There are two major miracles that stand at the top of all miracles, according to this writer. The first is the incarnation – the fact that God became a man, and the second is the resurrection of Jesus Christ – or as a friend of mine once said, “a dead man got up and walked.” The miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the final leg on the stool that allows the gospel to stand firm. It is the final part of God’s magnificent grace. Three parts make the whole. The Christ (God in human flesh) died for our sins (He paid the debt that we could not pay), and He rose again (He rose bodily from the grave). The resurrection is the miracle that no other religious group in human history can claim. If the many who searched diligently for Christ’s body had found it, there would be no Christianity at all. Satan would have won the victory even before the battle began.
So, the amazing truth of Christianity rises or falls on this last part – that He was buried, and that He rose again from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4). Paul put the cookie of the importance of the resurrection on the low shelf, so everyone can eat. He said that if there is no resurrection, then Christ did not rise – and if Christ did not rise, our preaching is empty of any real content – we have nothing of any real substance. Our preaching contains empty words with no value at all. And our faith is empty. It is void of any real hope for a future life. Our faith rises or falls on the fact of the resurrection. Those of us who say that Christ is risen are all liars – false witnesses. And the most terrifying is that we all stand condemned before God and all those whom we love and have buried will never be seen again. If all our hope is in Christ then all hope is lost, and we of all people are the most pitiful (1 Corinthians I5:12-19).
I have said often that sometimes the smallest words in the Bible shout the loudest. Paul again proves this point with his piercing powerful words…but now (1 Corinthians 15:20). With these words sorrow turns to joy, hopelessness is overwhelmed with hope, because death is replaced by life. Christ’s resurrection became the firstfruits, the first among many resurrections to follow.
So what? So our preaching of the gospel is of immeasurable value, our faith is placed on an immovable foundation. When we give the gospel, we tell the truth. And those whom we love that have died in Christ, we will see again. Halleluiah!
Scripture says more than once that with two or three witnesses the truth is confirmed (Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; Hebrews 10:28). There were many who had watched Christ die, attended His funeral, and then saw Him alive again. He was seen by Peter, and the 12 apostles (at first, Thomas was absent), then by over 500 eyewitnesses at once, then by James and the 12 (Thomas present). Last, but certainly not least, He was seen by Paul on the Damascus road. Wow! I can only close with the words of a song writer that touched me, “All my hope is in Jesus. Thank God my yesterday’s gone. All my sins are forgiven. I’ve been washed by His blood.” Stay safe and stay tuned.