IF CHRIST BE NOT RAISED
Easter 2024
1 Corinthians 15:14-18
THE TEXT:
The text for the sermon today is 1 Corinthians 15:14-18. Our text can be found on page 961. These are the words of God:
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION
In the 1950’s, John Updike wrote a poem entitled Seven Stanzas at Easter which has become rather famous. Here are just two of the seven stanzas:
Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was as His body;
if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.
Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.
Now, here’s what Updike is saying: either the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred as a fact of history, or nothing the church does matters. The resurrection cannot be a mere spiritual event. It can’t be analogy or metaphor. If you make it a parable you are sidestepping everything.
RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION
That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul is saying in the passage we read. Essentially, he says, “You must confront, head-on, the claim that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. What are you going to do with it?” That is the question of Easter.
If Christ is truly raised, then everything in your life has to change.
Ok. That’s a bold claim, but let’s walk through this passage and unpack it. And we’ll do that by asking 3 questions about the resurrection:
- WHAT IS IT?
- WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
- HOW DOES IT CHANGE US?
- WHAT IS IT?
Corinth, the city for which this letter gets its name, is a city in Greece, and Paul founded the church there around A.D. 50. This letter was written around A.D. 54. Here’s what this means: the letter of 1 Corinthians predates the writing of all 4 gospels & Only two other New Testament books are older than 1 Corinthians.
This makes 1 Corinthians the one of the earliest Christians documents arguing for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If you read the rest of the chapter, it’s clear that Paul is combatting a teaching which denied the resurrection.
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Now, it’s become common today to look down on ancient people as ignorant, or gullible, or superstitious. Someone says, “Of course they believed in the resurrection in the ancient world, they were prescientific. We know better.” The problem with that assessment is there may be no more skeptical group of people concerning the resurrection than first century Jews and Greeks.
If a first century Jews believed in a resurrection, they only believed in a general resurrection of the dead at the end of history. And there was an entire sect of Judaism called the Sadducees who denied the resurrection altogether.
The Gentiles basically held to a dualist understanding. The material world is corrupt and the spirit needs to escape the material. So, the idea of a bodily resurrection ran entirely counter to their predispositions.
In fact, we actually see this played out in the gospel accounts of the resurrection. Thomas, one of Jesus’ own disciples was incredibly skeptical, so much so that he’s been forever labelled as, “Doubting Thomas.”
Again, in Matthew 28, the risen Jesus appears to a group of disciples and here’s what Matthew writes:
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
In other words, they had the proof in the pudding, and still some doubted. So, these were not superstitious barbarians who wanted to believe in a resurrection. These were highly skeptical individuals who were predisposed to doubt.
And yet, all the Apostles preach the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ at immense personal cost to themselves. If you look up to verse 3 Paul says this:
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Do you see what he’s saying? This is less than 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul’s saying, “This really happened, and if you want eyewitnesses, here’s the list. Go talk with them.”
Throughout this passage Paul is using deductive logic; he’s making arguments. Over and over, he says, “If Christ is raised, then this… If he isn’t raised then this.” He says, if there’s no resurrection, then my preaching is in vain. I’m wasting my time. He says, “If there’s no resurrection, then I’m misrepresenting God.” He says, “If there is no resurrection then I’m still in my sins.”
In other words, Paul says, “Because the resurrection really happened, as a fact of history, I can stake my entire life and ministry on it. I’m all in.”
Now listen to me: we don’t have enough time to go through all of the evidence the Apostles provide for the historicity of the resurrection. It would take weeks. I can point you to resources after the service if you like, but hear me out: whether you believe in Christ or not, one thing is clear: the Apostles all saw the resurrection of Christ as an unassailable argument that they must submit to even when it meant their becoming martyrs.
The resurrection and deification of Jesus wasn’t a scheme they cooked up to make themselves powerful or rich. Their belief in those truths cost them everything.
So, the resurrection isn’t merely an inspirational story we tell at Spring time. It’s not just a parable about renewal, or warmth after cold, or light after dark. As Updike said: “If the dissolution of Jesus cells did not reverse… if the molecules of his body did not reknit… then the church will fall.
You say, “Ok, the church is built on the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Christ, but why does it matter? What’s the meaning of the resurrection?
- WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
In order to answer the question of the resurrection’s meaning we must first ask, “Why did Jesus Christ die on the cross?”
And Paul actually addresses that question at the top of this chapter in v. 3:
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
Several things are happening here. First, Paul says this teaching is of first importance. The word he uses is protos, it’s where we get our word prototype. He’s saying that the death and resurrection of Christ represent the most important teachings in all of Christianity.
And then he says that Jesus died in accordance with the Scriptures. He’s speaking of the Jewish Old Testament and what he’s saying here is earth shattering. If you’ve read the OT you know its full of many different stories: Moses and the deliverance of Egypt, David and Goliath, Noah and the Flood.
What Paul is saying is that all of the Old Testament stories of deliverance point forward and foreshadow the great story of God’s deliverance of his people from their sin.
All of the Old Testament sacrifices of animals point forward. Those sacrifices were a shadow of Christ, the truly sinless one who is offered up in the place of his people.
When Paul says the death of Christ was in accordance with the Scriptures he means that the death of Christ wasn’t accidental; it was preplanned. It was foretold. It was prophesied.
There’s a famous passage in the prophet of Isaiah. It says that the Messiah would be God’s servant, and though he was innocent, he would take the place of guilty people and bear the punishment for their sins. It says that he would be pierced for our wrongdoings. He would be crushed for our iniquities. And upon him would be the chastisement that would bring us peace.
