The Responses to Something that Happened in History...

This week, we are looking at what makes Easter Sunday so special and significant. We discovered that what makes Easter Sunday special and significant is not doctrine or theology but something that happened in history. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity. You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history.

Now at about this point, a natural question that arises is “well Dave how do we know that the resurrection is a historical reality and not just mythology or fiction? And how can we trust the truthfulness of what is contained in this letter?” As Paul continues his letter to this early church, we see the answers to these questions revealed for us by the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection. So let’s look at the response of each of these witnesses, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:5:

and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Now it is important to understand that when Paul uses the word appeared, he is not referring to seeing Jesus is a dream or vision; this word refers to an actual visual encounter with the Risen from the dead Jesus Christ. Paul then provides a list of people who had an encounter with Jesus after he was raised from the dead. First, in verse 5, Paul lists Peter, who had denied Jesus three times while he stood outside his trial. Paul then lists the remaining eleven disciples. And while one could easily argue or question the truthfulness of the testimony of his closest followers, as Paul continues his list, he expands the scope of who had a visual encounter with the risen Lord, which we see in verse 6:

After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

Here we see Paul transition to explain that Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people at one time, most of who were still living. Paul is saying to the church “if you do not want to believe me or the disciples, then go ask these five hundred people. Do you think five hundred people would have the same dream or vision at the same time?” Paul’s point here is that there were people who were still alive that could testify as to the truth of the reality of the resurrection.

You see, this letter to this early church was not written hundreds of years after the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead. This letter was written within 25 years of the events that took place that first Easter Sunday outside of the city of Jerusalem. And while some had fallen asleep, in other words died, the vast majority of those who had this encounter with Jesus were still alive and could be questioned by any skeptic who did not necessarily buy the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. And as Paul continues his list of people who had this encounter in history with the resurrected Jesus, we find a most convincing name mentioned next in verse 7:

then He appeared to James,

Paul then explains that James, the step brother of Jesus, the same James who had mocked Jesus claims during His life on earth, he saw the resurrected Lord, so go ask him. The same James who became the Senior Pastor at the church that was located in Jerusalem. Now here is a question that would help provide us some perspective on how significant James is to this claim that Jesus rose from the dead: What would your sibling have to do in order to convince you that He was God? What would a step brother have to do in order to bring you to the place that you would believe that He was God? What would cause someone to worship His brother and serve as a leader in His new movement called Christianity? But not only did Jesus appear to James, Jesus also appeared to another group of people:

then to all the apostles;

Paul then explains that Jesus also appeared to all of the Apostles, which we read about in another letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Acts, in Acts 1:1-11. It is important to understand that these appearances did not occur decades or years after Jesus crucifixion, they occurred within 40 days of His crucifixion. In addition, these appearances occurred in Jerusalem, within sight of the very place where Jesus was killed and buried. Paul then concludes his history lesson with an autobiography, which we see in 1 Corinthians 15:8-11:

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.

Here we see Paul refer to his own encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, which we read about in Acts 9. Apparently, the members of the church at Corinth viewed Paul as a freak and insignificant as compared with the other Apostles. Paul responds to this criticism by explaining the while he should have the lowest status among the Apostles as a result of his persecution of the early church, the exceptional effect of God’s gracious activity in his life resulted in Paul leveraging all that he had to serve the Lord and proclaim the gospel.

I mean what else do you think would cause someone like Paul who persecuted the church to become the greatest missionary of the early church? What else would cause someone who was zealously opposed to the movement known as Christianity to become the very person who wrote the majority of what we now have as the New Testament in our Bibles? Paul’s point here is that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical reality that was witnessed by hundreds of people over forty days time. I mean, all that was needed to stop the fledgling movement that was Christianity was to produce Jesus dead and rotting corpse for all to see. They did not have to travel far. And they did not need to search for where Jesus was buried, as Jesus tomb was just outside the city of Jerusalem and had been previously guarded by Roman soldiers.

And for 2,000 years people have been trying to find Jesus corpse, with absolutely no success, because the reality is that Jesus has been raised from the dead by God’s supernatural activity. And it was the reality of God’s activity through an event that occurred in history in real time and in a real place that you can go visit today that resulted in the transformation of lives and the spread of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout history.

And just as it was some 2,000 years ago, when it comes to restarting you life when it comes to a relationship with God, we are able to receive the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God not simply because of what we believe about doctrine or theology. The timeless reality is that to restart a relationship with God requires responding to something that happened in history. To restart a relationship with God that you were created for requires responding to what happened that first Easter Sunday.

What is so fascinating, however, is how early followers of Jesus responded to Jesus death and resurrection. We will look at the impact that Jesus resurrection had on His early followers tomorrow.