Good morning.
It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the allied forces of the British, Dutch, and Germans, under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signals was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral.
Late in the day it flashed the signal: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D …”
Just at that moment a fog cloud made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war. Suddenly, the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read. The message had 4 words, not 2. The complete message was: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D T-H-E E-N-E-M-Y!”
It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory!
That reminds me of another story from scripture. Because that is exactly how it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb. Hope had died in the hearts of Jesus’ most loyal friends.
After the frightful crucifixion, the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding had crept in on the followers of Jesus. They had read only part of the message. “Jesus defeated…” That is all they knew. But then on the 3rd day the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding had lifted, and the world received the complete message. It was 3 words, not 2. The real message is: “Jesus defeated death!”
And just like the first story, after the message was received, defeat was turned into victory; death was turned into life!
Last week was Easter, and we took a look at an unusual Easter passage. In fact, we never really covered the real Easter story at all last week. So, in our time together today, I want us to take a look at this question, “What if Jesus didn’t rise again?”
Before we attempt to answer that question, let’s open our time together with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and turn with me to I Corinthians 15:12-19. It is in this passage that we read about the importance of the resurrection. Listen to these words. 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 tells us, “1”
So, let’s consider our question: What if Jesus didn’t rise again?
1. If He Didn’t Rise Again, Then Jesus Would Be A Liar.
You see, Christ predicted His resurrection on several occasions. At first, He used only vague terms. For example, in John 2:19 He claimed that He would, “… destroy this temple, and in three days raise it up again…”
But later on in His ministry, He spoke quite plainly. Matthew writes in chapter 16:21 that, “From that time on, Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Jesus Himself says in Matthew 12:40, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
And later in Matthew 20:18-19 He predicts, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life.”
In Mark 14:28, Mark records Jesus saying, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
Or what about John 10:17-18? In that passage, we find Jesus saying these words: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life, only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down ,and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
To the women who came to Christ’s tomb on Easter morning and wondered where His body was, an angel said, “…He is not here, He has risen, just as He said He would…”
So, if the resurrection did not happen, then we would have to say that Jesus was a liar. And if He lied about the coming of His resurrection, then how could we trust His other sayings? And if He lied about His resurrection, then how can we trust in all of His promises? So, if the resurrection did not happen, then Jesus is a liar.
2. If He Didn’t Rise Again, Then There Is No Gospel Message.
I Corinthians 15:14 tells us that, “…if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless…”
Just a little before that verse, Paul tells us what the gospel is in verses 3 and 4, “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…”
Now, the word “gospel” means “good news.” But, if the resurrection is taken from the gospel, we are left with some bad news, not good news.
Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist of the 19th century, assigned some ministerial students to conduct evangelistic tent meetings throughout the city of Chicago. The students were to preach nightly sermons as a means of winning souls for Christ and to practice their preaching. Dr. Moody personally showed up one night unannounced at one of the meeting places to hear one of his young ministers preach the gospel. The young man did quite well sharing about the death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world. At the close of the service, he announced that everyone should come back the next night when he would preach on the resurrection of Jesus.
After the people left, Moody said, “Young man, you will not be back tomorrow night! Many of these people will not be back tomorrow night. And consequently, they have only heard half the gospel!”
In Romans 4:25 it says that Christ, “…was delivered for our sins, and was raised for our justification.”
You see, half a gospel is no gospel at all. And if Jesus did not rise again, then we have no good news, we have no gospel message.
3. If He Didn’t Rise Again, Then Our Faith Is Groundless.
I Corinthians 15:14 goes on to say that, “…if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless… and so is your faith.”
And later, in verse 17 it tells us that, “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins.”
Faith in a dead Savior is both ridiculous and pathetic. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith has no foundation.
If you were being chased by a madman, and you had the choice of running either to a house full of people or to a cemetery for help, where would you run? I’m pretty sure that we would all run to the house full of people. Why? Because the house if filled with living people who can help, while the cemetery is filled with dead bodies which can do nothing.
