The Truths of the Resurrection

There are three truths we can get from the scriptures today as we celebrate the day of the resurrection. Easter Sunday!

Truth #1- The resurrection is real- Vs 3-8 Our faith is grounded in the resurrection.

The OT foretold of it Vs 3-4: Paul is referring to the Old Testament- the scriptures mentioned 2x

Isaiah 53:5-12-

Isaiah 53:5–12 NKJV

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

Tells of His coming, tells of what he would endure, that he would go willingly

Tells us that it would not be the end: He would see His seed, shall prolong His days.

This is a promise not of death, but of life!

The event was witnessed- vs 5-8

Cephas (Peter) saw him,

James saw him

The rest of the 12 saw him

If that is not enough, scripture (which we say we believe to be true) says that he was seen by over 500 brethren at once. These are people who followed Christ and would know him personally and be able to recognize him.

This isn’t an event that a friends uncle’s, cousin’s second wife’s niece told. This is truth of an actual account of the bodily form of Jesus Christ walking after being nailed to the cross just a few days earlier!

Application

You must believe in the resurrection! This is not a doctrine that can be flexible.

If you say you believe the word of God then you can be certain that this is 100% accurately written by the Holy Spirit for our benefit and has been recorded since the Old Testament.

The resurrection is the cornerstone, the foundation in which a believer must put their faith!

Truth #2- The resurrection gives us hope Vs 17-19

I first think of Lazarus in John 11:32

Mary knew Jesus very well

Her words “if you had only been here”

Her hope was that Jesus would heal her brother and he would not have died.

When Jesus didn’t show up in time and Lazarus died, that hope was diminished to mourning. In this life she had been let down.

In this section of scripture we find Paul making a very compelling argument on the fact of and validity of the resurrection.

He begins with “now if Christ is preached” (and it is) ,even to this day,

But if he didn’t raise from the dead then there is empty preaching, but even worse empty faith!

He says that if this didn’t happen, your faith is “vain”, futile, worthless, meaningless, and doesn’t produce any fruit!

If this was the case, then Paul was absolutely right in stating in verse 19 that if we only have hope in Christ while we are alive, then we are most miserable! Without the resurrection there is no hope!

But praise God that is not the case!

Our sin debt has been paid

we have a future to look forward to, we have hope in the return of the King of kings!

Jeremiah 29:11 “for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope!

This is a truth we can sink our teeth into! God promises a hope and a future and God always keeps His promises and because of this we can find truth that the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope!

Truth #3- The resurrection contains power Vs 20-21, vs 2

the power to revive a dead spirit

the power to justify- stand before God as sinless

the power to sanctify- to set apart and be made holy

the power to save- Give new life, born again, old made new