that way to make people think He died on the cross. This theory continues in the early 19th century by men like Karl Bahrdt and Karl Venturini who developed something called the swoon theory. Those who believe this basically believe Jesus was a part of some form of an early Freemason group and they helped Jesus concoct all of the miracles and even going to the cross.

The proponents of this theory believe Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross, He only passed out from the pain and the lack of oxygen and when He was taken down from the cross the men that Jesus had formed an allegiance with were able to go to the tomb which was Joseph of Arimathea’s, who coincidentally these men say he was a part of this group also and they where able to resuscitate Jesus.

Over the years those who have believed this continue to write about their theory it has continued in the past 20 years and there are those who believe this conspiracy theory about Jesus not dying on the cross and not being resurrected. Well let me tell you that these theories are just that, theories. No one has been able to prove the swoon theory and serious scholars can refute it in seconds. Also saying that His body was stolen well that doesn’t hold water either especially because there is no body anywhere and because there have been too many witnesses to the resurrected Christ.

Now there is only one reason why anyone would want to do this, why anyone would want to perpetuate this ridiculous kind of thought, this lie, and that is to discredit the Scripture and God, and having a goal of shattering the hope of those who believe. See without the resurrection then that means that Jesus has never risen from the dead or if He never truly died at all means that sin was never atoned for it was never taken away and no resurrection, Jesus being brought to life then He would not have had been the conqueror over sin and death and we have no hope of ever having an eternal place in Heaven. No resurrection also makes all that we believe empty, useless and leaves us with no purpose for life and no purpose for an afterlife.

This thought of Jesus not being resurrected may sound silly to some people but the truth is there are skeptics out there who think that the idea of a resurrection sounds silly to them. Well this debate has been going on since the resurrection of Jesus and the Apostle Paul had to deal with this same exact issue in the church of Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul presents to the Corinthian church the importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What he presents and what we will be looking at this morning is not only witnesses to the resurrection but Paul’s argument points to the fact our hope hinges on the resurrection. We will see this morning how our hope hinges on the resurrection.

Our Hope Hinges on Witnesses

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 1-4

The first thing that we see in verse 1 is that Paul says to the Corinthians “Now I make known” which is his way of accomplishing two goals. The first goal Paul is accomplishing is connecting what he has just instructed them in the previous section of his letter pertaining to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He has instructed them on an issue of disorder in the worship of the church. There was uncertainty in the Corinthian church concerning how the spiritual gifts were to be used and Paul instructed them on how to restore order in their worship service.

Now Paul moves on to instruct them about an issue in which they are unanimous, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is Paul’s second goal in saying “now I make known to you” which brings the Corinthians to the topic of the gospel which “has been proclaimed” to them. Paul is not reminding them of the gospel but is simply making a statement about something that the Corinthian church already knows and understands. Paul is not only using this phrase to introduce them to the immediate instruction concerning the facts of the gospel that they already know but as a means to introduce what will follow concerning a deeper instruction on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul also readdresses the Corinthians here as brothers, which is a common designation used by Paul when he refers to those who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul affirms the message that has been made known to the Corinthians when he tells them they have received it demonstrating that this has happened in the past. He also affirms this is something that they know by telling them that they stand firm in the fact of the gospel truth in the present day.

Paul continues in affirming that the Corinthians know the gospel by telling them they are saved in verse 2, not only are they saved at the present time of Paul’s writing to them but they have a future salvation as well. Paul wants the Corinthians to hold fast to the word he proclaimed to them. He wants them to cling or hang on to the essence of the gospel itself. Paul tells them to grasp the fact that they are saved and will continue on into salvation. The only way that they can not grasp the essence of what was proclaimed is if they believed in vain or if they did not truly believe in the essence of the gospel to begin with. If they have believed in vain then they can not grasp what was proclaimed to them because then the gospel is useless to them. Vain faith or empty faith leads to empty lives, useless lives. Vain faith leads to no purpose in this life and in the life to come. Salvation doesn’t come into the lives who feel it has no purpose. And people who have vain faith, empty faith, have no perseverance because they have not to persevere for.

