CONTROVERSY

The single most controversial event in human history other than perhaps the existence of God and thus Creation vs. Evolution is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This controversy dates back to ancient biblical times. The Apostle, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17-19, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.” But why was the Apostle, Paul even addressing this issue and why was it an issue at all? The Apostles had preached a resurrected Christ and the people had believed their preaching putting their faith in the resurrected Christ. It is this belief that no doubt fueled their hope despite the hardships of this life. However, some questioned the veracity or truthfulness of Christ’s resurrection.

In verses 1-8, Paul starts out giving his case for the proof of Christ’s resurrection by outlining the people who actually witnessed the resurrection. In other words, Christ’s resurrection was not a secret one. While he rose from the grave without any witnesses in the exact moment that He rose from the grave, as everyone was either asleep, hiding out, or in their own respective places, he showed himself to many witnesses after the fact including His disciples. In fact, Thomas even had the chance to place his fingers in the places where Christ was nailed. And it is this that Paul argues to his audience. Paul said, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.”

Some would say that Paul was not trying to prove the resurrection of Christ, because this fact is a given for Christians and is not something that Christians need to be convinced of. However it is clear from the scriptures that Paul was indeed defending the veracity and validity of the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-13, Paul said, “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” Paul’s words suggest that there was a controversy of sorts among the people of Corinth concerning the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

Some would say that Paul was not trying to prove the resurrection of Christ, because this fact is a given for Christians and is not something that Christians need to be convinced of. However it is clear from the scriptures that Paul was indeed defending the veracity and validity of the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-13, Paul said, “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” Paul’s words suggest that there was a controversy of sorts among the people of Corinth concerning the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

There are those today and many during that time of the resurrection who have or would argue that Christ was not resurrected, but rather that His disciples removed His body from the tomb. The ironic thing is that the Romans sealed the entrance of the tomb that Jesus was laid in with a heavy stone to intentionally ensure that the disciples would not be able to remove His body. In this, the Romans gave much credit (I’m sure more than they intended) to the capabilities and courage of the disciples. The reason the Romans did this is because they were trying to guard against Christians having something to place their hope in. They knew that if Christ had indeed risen or if hHis followers at least believed that He had, they would have a most difficult time controlling Christians because surely Christians would be emboldened by such an event. It’s a hard thing to control for stop a person with a firm belief in a cause. Even the enemy knows the power of hope that the resurrection has. Thus the Romans secured (so the thought) the entrance of tomb with the stone. Although no one was present at the time of Jesus’ resurrection, there is absolutely no denying that the presence of the resurrection Christ was witnessed by numerous people of that day including the disciples. Interestingly enough, Christ’s exit from this world is as much a controversy among mankind as was His birth. What do you belief? Make sure your belief is on the Truth side of history and anchored in the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

~Dr. DeShonda Bailey, Lead Pastor