Cross Talks #5

THE “IFS” AND “BUTS” OF

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Very early on Sunday morning, a group of women left the city carrying armloads of spices. When they arrived at the place of burial, they noted that the sun had peeked over the horizon casting a golden hew on the scene. The birds had been singing their morning song for an hour already. A gentle mist floated above the ground where some soldiers slept. Two other soldiers stood guard outside the tomb of the one the women sought.

            A heavy stone overwhelmed the entrance to the tomb. An unbroken imperial seal of Roman origin indicated that the stone had not moved. The guards themselves appeared gruff and unwelcoming. Would the guards help them move the stone to anoint the body with perfumes and spices? Trembling, they broached the question. No, the soldiers replied, this tomb will not be opened for anyone, by order of the governor.

            With ceaseless sorrow added to sorrow, the women left the tomb and headed home, leaving the one they loved uncared for in a borrowed tomb. Jesus of Nazareth was dead. And he did not rise on the third day, as he said he would.

            That’s the story of Jesus’ death without the resurrection. Makes for a depressing story doesn’t it?

            What if Jesus was not raised from the dead? This sounds like a question born of doubt. But it is actually a biblical question. Paul uses the word “if” to show us how much hangs on the bodily resurrection of our Lord. This little word, “if,” challenges us to think of the possibilities.

            What difference would it have made if Jesus had not risen from the dead?

            We talk about the cross of Christ, his death and what that accomplished. But what does the resurrection add to the redemption story? Paul presents us with a problem in 1 Corinthians 15:12-13, then gives us six history-changing facts if Jesus was not raised. Let’s explores the “ifs” and “buts.”

The Problem: What if there is no resurrection?

The Corinthians had a peculiar issue with the resurrection of Jesus. They believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they did not believe that there was a general resurrection where they would all rise from the dead. It seems strange to us that they would accept the first part but not the second. We see them as linked. But according to Paul in v. 12 that is exactly what they are saying.

            Paul just finished writing to them about the death of Jesus, as foretold in the prophets, and that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. They believed that, but they didn’t believe that Christians would one day rise from the dead. There were several reasons for this: false teaching, a faulty understanding of the Second Coming of Christ, etc.

            But Paul contends with their faulty logic. If you believe that Christ was raised from the dead, is that not evidence of the resurrection of all people? If you deny the resurrection of dead there are serious consequences to that thinking. “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised” (13).

            Paul’s logic is clear. The two facts are woven together. If human bodies cannot survive death, then Christ’s body did not survive death, because having a human body (flesh and blood) just like ours, you can’t argue, “Well, he rose, but we can’t.” If Christ was not raised from the dead there is no hope for our resurrection. But if Christ was raised then we will be raised from the dead also. The two cannot be separated.

            Underlying their logic was Greek thinking. Greek philosophy taught that all things physical were evil or corrupt. The Corinthians thus could not fathom that these bodies were of any use after we died. All things physical were but a shadow of the spiritual reality in heaven. Why would God want to raise our sinful, dying bodies from the grave after our death? But if these bodies are worthless, of no use in the spiritual realm, then Christ has not been raised either.

The Consequences

Paul continues to unpack their faulty logic with “if” statements. What would the world be like if Christ had not been raised? What if the women had found the tomb as I described it in the beginning? What would the church be like today without the risen Christ?

            There are six consequences of such a scenario:

1. Our preaching is a waste of time – Paul uses the word “vain” which means “empty” or “having no substance.” All the messages you have heard, all the services you have attended, all the Christian books you have read – all of it – would be a total waste of time if Jesus was not raised.

            But some would say that we still have Jesus’ teachings. The Sermon on the Mount is good ethical stuff – how to treat each other. Jesus would have died for our sins, even if he is not alive, right?

            Trouble is, Jesus said he would rise again. He said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will build it again” and he was talking about his body. So since he did not rise again he’s kind of a liar, or deluded. And that makes his teaching null and void.

2. Our faith is useless – If we say that Christ died for our sins, but the resurrection is just a bonus, we miss out on a huge piece of the gospel. If Christ died for our sins, how do we know that his death actually accomplished anything? If Christ remained in the tomb, we would never know if God had accepted his sacrifice. The atonement would be without validation.

            Why go to church if our faith is only about ethical living? Why study the Bible if it’s just a book of outdated rules? Why pray if we don’t have access to God through Christ? Our faith is pretty flimsy.

