Trinity 11 – 23 August 2009

Isaiah 26:12-19, Psalm 124, I Corinthians 15, Luke 18:9

            I have an odd confession, I have grown up in the Church and always believed in Jesus, but it was not until Seminary that I really realized the implications of this believe.  One day during Seminary I realized that if there was a person named Jesus - the biological son of Mary, the adopted son of Joseph who was a descendent of King David, who walked the shore of the Sea of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem, who taught the multitudes and especially his twelve chosen disciples, who healed numerous people, who was put on trial by the Sanhedrin, executed by Pontus Pilate, buried and rose again three days later and then ascended into heaven and will sone day come to judge the quick and the dead – then everything in my life must change.  If Jesus was a real person then I could not live how I wanted to live, I could not spend my money how I wanted to spend my money, I had to treat Emily, my wife, with love, respect and kindness and if that were not enough I had to love other people.  It dawned on me, in a moment, that I could either begin to deny the existence of Jesus and the reality of the great events in his life, like the incarnation, resurrection and ascension and live the way I wanted or I could believe in the person of Jesus and change how I thought and lived.  Many Christians throughout the modern era of struggled with this same issue and some of these Christians have concluded that Jesus did not really do all those things recorded in the Gospels; he really did not bodily rise from the dead, the resurrection is more of a spiritual experiance.  In fact, if we were to take a survey of Americans, we would probably find that a majority of Americans believe this very thing.    Therefore, in light of the predominate cultural assumption that Christianity is an inward, subjective personal taste not based on any actual historical events, I suggest that we ask ourselves three questions.  “How important is the resurrection to Christianity”  “Is the good news about Jesus something subjective, something that concerns only my happiness and me?” Finally, “If Christianity is objectively true what are its witnesses?”

            Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you…For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the  scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present…last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time…but his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly…

From this passage in our Epistle Lesson, we can formulate three brief answers to our questions.   Let us begin with our first question, “How important is the resurrection to Christianity?”  To put it bluntly, the resurrection is absolutely necessary to Christianity.  St. Paul said that the Gospel delivered unto him is that Jesus has died for our sins, that he was buried and that he rose again.  Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity as St. Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.” Thus the resurrection cannot be skirted around or spiritualized away, but it must be dealt with.

Is the resurrection, the good news about Jesus Christ, objectively true? If we could put the resurrection of Jesus on trial who could we call to the witness stand? St. Paul said, “Yes” and listed two types of witnesses: First, the Scriptures and second, eyewitnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus.  Scripture is not just a historical document it is a witness to the Gospel.  When St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of the Gospel, that Christ died for our sins and that he was buried and rose again the third day, he adds that this proclamation is according to the Scriptures.  The Scriptures are an external witness of the Gospel; they are like the litmus test any proclamation of the Gospel must pass.   Second, St. Paul mentions numerous eyewitnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus: Peter, the other disciples, more than five hundred other people, James and lastly to Paul himself.  The Old Testament Scriptures[1] state that something is only true if at least two eyewitnesses affirm it.  The Gospel proclamation that Jesus Christ has died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected more than satisfied this standard of truth.  Furthermore, the abundance of eyewitnesses meant that the appearances of Jesus could not be just hallucinations or fabrications.  That means the resurrection of Jesus was a real event that occurred to a real person making it just as historical and objective as the birth of my daughter Shirley.  Thus, we may reasonably conclude that the resurrection and the Gospel are objectively true.  

            Finally, since the resurrection is objectively true, what are its proofs or it witnesses today since all those witnesses mentioned by St. Paul have long been dead? There are still two types of witnesses to the objectivity of Jesus’ resurrection.  First, there is still the witness of Scripture.  Second, our lives are to be a living, visible witness of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  We have been entrusted, just like St. Paul, with the truth of the Gospel and this truth cannot remain a mere cold, hard fact, it must warm and soften our lives.  Much like it did to St. Paul who said the objective truth about Jesus motivated him to labor in Jesus’ name.  The truth about Jesus, that he died for our sins, that he was buried and that he was resurrected, will set us free to be living witnesses of the risen Christ, as St. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  

Being a Christian is not easy, it requires a belief in an actual person named Jesus, who really did die for our sins, who really was buried in Joseph’s of Arimathea’s tomb, who really was resurrected on the third day and really did ascend into heaven.  If we believe that our lives must be different, we must be visible witnesses of Jesus Christ. If is a difficult life, in fact, we can not do it on our own, which is why we must daily pray the prayer of the Publican (in our Gospel lesson), “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.” Therefore, let us pray that God would grant unto us such a measure of his grace that we would run toward his promises and would be made partakers of his heavenly treasures and become visible witnesses of His Son’s resurrection.


[1] For example, Deutoronomy 19:15 One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.