He is risen indeed... and that actually matters!

Who could have ever possibly guessed that I would do a blog post about the Gospel on Easter Sunday? WHO, I ask, WHO?!

What can I say? I'm predictable.

Easter Sunday is one of 365 days in the year when it is important to remind ourselves and others of the significance of the work, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the eternal Lamb of God.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

-1 Corinthians 15:3-5

Paul was a major stud. Along with Luther, I'm definitely going to be buying a beer for this brother after I'm resurrected (You hear me, Martin and Paul? I'll keep the tab open; Brother Martin, you find Jesus; Paul, go grab a table at the back of the pub.). Paul was a stud because, no matter what happened to him, he kept it real. He was focused on one thing after his conversion: preaching the Gospel to whoever was put in his life. The brother preached, and preached, and preached, and he never watered down the message that Christ had given him on the road to Damascus!

Paul received from Jesus Himself, and preached to others, a message of first importance: a Man who had claimed to be God was put to death by the local government, was buried in a tomb, and was then raised back to life. Why was this message so important to Paul? What was it about this bizarre series of events that turned Paul from one of the greatest persecutors of the Body of Christ into one of its most vocal members? He gives his reason just a few verses later:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

-1 Corinthians 15:17-19

For some reason, the resurrection of Christ was a big deal to Paul. Such a big deal, in fact, that he actually believed that the entirety of his religion hinged on this singular event. But why? Why is it necessary for Jesus to literally have been raised from the dead? Wouldn't it be enough for Him to be raised "in our hearts"? Can't it be simply alright that Jesus was a good moral example and leader? Can't this be good enough for Christianity to be the one truth?

NO, IT CAN'T.

That's largest font size Blogger is capable of, by the way, so I don't know how to make this point any clearer: Christ had to be raised from the dead. If He wasn't resurrected then, as Paul said, we are of all people most to be pitied, because our faith is futile and we are still in our sins.

So what's the reason for this? Why did Paul believe that the physical resurrection of Christ was necessary for his faith? Read on:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

-1 Corinthians 15:20-23

Ahhh, I see... it has to do with sin and redemption! The first Adam brought all mankind under the rule of sin and death, but Christ, the second Adam, will one day bring those who belong to Him into eternal life! Christ had to die in order to become sin in our place, so that we might receive His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). And He had to be raised in order that He might raise us as well when He returns to complete His conquering of sin and death.

Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus is proof that His atoning sacrifice for the sins of those who belong to Him was actually accepted by God. If Jesus was not who He claimed to be, if Jesus was not God, if Jesus was not sinless, then His sacrifice would have been a pointless death. It would have been pointless because it wouldn't have actually paid for anything: not my sin, not yours, not anyone's. God demanded the sacrifice of a spotless lamb to atone for sin. Jesus was that Spotless Lamb, the final sacrifice for sin. His resurrection on that wonderful Easter morning was proof of this, because it meant that the sacrifice was a good one, that it pleased God, and that it fulfilled the demands of the Law... forever.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! And I thank the Lord that this actually matters.