If Jesus Were Still Dead…(1 Corinthians 15:12-19)                                                              2009.04.12    Pastor Edward Cheng

If Christmas shows how us much God loved us by sending his son into the world, then Good Friday and Easter show us that God accomplished his plan for the world, that his desire to save mankind was carried out.  On Good Friday Christians commemorate the death of Christ, and Christians believe Jesus came back from the dead the following Sunday: Easter.  We celebrate Easter because we believe in a Savior who has risen, who is alive.  Let’s think about this question: What if Jesus hadn’t risen?  What would that mean for us?

In today’s passage, 1 Cor. 15, Paul addresses the importance of the resurrection for Christians.  In vv. 12-17, the first thing we see is that if Jesus were still dead, sin would still be a problem.  We often say that Jesus Christ died for our sins, which is true, but it’s not the whole story.  When he died on the cross, God took all the sins of the world and put them on Jesus, so that Jesus paid our penalty.  God did this so that our sins are forgiven and that we can have a relationship with him.  But we can’t just stop with saying that Jesus died for our sins.  If he had not risen from the grave, his death would not have been enough.  How would we know that it was effective, that his death actually imparts to us forgiveness of sin?  By raising him from the dead, God said to all mankind, “My son’s death is effective for you—I accept his substitute sacrifice on your behalf.  There can be a restored relationship between you and me.” 

What other ramifications are there?  1 Cor. 15:18-19 tell us that if Jesus is still dead, “We are to be pitied more than all men.”  All of our going to church on Sunday, Oasis or junior high fellowship on Saturday, or Bible study, or prayer meeting, is a waste of our time.  My own life would be a waste, because I’d be teaching about a savior that doesn’t exist.  I could teach about other great leaders—Gandhi, Buddha, or all these great thinkers—and that would be just as good, because they’re all dead.  Or I could just teach what I think!  If Jesus Christ is still dead, we are the most pathetic people in the world, because as Christians we have given our lives to Jesus.  We’ve said to Jesus, “I want to live for you; I want you to give my life meaning and purpose.  I want to live for eternal values, not just for this life.”  If Jesus were still dead, we should live for the values of the world—we should go out and get as much as we can out of this life, live for our work or for our pleasure, and get ahead by whatever means possible, because the world has nothing else to offer.  There is no hope for the future, no eternity, no salvation. We would all be destined for hell, or annihilation, ceasing to exist at death. 

        The author of 1 Corinthians is thinking of all these things, and then he makes a bold statement (v. 20): “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.”  Everything changes in light of the fact that Jesus is alive.  It sounds like myth or science fiction, but this is the claim of Christianity: Jesus Christ died for our sins, AND he was raised from the dead.  Because he was raised, we are no longer in sin, and God has indeed forgiven us because we’ve placed our faith in Jesus.  Because our sins are taken away, we have hope for an eternal future.  Because Jesus was raised from the dead, so will we be, and everyone who believes in him. 

        Skip down to vv. 50-57.  Death is a reality that we all face in this life.  But we have a hope that death is not permanent, a hope of reuniting with those who have believed in Christ and died.  One day sin will be destroyed, and we will say, “O Death, where is your victory?”  We will be the ones who conquer death, because Jesus did it before us. 

        Because Jesus is alive, we are not wasting our time.  There can be no greater purpose than to give our lives to him, who took our sin and punishment on himself, who conquered death through his resurrection, giving us hope and a future, walking with us and giving us wisdom and meaning.  In v. 58 Paul concludes by telling us to give our lives to the Lord because it is not in vain.  If Jesus were still dead we would be fools.  But because he is not dead, we are the victors—he is the ultimate victor, and we are on his team.