The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, ² by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³ For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; ⁷ then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; ⁸ and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹² Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. ¹⁵ Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. ²¹ For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, ²⁴ then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be abolished is death. ²⁷ For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

In yesterday’s meditation I shared that the first step to walking in the promises of God for our lives is found in Romans 10:9-10: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Today’s text is titled: The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection   Our believing in Christ’s resurrection is not based in hope or faith, but in fact.  Paul says: I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. There were over five hundred witnesses of the risen Lord. Surely that alone is enough to establish it as fact. There are many things today that we are expected to accept as fact with much less evidence than the resurrection of Christ.

In John 17:17 Jesus prayed for all who would believe in the gospel saying: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” God’s word is not only true, it is the truth. It is the plumbline by which all truth is measured. The text says: if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied. But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. Jesus fulfilled over three hundred Messianic prophecies in scripture through His birth, His life, His death and resurrection. Again, that is far more evidence than most human beliefs are based in. I would venture to say that it establishes it as fact.

Consider this from the site spreadinglight.com Someone much smarter than I has done the math on what the odds of Jesus “accidentally” fulfilling the prophecies about the Messiah.  In other words, if Jesus wasn’t really the Messiah, what are the odds that he just happened to fulfill the prophecies that were written about the Messiah hundreds and sometimes thousands of years before He was born. The odds of Jesus fulfilling just 8 prophecies, Born at Bethlehem, Preceded by a Messenger, Enter Jerusalem on a Donkey, Betrayed by a friend, sold for 30 pieces of silver, money thrown into God’s house and used to by the Potter’s field, Silent before His accusers, and crucified between two thieves are 1 in 10 to the 17^th power.  Or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.  That number is 100 quadrillion in case you want the name for it.  To picture the odds, cover the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep.  Mark one silver dollar.  Have someone blindfolded and have them choose the marked coin.  Those are the odds of Jesus fulfilling all 8 of these prophecies. Now, there are 48 major prophecies concerning the Messiah.  (You’re likely to read several different numbers depending on the interpreter.  Some of the prophecies overlap and one interpreter counts it all as one prophecy while another interpreter counts it as separate prophecies.) The odds of Jesus fulfilling 48 major prophecies are in 1 in 10 to the 157^th power.  That a 1 with 157 zeroes behind it.  The number has no name but looks like this: 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Give or take a couple of zeroes because I’m not recounting them, you get the picture.  That’s a really big number and we can’t even conceptualize it.  Suffice it to say though, it defies all odds that someone other than the Jesus could fulfill all of the prophecies made about the Messiah.

Consider all the things you accept as fact with little or no evidence, then consider the fact and the truth of the resurrection. Know and believe that If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Thank You heavenly Father, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit.“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” Amen.