Paul continues to further explain to the Corinthian church the essence of the gospel that he has proclaimed to them. This word is something that Paul is passing on to the Corinthians. Paul is passing on the historic facts known by the church which has its source in divine authority. He tells them this is “of first importance” which means that this is the primary emphasis in the gospel message. He has passed this on to the Corinthians and it was received by them.

Now Paul begins to elaborate more about what it is the Corinthian church has received. Paul begins here with the fact that Jesus “died for our sins.” He did not just die but there was a purpose for His death. This purpose was that He would die a necessary death because of man’s sin. Paul also adds after this that it was “according to the Scripture.” The reference here goes back to the Old Testament Scriptures as a whole that foretells Jesus’ sacrifice which He will make on behalf of all mankind and die on the cross because of sin. Here Paul is presenting the death of Jesus as a fulfillment of what the Scriptures say. The entirety of the old Testament Scripture is God’s revealed plan pointing to Jesus reconciling all of mankind back to God.

Paul’s explanation of the facts about the gospel continues as he now moves to writing about Jesus being buried and raised from the dead. Paul connects Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead on the third day with the fact that He was buried. The facts are Jesus had died, he was buried, and is now raised from the dead. Jesus did not just get up from the grave but He was raised. The emphasis Paul makes here by saying Jesus was raised is one that shows He did not raise Himself but was raised by another. The other one who raised Him is God. This is Paul’s way of proving the fact that God is in complete control of all things life and death and God has all the power in the world to raise His Son from the dead.

Paul is also saying here that this is God’s plan it has been all along. Saying that Jesus is raised from the dead shows that God was working in Jesus’ resurrection He didn’t let Jesus stay in that tomb but He brought Him back to newness of life.  

Jesus being raised from the dead occurred on the third day. The way this phrase is used is in reference to the next day plus one. People wonder how is it that He was in the ground for three days, well this is what is meant by that He was buried on the evening He was crucified and as Paul refers to it here it was actually the next day plus one more. This makes it three days. Jesus Himself spoke this exact phrase on a number of occasions when He foretold His death, burial and resurrection.

And at the end of verse 4 we have once again the phrase according to the Scriptures. Again it is the Old Testament that Paul is referring to here. What Paul is telling the Corinthian church is that the events that have transpired are historical they have actually happened and they are a fulfillment of the Word of God. The Word of God is reliable it is truth and as Paul tells the Corinthians it is what they should hold fast too. The Scripture itself points as a proof to Jesus Christ. It is not only the New Testament that talks about Jesus it is the Old Testament which is all that Paul had.

The proof to the resurrection is in the Old Testament. We looked at Isaiah 53 a few weeks ago and in Isaiah 53 we saw that Jesus was crushed for our iniquities and that He died and that He was victorious over sin. This is the gospel in its entirety which has the death burial and resurrection with in it. All of Scripture talks about Jesus and points us to Him and it is the infallible Word of God it can be trusted and it is our proof that Jesus lives.

The Scriptures themselves are God’s eyewitness accounts of what He would do. They are not full of empty words and the Scriptures do not have meaningless stories. The Scriptures themselves are, as the author of Hebrews tells us, living and active and sharper then any two edged sword, cutting through bone and marrow.

Hebrews 4:12 NASB95

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Paul doesn’t twice points to the Scriptures as the authorial base of our belief in the events of the gospel. This and this alone should be enough but to prove that it is not empty or useless to believe the Word of God Paul also provides for them physical witness who can corroborate the validity of these facts.

After Paul provides the Corinthians with the historical facts which are a fulfillment of Scripture which is proof of the death, burial and resurrection, he then recounts Jesus’ appearances to those who followed Him in life. These are the eyewitness to the risen Jesus. Jesus wasn’t only raised from the dead and ascended into heaven He was raised and He walked the earth and He went to His disciples. He had to go to His disciples once again because they thought that He was defeated so He appeared to them and in His appearing there are eyewitness accounts of His resurrection.

