Tuesday, April 7

Tuesday

Just in case you have forgotten already  - He is still Risen!

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.  Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.  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?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

• 1 Corinthians 15:3-14

Many biblical scholars agree that the first few verses of this passage are an example of the earliest Christian creed.  A creed is a clear statement intended to be recited in order to teach and affirm certain beliefs.  Creeds were very important in the early church because only the wealthiest individuals could afford to own a written copy of Scripture.  Usually a church or group of churches would own a few copies of portions of Scripture.  The idea of a personal Bible was totally unheard of in the first century.  Believers would recite and memorize creedal statements together as a form of worship and as a way of encouraging and strengthening their faith in Jesus Christ.

The truly remarkable thing about the passage above is that it is entirely centered on the resurrection.  In other words, the origin of the Christian faith hinges on the historical reality of the resurrection.  Notice how specific Paul is in this passage.  He mentions names and numbers of people to whom the risen Jesus had appeared.  Then he goes on to say that most of them are still alive!  Why would he mention this?  Even in the earliest days of Christianity there were skeptics and doubters of the resurrection.  Paul is essentially saying that anybody who doubts can simply go and ask these folks if it is true.  How could Paul make such a statement in a letter that was going to be widely read and circulated if Jesus had not appeared to these people?  

The very fact that Christianity started and grew at all is evidence for the resurrection.  The philosopher and scholar William Lane Craig writes: “Even skeptical New Testament scholars admit that the earliest disciples at least believed that Jesus had been raised from the dead.”  For Jews, the Messiah was viewed as a figure that would be triumphant and rule on David’s throne, not a figure that would be crucified and die.  The resurrection undid the catastrophe of the crucifixion!  The Messiah, who had died, is risen!  The resurrection validated and verified the claims that Christ had made about his own identity.  The origin of Christianity rests solely on the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Listen again to what the apostle Paul says about the importance of the resurrection.  “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

The early Christians clearly grasped the tremendous importance of the resurrection; they understood that everything about their faith depended on this singular historical fact.  Should we do less?  Let’s take a cue from our spiritual ancestors in the early church and affirm the fact that our Lord is risen and our God has conquered the grace every time we come together.  The resurrection is not something that we should remind ourselves of one Sunday a year, it the truth that we should celebrate and affirm every moment of every day that we live!

Jeff Frazier