3. We are false witnesses of God – As one writer put it, if the resurrection never happened, the apostles are the world’s greatest liars. And preachers, we are telling people that Jesus rose from the dead. Well, if God did not raise Jesus from the dead and we are telling everyone he did, then we are obviously saying things about God that aren’t true. Paul himself declared, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (4:1-2). This is a serious charge of slander, in that case.

4. We are still sinners – Now it’s getting personal. If Christ has not been raised from the dead “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (17). If there is a God, we will have to stand before him and be judged because without the resurrection there is no forgiveness of sins. Paul makes the argument in Romans that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (4:25). Without the resurrection there is no justification – our sins have not been dealt with. As a result, there is no mercy for you and me. And without the living Christ, there is no advocate before the throne of God to defend us from Satan’s accusations, to say “I’ve paid the penalty.”

5. Our loved ones are lost forever – Paul says that those who have died have “fallen asleep in Christ.” The Greek word for “fallen asleep” is koimao, the root of koimeteria, from which we get the English word “cemetery.” So “cemetery” means “the sleeping place,” something deeply significant for Christians who believe in the resurrection. When you go to sleep, you expect to wake up. Christians have this hope that dying is sleeping, and sleeping we will awake to the Day of the Lord, the day of resurrection.

            But if Christ has not been raised, everyone who dies perishes. You can take that different ways. To some “perish” is to cease to exist; to others it is an eternity of torment. Either way it does not give us hope for a good post-death experience.

6. We are pathetic – Finally, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (19). If Christ has not been raised from the dead, why are we following a man who lied to us? Let me ask you this: Would you still be a Christian if there is no resurrection?

            If Christ has not been raised, then we have no message to preach.

            If Christ has not been raised, there is no God to hear our prayers.

            If Christ has not been raised, we are not saved.

            If Christ has not been raised, we might as well bring the missionaries home.

            If Christ has not been raised, Christianity is a joke and a farce that no one should even consider.

“BUT” – The Great Reversal

Paul has made his point. He has dismantled the foolish argument of a limited resurrection. And he turns this whole thing on its head when he says, “BUT in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (20).

            You have heard of the term “firstfruits” before; it refers to the first part of any harvest. For the Israelites in the OT, it meant the first part of the barley harvest or some other crop that was offered to the Lord. It was a day of thanksgiving and gladness because it meant that there was a bigger harvest yet to come. What the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead means then is that one day all who have died will be raised to life.

            Paul makes it very clear in the following verses of 1 Corinthians 15 that death will be destroyed (26) and that our bodies will be raised up and transformed (35-41). A lot of Christians look shocked when I tell them this: God’s not done with your body. We put it in the ground when you die, but, Paul says, at the sound of the trumpet, we will be raised with imperishable bodies (52). Heaven is not going to be full of disembodied spirits floating around; we will have bodies. We will have bodies because Christ’s body was raised to life. (And we won’t be living in heaven – heaven is the dwelling of God. We will be living on the new earth, which will somehow overlap the new heaven: Rev. 21:1-4).

            All of this will happen because Jesus is alive. The resurrection of Jesus is the exclamation point of God’s joy and celebration of what Christ did in dying for humankind. Christ is alive – he lives for us, to deliver us powerfully from sin and death.

            So because of this great reversal, all the “ifs” are turned over by the joyful “But in fact…” Therefore:

Our preaching has purpose. Testify about the hope we have in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Our faith is powerful. Believing in the risen Jesus gives credibility to our faith.

We testify that God raises the dead. And we are not misrepresenting God because he had done it.

We are forgiven and free. We are no longer slaves to sin. Jesus has set us free by his death AND resurrection. That is the whole gospel.

Our loved ones in Christ ARE with the Lord. We do not grieve like the rest of humankind that has no hope for we believe that Jesus is coming back to raise the dead from their sleep.

We are to be envied for the hope we have in Christ! For there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved in such an awesome way.

Timothy Keller said of the resurrection: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said. If he did not rise from the dead then why worry about any of what he said. The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching, but whether or not he rose from the dead.”

What more can I say?

            “Up from the grave He arose

            With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,

            He arose a victor o’er the dark domain,

            And He lives forever with His saints to reign!

            He arose! He arose!

            Hallelujah! Christ arose!

                                                AMEN