The resurrection

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

¹Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, ²by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ¹¹Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), public domain.

Reflection

Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he first gave them. It's short and clear: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day. Then Paul does what a careful writer does and lists witnesses. Peter saw him, then the twelve, then more than five hundred people at once, most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote. Finally Paul saw him himself.

This matters because Christianity is mainly an announcement about something that happened, and only secondarily a philosophy. If Jesus did rise, death is not the end, sin is forgiven, and his claims are true.

Paul had once hated the church and tried to destroy it. Meeting the risen Jesus changed him, and he says that by God's grace he is what he is. The resurrection changed history, and it can change a life.

Prayer

Risen Lord, help me weigh the evidence with an honest heart, and meet me for myself.

Something to think about

What would it mean for your life if Jesus really did rise from the dead?

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