The Resurrection’s Impact on Your Life
With Easter Sunday fast approaching, I am excited to share about the chapel message I recently gave at Discovery Christian School in Florence, MS. I spoke about the impact of the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for our lives. I spoke from 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, which many theologians say is an early creed from church history that may have been written anywhere from 18 months to 3 years after Jesus rose from the grave. Paul, the author of 1 Corinthians, reminds us of three truths about the resurrection.
1. The Resurrection Impacts Our Lives Because of Its Importance.
Paul starts in verse 3 with ”For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.”
As mentioned earlier, Paul preached the Gospel to the Corinthians, and he knew that an important part of the Gospel message was the resurrection of Jesus. While the Corinthians had major issues and were known for many detestable sins, they had heard of the resurrection. Some believed in the resurrection, and some were saved. Others had a shallow faith or a non-saving faith.
What about you today? The resurrection is the most important aspect of Christianity and following Jesus. It is often said that the resurrection sets Christianity apart from other religions. Because the resurrection is true, we must respond to it and know what we believe about it.
In the movie The Case for Christ, there is a scene where Lee Stroble, who wrote the book and whose life story the movie is about, asks a friend,”“If you wanted to disprove Christianity, where would you start”” His friend says,”“What sets it apart—the resurrection”” The resurrection is important to a relationship with Jesus. We cannot deny its truth and relevance. You must decide what you believe about it.
2. The Resurrection Impacts Our Lives Because It Happened According to the Scriptures.
Paul continues in verse 3 by saying," That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures””
When Paul says,” According to the Scriptures,” he is showing how the Old Testament pointed to Jesus‘s resurrection. This was God's plan all along. The narrative of the Bible builds towards Jesus‘s resurrection.
Jesus says in Matthew 12:38-41: 38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him,”“Teacher, we want to see a sign from you”” 39 He answered,”“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Here, Jesus points to Jonah's example as a reminder that He would raise from the dead three days later, just as Jonah was removed from the huge fish three days later. While this would not have been written down by the time Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians, it is just a reminder that Scripture builds on each other, and the story points to the coming of Jesus, the gospel message, and the resurrection.
3. The Resurrection Impacts Our Lives Because It Really Happened.
Paul continues in the remaining verse we are studying today by saying in 4-8: 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
The resurrection is the most important message the church can proclaim. It was prophesized. Now, we come to our final point: The resurrection matters to us because it was a real event.
You only need two eyewitnesses to share what they saw to make a statement credible. Here, Paul says that Jesus appeared to over 500 people. This means that it cannot have been a made-up story or hallucination. Jesus appeared to real people in real time after He was resurrected from the grave. But who are these people?
For example, Paul mentions that Jesus appeared to Peter and the disciples. We read that in the Gospels and in the beginning of Acts when Jesus told them they would be His witnesses. He appeared to others like we said. Then, verse seven says that Jesus appeared to James. This James was Jesus's half-brother, who, according to the Scriptures, did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah until after the resurrection. James went on to be an important leader in the church. Finally, Paul put his testimony at the end. He describes himself as”“abnormally born”” This isPaul'ss way of saying that Jesus appearing to Him on the Road to Damascus, which we read about in Acts 9, was a special case. Paul was in the next generation of believers.
The Gospel is based on real events and history, not opinions. Paul did not create this message; he received it, delivered it, and spread it. The testimony of the eyewitnesses adds to the legitimacy of the resurrection.