Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Co 1:3). Amen.
It is a word that only has two letters. It may be small in size, but big in significance. If. It can place before us a condition that is troubling, or even terrifying. Take this for example: “If the biopsy is not healthy, then …” If we could only get rid of the “if” because it brings uncertainty. It is so much different to declare: “The biopsy is healthy.”
How about this: “If Christ has not been raised, then …”? That leaves us confused and concerned because of what that means. It is not just dangerous; it is damning.
But that is the poison that some were peddling among the Christians in Corinth. Paul asks, “How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Co 15:12). Paul had heralded it, affirming it and asserting it: “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Co 15:12).
But Paul wants to address how serious it is to state the opposite and also to assure that it is the truth. “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Co 15:12).
Paul gets rid of the “if” because of its serious implications.
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised” (1 Co 15:13). That would be in direct contradiction to what the angel announced on the first Easter Sunday. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him” (Mk 16:6). The women came to complete that last loving gesture—to anoint Jesus’ dead body. But they never got to use the spices that they had in their hands. Christ has been raised from the dead.
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Co 15:14). What is more, our message would be empty. There is no content. It would be strange to open a book and have blank pages. Your expectation of some expertise would be misplaced. But such is not the case. Christ has been raised from the dead.
“More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead” (1 Co 15:15). When in a court of law, a witness swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Not to do so is perjury—a fancy word for lying. And the judge and jury don’t look kindly on that. Paul took it seriously too. He had seen the risen Christ on the road to Damascus with his own eyes, heard him with his own ears (Acts 9:4,5). To tell otherwise would be a falsehood. How about that for “fake news?” He would be misrepresenting the facts. The apostle Peter recalled that to the crowd that had gathered after he had healed a man crippled from birth. He reviewed the events of Holy Week—how they had killed Christ. “But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this” (Acts 3:15). Christ has been raised from the dead.
“For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either” (1 Co 15:16). The two go hand-in-hand. Christ’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection. The night before he was nailed to the cross, Jesus wanted his disciples and us to know: “Because I live, you also will live” (Jn 14:19). He lives; we live. Christ has been raised from the dead.
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Co 15:17). Jesus died on the cross, not because of his sins for he didn’t have any. But for ours because we had many. But he did not stay dead. He came back to life three days later. It was the psalmist David that cited the Messiah 1000 years before: “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” (Ps 16:10). That is because God punished him in our place. Jesus paid for them all—every one. He did not head out of the tomb to hold our sins against us because he holds out forgiveness to us (Ro 4:25). We are no longer in our sins. Jesus can give us the same joy as his disciples: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:20,26). Everything is right between us and God. Our faith is not pointless or useless. Christ has been raised from the dead.
“Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost” (1 Co 15:18). In other words, they perish. And the punishment would be eternal. But God loved the world so much that he gave his one of kind Son so that would not be the reality (Jn 3:16). Those connected to Christ, even though they die, live. That is what Jesus mentioned to Martha at the grave of her brother, Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:25,26). That is why the apostle John wrote his Gospel: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:31). Paul can call death a sleep. We are not afraid to lay our heads the pillow at night—in fact, we often look forward to it and long for it—because we know that we will wake up in the morning. That is what Jesus will do for us on the Last Day. He will call us out to be with him forever (1 Thess 4:17)—glorified bodies reunited with our souls (Phil 3:20). The cemetery is a place where we will rest, not where we will remain. We can continue to confess: “I believe in … the resurrection of the body” (CW p. 19). Christ has been raised from the dead.
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Co 15:19). It is one thing to be sad for someone. It is quite another to feel sorry for them. If Christ is dead, so is our confidence. And we are wasting our time and money here. We could have slept until noon and then get up to chase after this and that or here and there. Because then this is it.
But Paul removes the “if.” And he is emphatic. In a sense, “Away with all that.” “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (1 Co 15:20). It is a matter of fact. We can be sure and certain. And since that is real, and it is, Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Co 15:29). That goes back to the Old Testament. When the grain was ripe in the spring (That is the reverse of here.), he would cut the first stalk with a heart full of thanks: “This is for God.” But it would also be from a head filled with this thought: “There will be more from God.” Jesus first. We will follow. And there will be a good harvest because Christ has been raised from the dead.
Death still exists. That is because Adam introduced it when he believed the lie of the devil and ate of the forbidden fruit (Ge 2:17). Sin brings with it an ugly companion—death (Ro 5:12). That is what Paul reminds: “death came through a man” (1 Co 15:21). That is Adam.
But there is more: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man” (1 Co 15:21). That is Jesus. Christ has been raised from the dead. And then the result: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Co 15:22). We are associated with Adam by birth. But we are now attached to Christ by faith. We live with him right now and forever. Our present is safe and our future is secure.
It was the second Sunday of Easter. They were all there this time. Not just the 10. But the 11. Thomas had joined them again. For seven days, they repeated: “We have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:25). Over and over. But again and again Thomas denied it (as many do today). He needed proof—visible and physical: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it” (Jn 20:25). If Christ has not been raised, there is despair and there is doubt. But Jesus in his patience showed up a week later. Not to humiliate Thomas, but to help him—almost quoting him exactly. I paraphrase: “Go ahead, Thomas, if you have to. Touch. Don’t be without faith, but full of faith.” And that is when Thomas professed: “My Lord and my God” (Jn 10:28). And so it is that his insistence of the resurrection gives us another instance of the resurrection. And now Jesus can say about us: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn 20:29). Christ has been raised from the dead.
Today is the second Sunday of Easter. We are not waiting for the findings of a doctor on an “if” of the resurrection. Instead, we continue to celebrate. That is because Easter is not just a day on the spring calendar (It is spring, isn’t it?), but a season during the church year. Jesus lives. Christ has risen. Easter does away with the “if.” It is not, “if Christ has not been raised.” Easter exclaims, “Christ has been raised from the dead.” Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Happy Easter.
We read from 1 Corinthians 15:12-22:
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Co 15:57). Amen.
April 8, 2018
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