1 CORINTHIANS 15
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. – 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
1 CORINTHIANS 15 PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
After the third day when Jesus died, he resurrected from the dead
Though no one actually witnessed with their own eyes
Many saw Jesus with his resurrected body after he came back
But still, many doubted that he was truly restored to life.
Paul confronts those believers who started doubting the truth of the resurrection of Christ. In Luke 24, he narrated the events of the morning of the resurrection of Jesus when Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James came with all their spices prepared, the tomb was empty of Jesus’ dead body. Mary Magdalene wept as she was perplexed with fear not seeing her Lord. In this scene, she went and reported to the rest of the disciples what happened. In this same chapter, Luke enumerates the incidents when Jesus appeared to his disciples.
There were also several times when Jesus healed and raised Lazarus himself from the dead. Paul was rebuking their doubts because there have been so many proofs to see that the resurrection of the dead is true. He connects the importance of Christ resurrecting to the life of the believers. Without Jesus’ resurrection, their faith is futile and useless. It is in the resurrection that gives proof that he was the Son of God given to humanity to save us from our sins. It was the evidence that God loved us so much to give his Son.
REFLECTION
- Why do you think some people have difficulty believing in the resurrection?