And in this same passage, Isaiah says, “it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;”
You know what this means? Before the first person had ever sinned, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had already planned the redemption and sacrifice of Jesus.
That’s why John Murray famously said, “Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; — but the Father, for love.”
Listen, the cross of Christ shows us that we are at the same time, more evil and sinful than we want to admit. Because it required his death to pardon us. Yet at the same time, the cross tells us the we are more loved by God than we dare to imagine—because look at what he has done for us!
That’s what it means. That’s why it’s central to the Christian message. Without it we are hopeless, and remain in our sins.
- HOW DOES IT CHANGE US?
If you read the entire chapter, you’ll notice Paul saying that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has transformed and changed his entire life. Specifically, the resurrection changes how we relate to our guilt/or past, it changes how we relate to our present difficulties, and he changes how we relate to death itself.
First, it changes how we relate to our guilt:
Consider for a moment the life of the Apostle Paul. And don’t think of him in stained glass in a cathedral with candles lit in front of his icon. Don’t think of him as an older Christian writing to the churches. No, think of him as a young man, zealous for Judaism, and murdering Christians; a lot of them. In v. 9 he says:
9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
You know what he’s saying? He’s saying, “I’ve got a past. I’ve done stuff that you can’t imagine. And if you knew the glee I took in those evil deeds, you wouldn’t want to listen to me.”
He’s saying what is true about all of us. We all have a past. We all have done things we pray never sees the light of day, things that would ruin us if there were known.
And yet, if you read on in verse 10, look what he says:
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
In verse 9 he says, “I was the worst of the worst,” and then he turns right around and says, “But by God’s grace I’m the best of the best.” What’s going on? Friend, he’s telling you that the only way to deal with your past, the only way to get past your past is the cross of Christ.
The death of Jesus Christ was God’s plan to deal with all of the shameful, sinful things we’ve done. That Christ’s death was a substitution. He died in the place of sinners. He bore the penalty for our sin and shame. At the cross, God forever put away the sins of his people. At the cross, justice was truly served against sin.
And this is why the resurrection is so crucial to Christianity. This is why Paul writes in verse 17:
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
If we preached that our sins were forgiven because Jesus died, but he remained dead, who would have any confidence that the message was true? If I told you that Christ died in your place, but you could go see his bones in a tomb in Israel, you’d look at me and say, “How do you know that?”
The resurrection of Christ is how we know that our sins are dealt with. At the resurrection God removed all doubts that he has forgiven sinners. It’s the supernatural guarantee that we have new life, forgiveness, pardon, and welcome from God.
In the cross we see that we were so sinful Christ had to die for us. In the resurrection we see that his death was so perfect that we no longer need to fear our sins condemning us.
Listen, if Christ hasn’t been raised, you’re still in your sins. But reverse that. If he has been raised, where are you? You are in him. Alive, perfect, not longer judged on your own record, but on his. And to the degree that you are conscious of being in him, your guilt, your past won’t crush you.
Second, the resurrection changes how we relate to our present difficulties.
If you look down in verse 31 Paul basically says, “Listen, if Christ isn’t raised, then I am suffering a lot for no reason.” He says, “I die daily,” and then he says, “What do I gain if I fought with beasts at Ephesus?” And we aren’t even sure what he’s referencing there. Apparently it was well known to the recipients of his letter, but not to us.
What’s going on? Paul is saying the only way he has strength to live each day, to love the unlovable, to serve the ungrateful, to care for those who frankly aren’t worth his time, to even face persecution… the only way he can do that is because he knows the resurrection is true.
You see, he’s saying that the resurrection is a fact, but it’s far more. He’s meditated so much on the truth of Christ’s resurrection that it now is the power and the strength he needs to face his troubles.
Now listen, if it’s true that Jesus Christ came out of the grave, then you can love the unlovable, you can serve the ungrateful, you can face all of the difficulties that presently surround your life.
Do you see how this works? This is very logical, but its immensely practical. And it’s only practical if it’s both true and you constantly apply it to your mind, to your heart.
The resurrection is like a medicine. It only works if you take it into yourself. It has to come into your life, daily, and reorient you to your troubles.
Finally, the resurrection changes how we relate to death.
In verse 19, Paul says:
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
It’s as if he anticipates our opposition to everything he has said. You might say, “Ok, Paul, so the resurrection helps me deal with my past guilt. So, it gives me some motivation for my present difficulties. But you know what… in the end we’re still going to die.”
And Paul says, “I know. You’re absolutely right. Even if we can deal with our guilt and our troubles… death is still the great enemy.”
He says your absolutely right. If the resurrection of Jesus doesn’t answers the problem of death, then nothing really matters, “If Christ isn’t raised, eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
At the end of this chapter Paul explains that those who are in Christ, even though they die, will be raised immortal. Those who perish will be raised imperishable. And he says this:
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a passage many Christians know and take comfort in, but what does it mean, the sting of death?
Years ago? a popular minister named Donald Gray Barnhouse, driving his children to the funeral of his wife, was trying to figure out a way to talk to his kids about the death of their mother. On the way he passed a truck and the shadow of the truck goes by them and he turns to his daughter and says, “Honey, do you see that truck? Do you see the shadow of that truck? Would you rather be hit by the truck or the shadow? His daughter says, “The shadow.” And Barnhouse said to her, “I really want you to know that the truck of death hit Jesus, so that mommy only has to go through the shadow of death.”
Listen, because of Jesus, the sting of death has been removed. And if the resurrection is true, if it really happened, you’ll no longer say, “Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” No. If your faith is in Christ you’ll say, “Let us eat and drink, for yesterday we were dead.”