These appearances occur in a progression beginning with Cephas and then the twelve. Cephas is the Aramaic form of Peter who is referenced as the first apostle and is the first one that the resurrected Lord appeared to. Paul begins with Peter and then he moves to the twelve as being the next ones in the progression of eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus. This designation of the twelve refers to the other apostles who followed Jesus in His life along with Peter. It was a common designation even though Judas had betrayed Jesus and taken his own life the designation did not change, it remained as the twelve.

In verse 6 Paul continues with the eyewitnesses. The next group of eyewitnesses are the group of five hundred that Jesus appeared to at one time. Very little is known about this group but Paul does mention them and is building on the progression of eyewitness to the Lord Jesus. Paul also states that “the majority of this group is still alive but some have fallen asleep.” The emphasis here is not on those who have fallen asleep but on those who are still alive. Paul is letting the Corinthians know even if some have fallen asleep which means that they have since died there are a majority of eyewitnesses still alive who can corroborate the account of the resurrection.

Paul keeps the progression moving in verse 7 with the use of “then” introducing the next two eyewitnesses. The next one in the progression is James. It is believed the James referred to here is the half brother of Jesus. There is no record of Jesus appearing to James in the New Testament; however, James is recorded as being a believer in the book of Acts. The group Jesus appears to next is, “all the apostles.” This group is a larger number then the twelve but it is believed that the twelve can be included in this number.

Paul has just spent time building up the eyewitnesses beginning with Cephas, designated as the first of the apostles, and now he comes to the end of his list and is writing about the last apostle. Paul writes “last of all” and by saying this Paul is ending a sequence. He is not using this phrase as another means of “least of all” which refers to him being an unworthy apostle. Paul is simply demonstrating to the Corinthians that he is in the same line as the apostles but more importantly then that he is a witness to the resurrection of Jesus.

This is evident in his description of himself following the ending of the list. Paul describes himself as an “untimely born child,” bringing out what is believed to be Paul telling the Corinthian church he was not one that followed Jesus. Paul may not have been the only one Jesus chose to appear to after His resurrection who was not initially a follower of Jesus in His life, but Paul is the only one recorded as a persecutor who also became a believer in the midst of his persecution of Jesus. Paul was an “untimely born child” in his salvation because of the life that came from someone who refused to believe that Jesus was and is still living.

Paul does continue in verse 9, however, to call himself the lest of the apostles he is calling himself an unworthy apostle and the reason why he calls himself an unworthy apostle is because of the fact that he was one who persecuted the church of God. Paul was the chief persecutor of the church too. In Acts 9 we find Paul’s conversion where he was on his way to Damascus with a letter from the Jewish religious leaders to arrest anyone who was a part of the Way which is what they called Christians at the time.

On the road to Damascus Paul sees this great shinning light which throws him off his horse and we find this in Acts 9:3-7, “3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. [2] This experience changed Paul’s life forever and he experienced the grace of God at this moment which he talks about in verse 10.

Our Hope Hinges on Grace

Paul felt the grace of God in his life and it was God’s grace that changed him that changed him into the apostle that he has become. The grace that God that was lavished on him he says was not in vain meaning it wasn’t empty or without any effect. Paul had a great ministry which if you read through the book of Acts beginning in Acts 13 you can read about Paul’s missionary Journeys how he would go from city to city preaching the gospel and in every case that he would preach the gospel he would always include the resurrection just as he did in verses 4 of this passage here because the resurrection is a crucial element of faith in the gospel. And it was because of the grace of God that was in him that drove him to move from city to city preaching the gospel. It was because the grace of God in him that caused him to work so hard to minister to the people of those cities. Paul knew that the preaching of the gospel was not going to return void but that it would be fruitful and that is exactly what happened it was fruitful not because of Paul’s effort but because of God grace.