So, if Jesus did not rise and is still dead, then He has no power to save us. Our faith is useless.
4. If He Didn’t Rise Again, Then We Are Spreading A Lie Ourselves.
Again, in I Corinthians 15:15 it says, “More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.”
You see, if Jesus did not rise again, then each week when I get up here, I am spreading a lie to each of you. If Jesus did not rise again, then each time you share your faith with someone, they you too are passing on a lie. So, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we are spreading a lie ourselves when we share our faith.
5. If He Didn’t Rise Again, Then We Have No Hope For The Future.
I Corinthians 15:18 says, “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.”
In other words, if Jesus did not rise again, then anyone what has died a Christian is in the same place as everyone else that has died. You see, Christ’s resurrection is a promise that those who die in Christ, will be raised to life. So, if Christ is not risen, then this promise that we have in scripture is worthless.
Paul wrote to some mourning Christians at Thessalonica who had just lost relatives and friends. In Thessalonians 4:13-14 it says, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.”
And then at the close of this message of consolation he writes in verse 18, “Therefore, encourage each another with these words”
So, if Christ is not risen, there is no comfort, and there is no hope for our future.
6. And Finally, If He Didn’t Rise Again, then We Suffer For Nothing.
I Corinthians 15:19 ends by saying, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
When Paul says that if Christ is not risen then we are “to be pitied more than all men,” he means that of all the people in the world, Christians are the ones who deserve the most pity if they have believed in something that really didn’t happen.
So, if Christ is not risen, why bother going to church? You would be better off somewhere else.
If Christ is not risen, why bother to put money into the offering plate? You’re only giving to a lost cause.
If Christ is not risen, why bother to serve Him? You’re only wasting your time.
and if Christ is not risen, why tell others about Him? You might as well save your breath.
Thomas Jefferson, a great man, nevertheless could not accept the miraculous elements in scripture.
He edited his own special version of the Bible in which all references to the supernatural were deleted. Jefferson, in editing the Gospels, confined himself solely to the moral teachings of Jesus. The closing words of Jefferson’s Bible are as follows, “There laid they Jesus and rolled a great stone at the mouth of the tomb and departed.”
That’s it. That is all that Jefferson believed. But, today, after we have already celebrated Easter, I thank God that that is not the way the story really ends!
Jesus did in fact come out of that grave. He is still alive. And in John 14:19 Jesus said, “Because I live, you shall live also.”
Every year thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the “stations of the cross” to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket, and to his surprise he came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as the cross, but there they stopped.
And you know what, far too many people have gotten to the cross and have known the despair and the heartbreak. And far too few people have moved beyond the cross to find the real message. And that is the message of the empty tomb.
As we begin to wrap things up this morning, here is how one commentary paraphrases our main passage from today. It says, “If Christ is not risen, then our faith is empty, our preaching useless, and He has failed to deal with sin at all. If He has not been raised from the tomb, we are still in our sins and all His promises are absolutely untrue. He is a fraud, an imposter, and His ashes are buried somewhere in Palestine today. There is no hope beyond the grave for anybody, and those who have died professing faith in Him are just left there forever.”
So, what if Jesus didn’t rise again? We don’t need to answer that question, because we know He did. And because Jesus rose again, there are some things that we can rely on.
Christ was telling the truth when He predicted He would rise from the dead. He is the Son of God. The gospel really is good news. It really is “the power of God for salvation to every one that believes.” Our faith is grounded in a living Savior who can save every person from sin, death, and hell. When we share the good news of Jesus Christ, we are spreading the truth, not a lie. We have the sure expectation of a bodily resurrection. Our bodies will not stay in the grave; we will rise again just as Christ did. And we are not to be pitied most of all. In fact, we have every reason to be the happiest people on earth.
In closing, I Corinthians 15:58 tells us, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you KNOW that your labor in the Lord IS NOT IN VAIN.” Let’s Pray!
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