If Jesus Was Not Raised from the Dead
by Terry Wane Benton
Text: I Corinthians 15
Paul argues that there are logical consequences that follow if Jesus was not really raised from the dead:
- We are still in our sins. Animal sacrifices should have continued until we got the One who was coming to take away our sins. We are not dealing with sin by means of animal sacrifices. Therefore, Jesus proved He was the sin offering by means of His power over death. He deals very adequately with our sins because He really was raised to show His power over physical and spiritual death.
- There is no basis for hope beyond this life. If we hope in fairytales, we are pitiful people. But His resurrection was indisputable, confirmed by the Jews' prophetic words, eyewitnesses, an empty tomb, and a missing body that enemies were trying to keep in place so they could easily disprove any resurrection story. They failed! Hope in someone who has power even over death is now assurance. We are not the pitiable people. The pitiable are those with no hope and no basis of hope.
- The apostles were all false witnesses suffering for a cause they knew to be false. But, why would they have more courage after Jesus' death than they had before Jesus' death? Why did they run before? And what accounts for their courage to suffer when they know that Jesus was still dead, and they didn't really see Him alive? What accounts for all of them now willing to tell this story under penalty of death for false witnessing under the Law? Why did they willingly "stand in jeopardy every hour" to tell a story they knew was a fabricated lie? This makes no sense!
The fact is that Jesus was indeed able to promise His death and resurrection and to prove His words true. No other man talked like this man, and no other man taught greater truth and promised so much and gave the evidence needed to change the world and cause men to change the calendar to reflect a count-down to this Man and a count of days since that Man. Jesus is the real deal, and we really need Him so much!