God’s grace is not empty or without meaning. God’s grace is the bases for Paul’s efforts, for Paul’s labor, for Paul’s salvation. It is the grace of God that brought Jesus to this earth, it is the grace of God that put Jesus on the cross, it is the grace of God that kept Jesus on the cross, it is the grace of God that raised Jesus from the dead, it is the grace of God that carries the message to the ears of humanity including Paul’s and ours. Paul paints the picture of what grace looks like, Paul was an enemy of God, an enemy of the church, an enemy of Jesus Christ, but by the Grace of God Paul recieved what he didn’t deserve, reconciliation to a God that he hated. This is grace. Grace is never empty and never without purpose. We benefit greatly from grace but God is the one who receives the greater prize, a repaired relationship with His children with His creation.

Ephesians 3:1–12 NASB95

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

Paul tells us in verse 11 that it doesn’t matter who preached it, referring to the gospel, whether it was the apostles or himself. They preached it, they preached the gospel in its entirety and they believed it. It was not in vain it was not empty it was a belief in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Paul provides for the Corinthian church the message of the gospel the death burial and resurrection and confirms that the Corinthians have believed this message. Paul has provided them the proof of the resurrection and that proof is in the Scripture and the eyewitnesses.

Still there is a problem. There are those who don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead so Paul uses this problem to provide proof of the resurrection of Jesus through a logical argument that is reflective in the resurrection of the dead. Let’s look at the logical proof.

We see in verse 12 Paul presents a question, he tells the Corinthians “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?” The problem that has arisen in the Corinthian church is questioning the fact that those who have fallen asleep or have died are not going to be resurrected. These people believe there is no resurrection at all. This is serious problem and Paul will refute this problem and in doing so he will prove Jesus’ resurrection.

He tells us in verse 13 that “if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.” Simply put if they believe the gospel and they believe that Jesus is alive and well then they must believe that those who have died will also receive the resurrection. Believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the hinge in believing that mankind will also be resurrected in Glory.

If Jesus has not been resurrected from the dead Paul tells us in verse 14 then the preaching of the apostles is vain it is empty there is no substance to it and their faith is also vain empty lacking substance. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead as Paul argues here then what hope do they have? There is only one way to heaven and the only way to heaven is in believing that Jesus died and was buried and was resurrected without the resurrection then there is no hope at all of eternal life in heaven. It makes Christianity completely false and what we believe false.

It also makes Christians liars if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead. Paul tells us in verse 15 “Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.” What Paul is saying to the Corinthian church is that not only are they liars they are lying about God. If they say that the dead are not raised if the dead in Christ are not resurrected then they can’t say that God raised Jesus from the dead. Remember in verses 3 and 4, Paul provides for us the origin of the death, burial and resurrection is according to the Scriptures. The Scriptures the Corinthian church has received and believed. The Scriptures that are living and active and sharper then any two edged sword. If this is the origin of the resurrection and it comes directly from God and if you say it didn’t happen then what you are saying is, God lied.

Paul continues to explain this in verse 16, he says “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;” A simple conditional fact that Paul declares to the people of Corinth which we must also understand if they believe that the dead in Christ those who have fallen asleep who have placed their faith in Christ are not raised from the dead if there is no resurrection for them then Christ was not raised from the dead either. The raising of the dead the resurrection of those who believe who have died is linked to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If one doesn’t happen the other doesn’t happen either.

And even worse then that if the Corinthian Christians didn’t believe the dead in Christ were raised then Christ was not raised either and their faith as Paul tells us in verse 17 is worthless. It is not just empty but worthless they are still in sin. If Jesus was not raised from the dead than He just becomes a man who died on a cross. His death was for nothing it was normal and natural. The gospel is incomplete without the resurrection without an empty tomb. Sin was paid for on the cross that was Jesus taking the pardon for us on the cross it was a real death. He was really buried but if He was not brought to life we are still dead in our sins. Without Jesus having newness of life, we can’t have newness of life either.

