For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (5) and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (6) After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. (7) After that He was seen by James. Then by all the apostles. (8) Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time…………(11) Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. Our verses today proclaim that Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead and that He appeared to a great number of witnesses over a 40 day period giving many proofs of His resurrection. If Christ is truly risen from the dead it is the most important fact in all of history yet most people take seriously things not important – things of this world which would perish – and take lightly something quite serious. Apart from the resurrection the apostles had no gospel to preach.

Paul presents evidence of the resurrection. Scripture prophesied the Messiah would be raised from the dead. Jesus Himself predicted on a number of occasions that He would be killed and raised up on the third day. There was eyewitness testimony of people who saw the risen Christ – these witnesses were many and still alive at that time – verifiable witnesses. They had nothing to gain but everything to lose. Paul and the apostles were transformed from frightened depressed men after the crucifixion to joyful courageous men after the resurrection. Not one of them faltered in their testimony even unto death. The apostles were sealed by God in their ministries with miracles of healing. And the body of Christ was never found. Paul is appealing to historical proof and historical testimony. If there was no resurrection the New Testament writers were lying and it must result in the collapse of the gospel.

The resurrection matters because without it the Christian faith is worthless. Without it the gospel is empty words and becomes just another ethical system. C.s.Lewis writes of the centrality of the Resurrection: “To preach Christianity meant (to the Apostles) primarily to preach the Resurrection…..The Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Acts. The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the gospel or good news which the Christians brought.”