The Reality of the Resurrection: Hope Springs Eternal

Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

In 2017, the British Broadcasting Corporation commissioned a survey on religious beliefs in the UK. Strikingly, the survey found that fully a quarter of those who identified as Christians did not believe in the resurrection.

This begs some important questions.  Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ an optional element of the Christian faith or is it central and indispensable?  Also, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ a reality—an undeniable truth—or is it a mere myth or, worse yet, a lie? 

Evidently, during the Apostle Paul’s lifetime, people in Corinth were denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul makes it crystal clear that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical reality.  Also, he points out that the resurrection is the core of Christianity—without which the entire edifice of Christianity collapses into a pile of rubble.  But why precisely is Paul so concerned about the core truth of the resurrection?  The answer can be summarized in one word:  hope.  The Christian’s hope is both tied to and grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, the world has plenty of despair to go around and not a lot of hope to spare.  Life is pretty tough for many people, much of the time – and then eventually all humans die.  This is the reality of the human experience in a nutshell.   But in the Christian gospel the world is offered true, enduring, and eternal hope.  It is the hope of forgiveness—of a restored relationship with God – of life beyond the grave in a far better world.  In the midst of Covid 19, the fear of death is stalking the globe.  But the resurrection of Jesus offers hope in the face of the darkest, grimmest reality facing humanity:  death itself.

Paul makes two important points about the resurrection and hope.  First, he explains that Christians are without hope in the absence of the resurrection.  He points out that “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (v. 14)  Furthermore, if Christ has not been raised, “we are then found to be false witnesses about God” (v. 15), “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (v. 17), and “those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost” (v. 18).  He concludes that “if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (v. 19)    Put simply, without Christ’s resurrection, we are following a lifeless leader – trusting in a failed Saviour – even worshipping a dead deity.  We should then simply “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (v. 32) But Paul swiftly turns to his second claim—namely, that “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (v. 20).  This deals with the problem of sin that began with Adam and that resulted in death.  As Paul puts it, “since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man” (v. 21)  The resurrection of Easter Sunday is the great vindication of the work of Jesus at the cross. Jesus died precisely to atone for our sins.  The resurrection is a glorious confirmation that Christ’s payment for our sins through His work at Calvary has been acceptable to the Lord.  The payment has been received – and the account cleared.

Clearly, the reality of Christ’s resurrection is cause for great hope!  The resurrection extends to all Christ-followers.  Paul explains, “as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (v. 22).  In this sense, Christ is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20).  This is the very anchor of the Christian faith that holds in all storms of life.  Priscilla Owens speaks of this glorious hope in these stanzas of her famous hymn:

Will your anchor hold in the floods of death,

when the waters cold chill your latest breath?

On the rising tide you can never fail,

while your anchor holds within the veil.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul

steadfast and sure while the billows roll;

fastened to the Rock which cannot move,

grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love!