Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Corinthians 15:12-22

If Christ Has Not Been Raised

 

Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without foundation, and so is your faith.

In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified about God that He raised up Christ—whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

Therefore those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.

If we have placed our hope in Christ in this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.

For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.[1]

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et’s admit one great truth.

If there is no resurrection, there is no Christian Faith.

Either Jesus raised from the dead, or there is no validity to the Christian Faith.

Communists can journey to London and visit the tomb of Karl Marx, trek to Moscow to view the preserved corpse of Lenin and queue up in Beijing to see the decaying body of Mao.

Buddhists know where the tomb of Buddha is located, and Muslims know where Mohammed is buried.

Travel to Jerusalem, however, and the tomb of Jesus is yet empty.

There is no explanation for this empty tomb other than that provided by the testimony of those who witnessed those events two millennia past.

Three “E's” are key to proving the resurrection—early testimony, eyewitness testimony and the empty tomb.

The disciples believed Jesus raised from the dead.

Those who knew Him best testified that they saw Him after He had risen.

Mary Magdalene saw Him, and He spoke to her, calling her by name [*John 20:11-18*].

Earlier, Mary Magdalene, together with Mary the mother of James and other women, had witnessed that the tomb was empty.

They reported that angels had spoken to them, rebuking them for their lack of faith [*Luke 23:55-24:8*].

Peter and John also witnessed the empty tomb [*Luke 24:9-12*].

The apostles were together in one spot on multiple occasions when the Risen Son of God appeared to them [*John 20:19-31, 26-29; 21:1-14*].

Later, Paul claims to have met the Risen Saviour as he travelled to Damascus [*Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-21*].

Even scholars who say there is not a single eyewitness writer in the Gospels will grant that Paul's testimony is eyewitness in at least this sense—that Paul believed he saw the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Evangelicals believe there's a lot of eyewitness testimony in the New Testament.

Paul relates that the Living Christ had appeared to His own half-brother, James [*1 Corinthians 15:7*], an event which resulted in belief for James who became the pastor of the Jerusalem church.

The Apostle also relates that Jesus had appeared to over five hundred believers at one time [*1 Corinthians 15:6; Matthew 28:16, 17; Acts 1:6-10*], most who were still living and capable of disproving the claim if they were so inclined.

Even the Jews acknowledge that something astonishing happened.

Those religious leaders concocted a story to explain how seasoned Roman guards were overpowered while frightened Jewish Christians stole the body of the crucified Jesus [*Matthew 28:11-15*].

It is clear that some event of momentous magnitude occurred in Jerusalem, and that the tomb in which Jesus of Nazareth had been buried was left empty.

The majority of critical scholars also believe there was an empty tomb.

In our text, the Apostle Paul leaves us some very important hints on how you can put a historical case together for the resurrection.

And, if the resurrection is true, the gospel is true.

When you say, “I do,” to the Lord, you are saying, “I do,” to the Jesus of the gospel.

Here's what the resurrection says: There is an answer, even if I do not know what it is.

The resurrection says it's not over.

If Christ has not been Raised, Our Preaching is Without Foundation.

The consistent apostolic message was that Jesus is alive.

There was no question but that He had been crucified.

Hung as a common criminal, this man had died on a cross.

To ensure that He was dead, a Roman guard thrust a spear upward into His chest, piercing His heart.

If He was not dead, this action ensured that He was dead.

The eleven were energised by the knowledge that He did not stay dead, but that He had conquered death and was risen from the tomb.

They, together with the other one hundred nine disciples gathered in that upper room awaiting Pentecost were convinced of one truth—Jesus was alive.

He had appeared to them, eaten with them, talked to them and walked with them.

His cousin John would later write of Him in stunning words.

What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we have observed,

and have touched with our hands,

concerning the Word of life—

that life was revealed,

and we have seen it

and we testify and declare to you

the eternal life that was with the Father

and was revealed to us—

what we have seen and hear

we also declare to you.

[*1 John 1:1-3a*]

 

The first Christian sermon following the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb concluded with the stunning assertion that Jesus was alive.

He was not left in Hades,

and His flesh did not experience decay.

God has resurrected this Jesus.

We are all witnesses of this [*Acts** 2:31b, 32*].

From that point, the centre of the Good News concerning Jesus Christ is that He is risen from the dead.

Listen to the preaching of Peter, the great preacher of Pentecost.

You denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked to have a murderer given to you.

And you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this [*Acts 3:14, 15*].

Rulers of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed—let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy [*Acts **4:8b-10*].

We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him of a tree.

God exalted this man to His right hand as ruler and Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him [*Acts **5:29b-32*].

Paul’s message throughout the first missionary tour was the same as that of Peter.

Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have [Jesus] killed.

When they had fulfilled all that had been written bout Him, they took Him down from the tree and put Him in a tomb.

But God raised Him from the dead, and He appeared for many days to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are not His witnesses to the people.

And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our forefathers [*Acts 13:28-32*].

This is the message we yet proclaim.

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation…  *Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved* [*Romans 10:9, 10, 13*].

If Christ has not been Raised, we are False Witnesses about God—we are liars.

Peter, John, Paul—indeed, all the disciples misrepresented God.

More than that, they lived a lie and died a lie, even as they induced others to believe a lie.

Think about that!  Can you actually believe that anyone will knowingly suffer and die for a lie?

Yet, each of the Apostles was hounded and persecuted throughout the days of their lives, and all, except for John, died a horrifying death.

Permit me a moment to observe the cost to these Apostles.

According to church tradition, each of the apostles was persecuted because of the Faith.

All, save John, were murdered because of their faith.

All, save Judas the traitor, remained faithful to death.

Simon, to whom Jesus gave the surname Peter, was crucified with his head downward.

Tradition has it that he did not consider himself worthy of dying the same death as His Master, and he was granted his request to be crucified upside down.

James, son of Zebedee and his brother John (who were surnamed Boanerges) were likewise persecuted for the Faith.