THE “IFS” AND “BUTS” OF
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
Very early on Sunday morning, a group of women made their way to a tomb, carrying spices in their arms and grief in their hearts. The sun had just begun to rise. The world was waking up to the morning light – but for them, everything had gone dark.
They came to care for a body.
They came to finish what death had started.
But when they arrived, nothing had changed.
The stone was still sealed with Pilate’s stamp.
The Roman guard remained at their post.
The grave still held its prisoner.
No angel.
No empty tomb.
No message.
No hope.
Jesus of Nazareth was dead…
And he stayed dead.
That’s the story – if the resurrection never happened. And it’s not just a different ending; it’s a different Christianity. It’s a different gospel – if it could be called a gospel at all. It’s a different world.
What if Jesus was not raised from the dead? That may sound like a question of doubt. It isn’t. It’s a question the Bible dares to ask. And when the Apostle Paul asks it in 1 Corinthians 15, he doesn’t soften the answer – he follows it all the way down to its frightening end. Because everything hangs on this:
If Christ has not been raised…what’s left?
The Problem: What if there is no resurrection?
The Corinthians had a peculiar issue with the resurrection of Jesus. They believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they did not believe that they would be resurrected at the Second Coming. They believed Jesus rose – but not that they would. Paul says you can’t have it both ways.
Was it because of false teaching? Did they misunderstand the Second Coming of Christ? How did they get here?
Paul doesn’t tell us. His concern is to correct their error. He asks them to consider the consequences. “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised” (13).
Here the problem is revealed. If you are going to say that humans can’t be raised from the dead, then Jesus was not raised from the dead. Jesus was fully human. Did God not raise him from the dead?
It may be that some beliefs from their old religion had muddied their thinking. Greek philosophy taught that all things physical were evil or corrupt. The Corinthians could not see any use for these bodies after we die. All things physical were but a shadow of the spiritual reality in heaven. Some of this thinking still exists in the church today. But think of the consequences of thinking that God would not raise this body…
The Consequences
There are six consequences of such a scenario.
As Paul dives into these consequences, we begin to see what the world would be like if Christ had not been raised.
1. Intellectual Collapse – preaching is empty (14a) – If Christ has not been raised, what are we talking about? All the messages you have heard over the years, all the worship services you have been a part of, all the Christian books you have read – all of it – is empty, pointless. Jesus’ teaching to love one another is just good ethics without the resurrection. Jesus is just a teacher with some good ideas. His death is the tragic outcome of a misunderstood life. There is nothing about him to base a whole movement upon if he is not resurrected from the dead.
2. Personal Collapse – faith is useless (14b) – If we say that Christ died for our sins, but there is no resurrection, our faith has no foundation. What are we believing in? If Christ died for our sins, how do we know that his sacrifice accomplished anything? If Jesus is still in some forgotten tomb, there would be a lot of questions about God. Was God’s wrath satisfied? We have no idea. The atonement would be without validation.
Everything that Christians practice based on faith in a crucified teacher is irrational. Our faith is pretty flimsy.
3. Moral Collapse – we are liars (15) – As one writer put it, if the resurrection never happened, the apostles are the world’s greatest liars. And what we bear witness to, the power of Jesus’ name, telling people that Jesus rose from the dead? We are not just mistaken. We are misrepresenting God by telling these stories of Jesus and telling people to believe in a dead prophet. Jesus told us that God loves us, but how do we know? We simply don’t have proof of God’s love without the resurrection. We only have proof that God’s justice demands satisfaction.
4. Spiritual Collapse – we are still in our sins (17) – Now it’s getting personal. Take in this whole verse and absorb it: “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins,” (17). If we are lying to people and misrepresenting God by telling them their sins are forgiven, we are deceivers. They’re not forgiven! We seriously cannot tell people their sins are forgiven if Christ has not been raised. On the last day, we will have to stand before God and be judged for every little sin and suffer the consequences. Paul makes this argument in Romans concerning Jesus, “It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification,” (4:25). You see, without the resurrection there is no justification – our sins have not been dealt with. As a result, there is no mercy for you and me. And without the living Christ, there is no advocate to answer Satan’s accusations, saying, “I’ve paid the penalty.” We are still in our sins…
5. Relational Collapse – our loved ones are lost (18) – The NT talks about those who have died as having “fallen asleep in Christ.” Now if Christ has not been raised, “Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” When you go to sleep, you expect to wake up. Christians have this hope that dying is like falling asleep and that one day we will awake to the Day of the Lord, the day of resurrection. I like to say to people that waking up in the morning is like practicing the resurrection. But if Christ has not been raised, everyone who dies perishes. Our loved ones who we have buried in the grave will not be raised to life. We will not have a joyous reunion in the new world – there is no new world.
6. Existential Collapse – we are pathetic (19) – Finally, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (19). If Christ has not been raised from the dead, why are we following a man who lied to us? Let me ask you this: Would you still be a Christian if there is no resurrection?
What are we left with if there is no resurrection?
No good news
No Salvation
No reason to be holy
No forgiveness of sins
No hope after death
No reason to believe any of it!
“BUT” – The Great Reversal
Just when everything collapses in a heap of disappointment…Paul thunders one word: But! “BUT in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (20).
Jesus Christ, the first fruits of the resurrection. Are you familiar with that term? The concept of first fruits is rooted in OT times when people lived in a farm-centered society. Harvest time was important because that was when the hard work the farmers had poured into their crops all year began to pay off. God called the people to bring in the first yield of the harvest as an offering at the Temple. This was to demonstrate their obedience and awe for God. It also demonstrated that they trusted God to provide enough crops for their families.
Farmers would bring their first fruits to the priest who then “lifted it up” and “waved” it before the LORD (Lev. 23:11). The imagery is worth noting. When seeds are planted in the soil, they must die in the ground. At harvest time the fruit that rises from the ground in new life is then presented before the LORD. This OT ritual foreshadowed the resurrection of Christ.
In the NT, first fruits take on this new meaning. Jesus was God’s first fruits – his one and only Son, the best that humanity had to offer. God gave up Jesus to die on a cross, was laid in a tomb, and raised him up on the third day. Jesus represents the first and best of what is to come; his resurrection is a demonstration of the promise that God will provide the remainder of the harvest, the resurrection of the dead in Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus gives our faith living power. The first thing Paul wrote to the Roman Christians was an explanation of this truth. He said, “…concerning this Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,” (Rom. 1:3-4).
Jesus is alive! The resurrection of Jesus is the exclamation point of God’s joy and celebration of what Christ did in dying for humankind. Christ is alive – he lives for us, to deliver us powerfully from sin and death.
So, because of this great reversal, all the “ifs” of death are turned over by the joyful “Buts” of life. Therefore:
Our preaching isn’t empty or vain – it proclaims hope!
Our faith isn’t fragile – it is based on a risen Savior!
What we testify is not deception or lies – we are witnesses to the Truth!
We are not condemned by our sins – we are forgiven!
Our loved ones are not lost – they are with the Lord of life.
We are not to be pitied – we are to be envied for the hope we have in Christ!
For there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved in such an awesome way.
Timothy Keller said of the resurrection: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said. If he did not rise from the dead then why worry about any of what he said. The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching, but whether or not he rose from the dead.”
If the grave could not hold him…it will not hold us!
“Up from the grave He arose
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a victor o’er the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign!
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
AMEN
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