Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Corinthians 15; Luke 24:44-47; Rev. 20:5, 6; Col. 2:12; 2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Thess. 4:13-17.

Memory Text: “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty… And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:14-17, NKJV).

The Opening Question: What is it about the resurrection that makes it so pivotal in the Christian plan of salvation?

This week we are invited to consider the subject of the resurrection, the fact that, three days after Jesus was crucified, he rose up back to life. From a human perspective, this is not possible. We have seen many people die, but we have never seen anyone come back to life again. Yet that is precisely what is claimed about Jesus.

There are a lot of things to consider on this matter. The first is that the Bible is very clear that Jesus died. Some people deny the fact of the resurrection by claiming that, well, Jesus did not actually die but went into some kind of coma or swoon from which he awakened. Truth is, one only has to read the story of the crucifixion but once to see that Jesus had died for when the soldiers came to break the legs of those who had been crucified, they did not bother to break the legs of Jesus for he was already and obviously dead. There was even some surprise that he had died so quickly for it was common for crucified persons to linger on the cross for a day or two.

It is also very clear from the New Testament records that Jesus rose again. It is almost amusing to notice that every step taken to make sure Jesus stayed in the grave, ended up adding to the proof of his being alive again. Think first of the Roman soldiers who were posted there to make sure nobody tampered with the seal that had been placed on the stone in front of the tomb. They were powerless to stop the angels who came and, in amazement and fear, they rushed off into the city to tell what had happened knowing that in the Roman system, there was a well-known rule that if a soldier somehow lost the prisoner he was guarding, his life would be substituted for that of the prisoner. So, in effect, this group were running into town to announce their own demise. Then we have the fact of an empty tomb, something witnessed by several people, at least one of whom met Jesus in the garden before he ascended to heaven.

There are also the post-resurrection appearances of which there were many, spread out over a 40-day period. The Apostle Paul speaks of this to the Corinthians and reminds them that at one point, there were about 500 believers gathered together in one place to whom Jesus appeared. Paul even makes a little challenge telling the Corinthians that many of those witnesses were still alive at that time should they care to check the story with them.

Just as important as the fact of the resurrection are the implications or consequences of it. The implications or effects of the resurrection are enormous to the point that if it did not actually occur, we would be of all persons most miserable. Notice at least the following:

• If Jesus was not risen, he would not be whom he claimed to be. Rather, he would be a charlatan, a hoax, a liar.
• The promise of salvation would be voided as not only would there have been no effective sacrifice for the sins of the world, there would also not be anyone to apply those provisions to human lives. There would be no forgiveness of sins possible.
• The promise of a second coming would become nonsense for there would be no Jesus to return again.
• The hope of being reunited with those who have died in hope of a resurrection of the dead, would be void. The death of a loved one is bad enough when there is the hope of a resurrection, but to have that hope as a comfort only to find out it is a lie, would be the more terrible!
• The promise of heaven, a final resting place, would be voided.
• The whole system of Messianic prophecies and the whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament would have no value, effectively pointing to nothing at all.
• The whole of the Christian preaching of the gospel would be null and void, a waste of time. Those who preach the gospel would be found to be false witnesses.
• The symbolism and purpose of baptism would be voided for there would be no forgiveness for sin, nor would there be any Christ to unite with.

Given all these particulars, it is not hard to see why Paul stated that if the resurrection is not a fact of history, we would of all people be most miserable for we would have had a great hope—an almost unbelievably great hope—only to find out that it was false. That would be a worse situation than if we never had a hope in the first place.

Another interesting point to be made here is that, after his resurrection, Jesus had a body. It was a more glorious body than what he had on earth in that it is not subject to the frailties of human bodies here, but he did end up being an embodied person rather than some ethereal spirit. Believers who are saved in the end can expect also to end up as embodied beings. It seems from this that heaven will be a real place rather than just some non-physical place. Those who might want to argue against this might remind themselves that when God created life, it was on this earth, a physical place. And the beings he placed here were embodied beings. Perhaps the spiritual realm, the non-earthly realm, has more physicality than we sometimes imagine.

Perhaps, from a human perspective, the greatest truth to contemplate when thinking about the resurrection, is that it provides certainty that death, the worst and most final enemy of humans, can be defeated. Because Jesus rose again, and because he raised others to life again, we know death is not final. It was not for Jesus, and it will not be for those who believe and trust in him! In this we find the greatest and most hope-inducing idea humans can entertain.