Resurrection Sunday - He is risen!

I want to wish everyone a blessed “Resurrection Sunday”.  Just to be clear, I celebrate this day for one reason and one reason only: Jesus Christ has risen from the dead!

I’ve been contemplating a marvelous passage in 1 Corinthians 15.  In verse 3, we read, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.”  This is, of course, Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for us on Good Friday.  Verse 4: “That He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”  There is that phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” again.  What does that mean?  The events of Good Friday, Jesus being buried in a rich man’s tomb (see Isaiah 53:9 and Matthew 27:57-58), and that glorious Easter morning, it was all in perfect harmony with what God, in His word, said what going to happen.

The text in 1 Corinthians 15 then shifts to the people that Jesus appeared to post-resurrection.  Verse 5, speaks of how He appeared to Peter, and all the disciples (verse 5).  In verse 7 he speaks of how Jesus appeared to James, the apostles, and then in verse 8, Paul speaks of how Jesus appeared to him as well.

My mind has been riveted on 1 Corinthians 15:6; it reads, “Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”  C.H. Dodd (1884-1973) once commented, “There can hardly be any purpose in mentioning the fact that most of the five hundred are still alive, unless Paul is saying in effect, ‘The witnesses are there to be questioned.’” (As cited by Hank Hannegraph in his work “The Bible Answer Book”).

This idea of questioning this large group of people has captured my imagination.  I’ve envisioned a courtroom scene where the lawyer calls one witness and asks him if he saw Jesus alive and well after His crucifixion.  The witness answers, “Yes, I saw Him with my own eyes.”  Then the lawyer calls the next witness; who also affirms that he saw Jesus, very much alive, after He was dead.  Witness after witness takes the stand and affirm the certainty of the resurrection of Jesus.  This is very compelling evidence.

Let me conclude with this: Jesus’ physical, bodily resurrection is such a vital event that it has been questioned and debated from the early days after Christ’s crucifixion to this very day.  If you are not yet convinced of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, by all means, study more about the subject.  But, as Reverend J. John once said in an Easter sermon, there are many examples of people who initially opposed the resurrection of Christ, yet when they began researching the subject, their minds were changed and they began proclaiming that Jesus’ resurrection is, in reality, a matter of historical fact.  We Christians don’t worship a dead Savior; we worship a Savior who conquered death itself.

Kevin