The Truth of the Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:1-19
By Rev. Dale Tedder
In his book, Knowing the Truth About the Resurrection, William Lane Craig recounts a conversation he had with one of his students several years ago.
"There ain't gonna be no Easter this year," the student said. "What's that," Craig asked, not sure he heard him correctly. The student repeated what he said: " I said, there ain't gonna be no Easter this year." "And why is that?" Craig asked. "Because they found the body," the student replied.
Craig commented on this exchange by saying,
"Despite his irreverent humor, my friend displayed a measure of insight often not shared by modern theologians."
That's certainly been the case in my experience. The truth of the resurrection of Christ is attacked in different ways. One theory dates back to the New Testament itself. It's called the "Conspiracy Theory." In Matthew's Gospel we learn that the Jews were using this theory to explain away the resurrection. In Matthew's account, the chief priests bribed the guards who were stationed at Jesus' tomb and instructed them:
"Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.'… So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day."
Other ways Christ's resurrection has been denied has been to say that everything that happened could be explained naturally, and not supernaturally. Some have said that Jesus didn't really die, but that he took medicine to make him only appear to be dead. Then, when he was placed in the tomb, he woke up and went on his way. Some say the disciples merely went to the wrong tomb. Those of you who have kept up with the Jesus Seminar, will know what they've recently said. They have come to the conclusion that:
"After the crucifixion, Jesus' corpse was probably laid in a shallow grave, barely covered with dirt, and subsequently eaten by wild dogs."
There is even one guy out in California who suggested that Jesus had a long lost twin brother who came to town and fooled all the disciples. So, you see, there are great lengths that people will go to, in order to avoid dealing with the risen Lord.
Now, all of these examples I just mentioned are out-and-out rejections of the actual bodily resurrection of Christ, and they basically represent non-Christians . And though I cannot address these tonight, they have all been refuted by committed Christians.
The problem for us, however, is another way the resurrection of Christ is routinely attacked today. This is a subtle form that exists within the church, and we have to pay very close attention, or else it could sneak by us. This can best be illustrated by an article that appeared in "The Washington Post" on Good Friday, 1987. A theologian was asked, "What if Christ didn't rise?" The theologian replied,
"If the bones of Jesus Christ were found tomorrow, it would make no great difference to me. I would go on going to church as would be majority of Christians."
For this particular theologian, the important thing is not what happened to the body of Jesus, but what happened to the spirits of the apostles. A similar view was raised last year in a United Methodist News Paper. The person writing couldn't understand what the big deal was concerning whether or not Jesus was raised bodily from the dead. In his opinion, the important thing is that we come together like the early church did and love one another.
Well, our text tells us tonight, that whether or not Jesus really came back from the grave is a very big deal. Paul's response is much like the What If game that I've recently read about. I think many of us who are compulsive "lock checkers," or "light checkers," or "oven checkers," can appreciate this, even if we are not quite this extreme.
The game goes like this:
You wake up in the middle of the night and wonder: "Did I leave my car lights on? If I did, the car won't start in the morning. If the car won't start, I'll be late for work. If I'm late, the boss will fire me. If I'm fired, I'll lose my salary, pension and insurance. If that happens I won't be able to provide for my family. If I lose my insurance, I'll probably get sick, and I might die. But then again, I might live. And if I live, I'll become destitute. From the car lights to being totally destitute. So how does the game end? It ends when you either go and check your car lights, or when you remind yourself that you distinctly remember turning the lights off. Therefore, all of those terrible things aren't going to happen.
Well, in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul let's his mind run wild playing the What If game. Paul starts out:
"What if there is no resurrection, then Christ is dead."
Paul was smart enough to know that if Christ was still in the tomb, then he was still dead. If Christ is dead, the Christian message is a useless lie - a religion that declares a bunch of things that just aren't true. If Christ is dead, then the Christian faith is futile. In other words, there's nothing behind it. It's powerless. There's no Spirit of Christ that indwells you. All that talk about the atonement of Christ is worthless. Our sins aren't forgiven. There's no use talking about salvation. God hasn't honored Christ's words, life or death. If Jesus remains dead, then the cross was nothing more than a teacher who had some interesting things to say, but who amounted to nothing more than a dead martyr for a human cause.
