“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.… But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
1 Corinthians 15:17, 20
Tomorrow we celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, a fact verified not just by two or three eyewitnesses, as the Law of Moses required. No, Jesus appeared over and over during the 40 days after He rose, once “to more than five hundred brothers at one time” (see 1 Corinthians 15:6).
Why so many? First, there is no precedent for this kind of resurrection. Scripture records several people who were raised to life (e.g. the widow’s son in Luke 7), but every one of them would die again in time. By contrast Jesus rose with an indestructible body, as different from His earthly body as a mighty oak compared to its acorn seed.
Second, people simply didn’t recognize Him until He spoke to them. Even then they didn’t believe He was real, sometimes not until they put their fingers in His wounds. But the overwhelming amount of eyewitness testimony could not be dismissed.
Finally, our own hope is empty unless Jesus rose. As we await the certainty of our death, the massive evidence of His triumph means that we too will rise, just as He did.
Why so many? First, there is no precedent for this kind of resurrection. Scripture records several people who were raised to life (e.g. the widow’s son in Luke 7), but every one of them would die again in time. By contrast Jesus rose with an indestructible body, as different from His earthly body as a mighty oak compared to its acorn seed.
Second, people simply didn’t recognize Him until He spoke to them. Even then they didn’t believe He was real, sometimes not until they put their fingers in His wounds. But the overwhelming amount of eyewitness testimony could not be dismissed.
Finally, our own hope is empty unless Jesus rose. As we await the certainty of our death, the massive evidence of His triumph means that we too will rise, just as He did.
Scripture Focus
1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Insight
“Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:49)
Bible In A Year
- Joshua 3-4
- Psalm 98
- Acts 22
