He Is Alive!

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered 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 brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 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. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 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? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 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. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, 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.

A few years ago, some well-known historians got together and authored some articles on what they called “alternative history.” They put together some hypothetical situation that would have been different if history had been different.

Their question, and the answers they were looking for, was: How would the present time be different if the past had been different.

Here are some of the hypothetical questions they considered:

          What if the South had won the Civil War?

          What if Germany had developed the Atomic Bomb first?

          What if Americans had lost the Revolutionary War?

What if Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King had not been assassinated?

Of course, those questions were never answered. And had they answered, it would be merely speculation rather than truth or assurance.

On this Lord’s Day, as we are gathered to celebrate our Living Lord, Jesus Christ, a similar question may be asked. That question is this:

“What if Jesus has not been raised from the dead, and is still in the  tomb with the stone sealed against the opening?”

That question deals with some of the greatest doubt that plague both believers and unbelievers with doubts about God, about the Bible, and about the Christian life.

The only legitimate reason someone would not follow Jesus, trust Him, love Him, and worship Him is this ----- that person does not believe that He was raised from the dead.

Yet, there are millions of people who believe in, and engage in some form of worship of some other people who are, without a doubt, dead and buried.

When we consider Jesus and His life or death – Jesus is still dead or He is physically still alive.

If Jesus is not alive, and if everything He said was either an intentional lie, or a cruel mistake.

If Jesus is not alive it has a massive impact on whether you are a believer or not.

If Jesus is dead nothing else matters. But, if He is alive, it is the only thing that matters.

So, what is the problem if Jesus is still dead?

Paul lists five (5) things in 1 Corinthians 15 that would be true if Jesus is still dead.

1.   Our preaching would be pointless.(15:13-14)

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

2.   Both the Roman and the Greek culture of that day rejected the idea of a physical resurrection for Jesus or His followers.

They believe when a body dies, it is dead forever.

At that time there were people in the church who believed that as well – that there is no resurrection.

To put it to a practical illustration: If there is no resurrection, then one domino causes quite a few others to fall.

And Paul says: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless.”

In the church, our major message we can offer is the Gospel.

The Gospel is this – pure and simple – Jesus died; He was buried; and,

.He was raised from the dead.

If we stop at “buried,” there is no need for preaching, no need to prepare for eternity.

If Jesus is still dead, those of us who have believed that He is alive, have wasted a good chunk of our lives. Personally, I would have wasted 3 years of Bible College, 4 years in Graduate School studying, and several years preaching and teaching that He did die and He is alive.

And the same is true for each of you who have believed the truth --- that Jesus is alive. Our lives – lived believing that Jesus is alive today – have not been wasted. They have been enhanced, enriched, and made ready for eternity because we have believed the truth --- Jesus Is Alive!!!

Faith is no stronger than the foundation it is built upon. Where there is no foundation, we just have wishful thinking.

What gives meaning to the birth of Jesus is the life of Jesus.

If Jesus had not lived a sinless life, His virgin birth would be meaningless.

What gives meaning to the death of Jesus is the Resurrection.

If He has not been raised from the dead, then He could not be who He said He was. He couldn’t do what He said He would do.

Look at it this way --- If there is no Resurrection then “Good Friday” is bad Friday, and Christmas is just another made up holiday --- and our faith would be foolish.

But there is more:

If Jesus was not raised from death and if He is not alive- our testimony about who we are, would be a falsehood – a lie.

If Jesus is still dead that means that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the 11 disciples and the Apostle Paul were all liars – or at the very least – their writing is fiction.

If Jesus is dead, our faith would have no power. Our faith would produce no fruit. Paul says it like this: “...and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:14.

Paul goes on to tell us that if we profess that Christ has not been raised, our faith is worthless and we are still in our sins.

Faith has to have a foundation. If it doesn’t, it is no more than wishful thinking.

What gives meaning to the life of Jesus is the death of Jesus. Because if He had not given His sinless life as a sacrifice for our sins, we could not be forgiven.

If Jesus has not been raised from the dead the He really could not be who He said He was. He didn’t do what He said He would do. And so, His birth, His life, and His death are all meaningless.

And, it would be foolish and futile to put your faith in a man, who at the end of the day, was just like us.

Our testimony would be without power – without truth.

If Jesus is still dead that means that the 4 Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life were nothing more than writings of fiction.

If Jesus did not rise from death, then all of humanity is hopelessly lost in sin. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

It is messed up because of sin.

The remedy for sin is a savior, and the only solution to sin is forgiveness.

If there is no resurrection, there is no savior.

If there is no savior, there is no forgiveness.

If there is no forgiveness, we are still in our sin.

To sum up all those “ifs” – If Jesus is still physically dead – we are still spiritually dead.

Apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ there is no way that a sinful human being (that would be all of us) could ever have a relationship with a perfect God.

If Jesus Christ is still dead our loved ones who have already passed away are gone forever. If Jesus is dead, death still has its sting. The grave still has the victory. There is no hope and there is no promise of heaven.

Now, all this said, it sounds very much a downer – somewhat depressing.

But the truth and the upside is this: JESUS IS NOT DEAD – HE IS ALIVE!

Millions of people don’t believe that. They say it is impossible! Fairy tales.

Look again at 1 Corinthians 15:19: “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

If Paul had stopped right there it would have destroyed our hope.

But he goes on with the Good News that Jesus is alive – He has been raised from death!

But people want proof. They want evidence. So, here is some proof – some evidence:

Jesus died on a Roman cross – and He was buried in a tomb.

On Sunday morning the tomb was empty.

There were multiple witnesses to the fact that He had died.

There were witnesses who testified that they saw Him alive – Luke records these accounts in his Gospel – Chapter 24.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; ⁵ and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” ⁸ And they remembered His words, ⁹ and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

¹³ And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” ¹⁹ And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” ²⁵ And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸ And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” ³³ And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵ They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

³⁶ While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.” ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. ³⁸ And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹ While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; ⁴³ and He took it and ate it before them.

⁴⁴ Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple praising God.

And today, for us, the evidence is recorded for us to examine. The arrest, the trial, the crucifixion, the burial, and the resurrection.

What does that mean for us? It means that we have the hope of spending eternity with Him – alive – both Him and us!