Paul says, If Christ is dead, then those of us who believe in him now should be pitied. We are no better off than the person who is dying of an incurable disease, who says, "I'm going to beat this thing." We're just a lot worse off according to Paul. So how does Paul end this What If game?
By declaring:
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead."
That's the greatest fact in all of history. That's the fact that changes everything and everyone who comes into contact with it. And all we have to do is take a look at Paul himself. He knew what he was talking about. He had personally encountered the risen Christ. But when Paul met Christ, he was Saul of Tarsus. Did you hear what happened to Saul? Saul was a great enemy of the Christian faith. He was a zealous Jew - a great religious leader. He was highly educated and cultured. And he wanted nothing to do with these Christians, (nothing good anyway). Galatians 1:13 tells us:
"For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it."
In fact, he left for Damascus with documents giving him the authority to seize these followers of Jesus and bring them back to trial. But something happened on that road to Damascus. You've heard this story. A light from heaven flashed all around him - and he fell to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
And he said,
"Who are you Lord?" Jesus said back to him: "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do."
You see, Paul met the risen Christ. Paul was dramatically transformed. He went from intolerant, bitter, proud and temperamental, before he met Christ, to patient, kind, and self-sacrificing after his conversion. Paul's relationship with the followers of Christ was radically changed. He actually became one of the Apostles. Paul's message was transformed as well. He still loved his Jewish heritage, but he had become a follower of Christ.
Lastly, Paul's mission had been transformed as well. He went from a Gentile-hater, to a missionary to the Gentiles. His conversion changed him into a dedicated apostle, with his life's mission aimed at sharing the risen Christ with the Gentiles. Now ask yourselves this: Was Paul's conversion a response to some psychological, warm feeling, or was it something more? Paul tells us over and over again that it was the risen and living Christ. He was so convinced of this that he died a martyr's death for this belief.
Maybe you remember what happened to Peter. Peter had been a faithful follower of Jesus while the going was good. But when things turned to the worse, the disciples all left except for Peter. Peter stayed around to see what was going to happen. But then, he was accused three different times of being a follower of Jesus. And three times, Peter denied knowing Jesus. And after this, Peter, like the other disciples, went back to his old ways of life again. But several days later, this teacher whom Peter loved appeared to him on the shore of Galilee. Peter spoke with him and ate with him, and committed his life to him. Peter was transformed from a timid lamb into a great lion of the faith. It was Peter who proclaimed the risen Christ at Pentecost. And like Paul, Peter was later crucified for his belief in, and preaching of the risen Savior.
Now maybe today, we can't imagine how devastating Christ's death would have been for the disciples. They had placed all their trust and hope in him, and now he was dead. But God vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead. It showed that death was not the winner, but part of the plan. It was this very belief in the resurrection that enabled the disciples to proclaim their crucified master as God's Messiah. It was the faith in the risen Savior that enabled them to turn the world upside-down with the Gospel. If the disciples didn't truly believe that Christ was raised, (raised bodily), the Christian faith would be, according to one historian, "a dead folk-religion of the first-century." But he lives. And just and the disciples believed, and just as the hymn proclaims,
"We serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today."
So what does this mean to us nearly 2,000 years later? Well, the resurrection makes possible a relationship with Jesus today. It means that he is not dead - he's alive! The same risen Christ who transformed Paul and Peter can transform us today, and give us hope in the midst of sorrow and despair. The resurrection isn't simply some event that happened 2,000 years ago, but it touches us today. It's the resurrection of our Lord and Savior which energizes us as the body of Christ today.
One of my favorite stories about the power of Christ's resurrection goes like this:
In Soviet Russia, right after the Communist Revolution in 1917, a state-official was appointed to get rid of the Christian faith there. So he gathered the folks of the town to a particular meeting hall. And there he spoke out against Christianity for several hours - ranting and raving. He was denouncing Christ and trying to cause the people to reject their faith. And in particular, he tried to say how ridiculous their belief in the resurrection was.
So, after awhile, feeling as though he had done an excellent demolition job to the faith, he offered the platform to anyone who wanted to respond to him. Well, a young priest came forward. And looking at the priest with contempt, the official said - "You have two minutes." "I won't need that long," the young priest responded. And in a very meek and humble way, he approached the podium. And after looking at the people for a few seconds, he threw his hands into the air and shouted at the top of his lungs: "CHRIST IS RISEN!" To which the people responded as one: "CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!"
And so he is! And so he is!