Our Hope Hinges on Purpose

The resurrection of Jesus is so pivotal to the Christian life that is why it is the hinge or even the hinge pin. The Scriptures point to the resurrection, Jesus’ death on the cross was an atonement for sin. That was Jesus taking our place being broken for us, it was His humiliation. If He never died, if there was no humiliation than there is no reason for a resurrection. Along with this the resurrection is not the end of the story, it is the turning point in the story, it changes everything. His resurrection gives those who trust in Him new life but also it gives the bases for this new life. After the resurrection comes the exaltation and glorification of Jesus. He ascended on high and sat at the right hand of God given the name above all names. He is Lord of all. He also has become our intercessor, our Mediator between God and us. This is how we are reconciled to God it is through Jesus sitting at God’s right hand and He now intercedes for us. When we trust in Jesus, in His death burial and resurrection, we trust in this very fact, He is Lord and our Mediator. At this point God looks at us and when He looks at us, He no longer sees our sin but Jesus stands between us and God and God looks at us through Christ and sees His righteousness in us. This is justification. It is Jesus’ making us Just before God which can only be done through His resurrection. And without the resurrection there is no sanctification, this is the process in which those who have trusted in Christ is Lord are daily changed as they live for their Lord.

If you don’t believe in the resurrection than your faith in Christ is worthless and if you don’t believe that those who have died in Christ have been resurrected than what you are saying is you don’t believe that Jesus was resurrected either. The two go hand in hand. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and that He was resurrected and is at the right hand of the Father then believe that you will also be with the Father and those who knew Jesus before they died will also be resurrected.

Paul tells the Corinthians in verse 18 what hinges on the belief of Jesus’ resurrection. Paul says, “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” See if they don’t believe that those who have died in Christ have a resurrection then they are saying Jesus was not raised from the dead either and He actually perished and so did any one else who believed in Him. Jesus’ resurrection is the key to eternal life believing that He lives is essential to having a life in Heaven and the Corinthians didn’t believe that those who followed Christ who believed that He was the sinless King and Savior were not resurrected then their faith was nothing, empty and fruitless and Paul provides us with the last consequence for not believing in a bodily resurrection.

Paul tells us in verse 19, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” If people only looked to Jesus as a great teacher and that He was a good man only following Him and hoping in Him in this life while He was still alive then what good is that to anyone. Paul says that we are of all men most to be pitied. What a horrible thought what a horrible feeling if our hope in Christ is only in this life. The condition here is there is no purpose, no purpose in this life if there is no purpose in the life to come. If our hope is only in a good teacher, then how can our lives be changed, how can we strive for a future. What are we striving for? It makes all that we believe useless and we are a miserable lot because then what hope do we have in a future eternity. Our Hope must be built on facts and the facts originate from Scripture which points and explains Jesus’ life death burial and resurrection. If we don’t believe in the resurrection we have no hope. If we only see Jesus as a man who was a nice good teacher what hope do we have in a future eternity.

1 Peter 1:20–21 NASB95

20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

This hope is what keeps us from looking at things without purpose:

2 Timothy 2:3–4 NASB95

3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Ladies and gentlemen I want you to understand that we are here this morning to celebrate the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead and that He is alive and well He is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and He is seated. He is sitting down as King over all the earth and all creation. Do you know what it means to say He is seated, it means He is the victor He is victorious over sin and death. He has won. We can have hope in Him because what He has done and what the Father has done is fact and we don’t need to listen to those who try to say that the resurrection didn’t happen because those people don’t have the facts there is no proof of their claims.

If you want proof of Jesus’ death burial and resurrection all you have to do is read the Scripture. Paul knew about the death burial and resurrection from the Scriptures and all he had was the Old Testament. All of the Bible points to Jesus and it is the greatest proof we have. We can also read in the New Testament of all the eyewitness accounts of Jesus being in a resurrected body. Paul not only mentions them here they are mentioned in the gospels as well. There is proof of the resurrection and the outcome of this proof is that we have a hope in Jesus Christ.

If you have looked at the proof if you have believed that Jesus is truly resurrected have hope that you will also be resurrected into newness of life. But if you have not believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ then understand this the proof is there and there is no excuses if you don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ then for you their will be no resurrection no hope of an eternity in heaven. To truly have hope and to enter the Kingdom of God you have to believe the proof of the resurrection that has been provided for us by God in His word and the eyewitness accounts that have been recorded as well.