"Christ Has Been Raised!" -- A New Episode of the Blessed Hope Is Posted! (1 Corinthians 15:20-34)
Episode Synopsis:
Imagine the shock you would feel upon hearing news that the body of Jesus had been found in a tomb somewhere near the city of Jerusalem and the remains were positively identified as those of the central figure of the New Testament. What would your reaction be? Would it even matter? Would you still call yourself a Christian? While no one is going to find the body of Jesus in a tomb near Jerusalem because Jesus was raised from the dead that first Easter, nevertheless, the question is an important one because it pushes us to face a more fundamental question. How do we know that Christianity is true? Why are you a Christian? And why does any of this really matter since faith is supposedly a subjective and merely personal thing often disconnected from a factual basis?
Paul’s response to Corinthian skepticism and confusion regarding our Lord’s resurrection is to declare that Jesus has been raised, bodily, from the dead. We know this to be the case because the evidence for it is overwhelming. The tomb in which Jesus had been buried was empty despite the fact that a huge stone sealed the tomb’s entrance, and that the Romans placed a guard at the tomb. We also know that Jesus was raised from the dead because the risen Lord appeared visibly to all the apostles, to over five hundred people at one time, and then finally to Paul, who considered himself completely unworthy of such an honor. Paul not only appeals to the fact that he himself saw the resurrected Jesus while traveling on the road to Damascus, Paul also appeals to the fact that most of the five hundred people who saw Jesus were still alive–the implication being that the Corinthians knew who many of these people were, and that the events associated with the gospel were not only true, they were common knowledge.
In verses 20-28 of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruits of a great harvest yet to come. Death may have come through Adam, but Jesus (the second Adam) has been raised from the dead. And not only has Jesus been raised from the dead, so will all those who trust in him–all those “in Christ.” On the first Easter Sunday, Jesus defeated death and the grave, he destroyed our last and greatest enemy as death itself was vanquished, the new creation dawned, and we enter the final period of human history, awaiting our Lord’s return when all things are put in subjection under his feet. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Show Notes:
I chose the title for this episode based on “Dad” Rod Rosenbladt’s headstone. He loved this passage.
Just a reminder, as the current Blessed Hope Podcast series on 1 Corinthians winds down, a head’s up. I’ll be taking a bit of a break to work on a book project, before picking back up with 2 Corinthians. Then, Lord willing, it is on to Romans!
I’m trying to make access to resources easier. Pauline Studies and Resources
This was a difficult episode to record. It was windy and stormy, so LAX moved flights lower and much further east (of the 605 fwy, if you know the LA basin)—right over my house for those flights coming in off the pacific. I think all jet noise was removed, but it took some doing.
Recommended Links (same as last time):
Warfield: The Resurrection of Christ: A Historical Fact
Richard Gaffin: Resurrection and Redemption
Michael Horton: Can We Still Believe in the Resurrection?
Ken Samples: A Dozen Evidences for the Resurrection
Ten Concise Pieces of Evidence for the Resurrection
Series Bibliography:
New! Pauline Studies and Resources
Kim Riddlebarger, First Corinthians --Lectio Continua (RHB, 2024).
F. F. Bruce, Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free. A bit dated but still remains the best biographical study of Paul
Douglas J. Moo, A Theology of Paul and His Letters (2021). A helpful big picture survey of Paul’s theology and epistles.
Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 Corinthians : An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (2018). A good and modern commentary on 1 Corinthians. If you buy one commentary, this ought to be it.
Charles Hodge, I & II Corinthians, reprint ed (Banner, or the volume on 1 Corinthians published by Crossway. This has long been the Reformed standard commentary on 1 Corinthians. Theologically solid, but badly dated.
Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (1987). Good material, especially on background and context, but charismatic in its orientation.
Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, (2010). A good academic commentary, although there are several solid ones from which to choose.
Music:
(Shutterstock): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92m, second movement, Allegretto (A minor)(