And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…

1 Corinthians 15:17-20 

I’ve written many words on this blog over the last year on many different topics.  Some have probably challenged you; others have angered you.  Some have increased your love for God and other people; others have left you scratching your head.  This week, I want to leave all the other issues on the periphery, where they belong.  Only one thing truly matters, as Paul wrote in the verses above:  If Christ has not been raised from the dead, our lives are pitiful; all my pontificating and sermonizing has been “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”  But if Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away– and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Matthew 26:1-2

In the end, it isn’t a matter of life and death whether God created in seven days or seven million years, whether or not the Bible allows for women to be pastors and elders, or whether or not God desires us to be wealthy in this world.  But there is one question that MUST be answered very carefully:  has Christ been raised from the dead, or was it all just an elaborate hoax?

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.  Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.”  Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.

Matthew 26:47-50

There are some who want you to believe it was a hoax.  They would tell you that Jesus died, that his followers were heartbroken, but then a rumor began to spread that he had risen from the dead.  Not physically, mind you, but spiritually.  And then people began to have visions of him, and they began to be inspired by the idea that Jesus had somehow risen from the grave.  And then, after a couple hundred years of passing down the story and elaborating on it over time, we ended up with the bodily resurrection story we have today.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”  “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Matthew 26:63-64 

Others have tried their best to discredit the resurrection story through other theories.  Maybe Jesus didn’t really die, but was only “mostly dead.”  Perhaps the disciples stole the body.  Maybe Jesus was dumped in a common, unmarked grave, which explains why the disciples mistakenly thought the tomb was empty.  Or maybe Jesus never even existed and the whole thing is just an elaborate myth.

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:26-31 

Why have skeptics and critics come up with so many possible arguments against the resurrection of Jesus?  Because believing that the resurrection actually happened is not like believing that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.  If Jesus really rose from the dead, EVERYTHING changes.  If Jesus was dead and lives again, then the world needs to listen to what He has to say, including the reality of sin, judgment, and our need for salvation.  There are many people who NEED Jesus to stay in the tomb, because a risen Christ would completely turn their lives upside-down and call into question everything for which they stand.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”– which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Matthew 27:45-46   

This Sunday, I will be preaching on the resurrection, doing my best to explain why I and so many others throughout history believe that it is a historical fact that God raised Jesus of Nazareth bodily from the grave almost 2000 years ago.  I will show why it isn’t just a hoax, and why the resurrection is the best explanation for the Christian faith that has exploded all over the world these past 2000 years.  And I will confront you with the reality that if the resurrection is true, then EVERYTHING must change.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28:1-6 

If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we are to be pitied above all men.  If tomorrow, someone finds Jesus’ body, then I am quitting my job and devoting my life to something else, something true.  But He HAS risen, and this is not just something I believe in mentally, but it is a revolutionary truth that has completely transformed my life and this world.  I encourage you to come to NewLife this Sunday, or to go to church wherever you live, and challenge you to invite those people whom God has put in your life that need to hear about the eternal hope and love found in the resurrected Christ.  Let everything else move to the periphery so that the risen Jesus might take center stage.

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