Understanding Jesus' Resurrection and its Impact on Redemption

KNOWING GODS REDEMPTIVE STORY RESURRECTION AS PERFECTION OF REDEMPTION

THINK ABOUT THIS Why is the resurrection of Jesus life-altering?

There are six objections to the resurrection. Choose one or two to discuss, and then answer the following questions: Discuss

SIX OBJECTIONS: 1. Jesus fell into a coma and only appeared dead. 2. Was it the wrong tomb, or was there no tomb at all? 3. Jesus body was stolen. 4. The followers hallucinated the event. 5. Jesus resurrection was a fabricated myth. 6. The historical records are unreliable.

1. Did Jesus really die? From the gospel records of Jesus death and resurrection, how can we know that the objections above are untrue? Discuss

2. Did Jesus really rise from the dead? How does the witness of those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 validate the record of the gospels and the fact that Jesus really rose from the dead? Discuss

1. IF JESUS DEATH IS CERTAIN, SO IS HIS RESURRECTION.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

Your non-Christian friend comes to you with concerns about the resurrection of Jesus. Discuss what you would say to your friend and how you might answer their concerns regarding this passage. Discuss

2. IF CHRIST WAS RAISED, YOU WILL BE RAISED.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-14 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, There is no resurrection of the dead ? 13 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 proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.

IF, IN FACT, CHRIST HAS NOT BEEN RAISED: Preaching is in vain (v.14). Misrepresentation of God (v.15). False testifying of God (v.15). Christ has not been raised; the dead will not be raised (v.16). Your faith is futile (v.17). You are still in your sins (v.17). The dead have perished (v.18). We should be pitied (v.19).

GOSPEL FOCUS Why is the resurrection good news for us? Jesus resurrection offers us deliverance from the power of sin. We can say with Paul that the resurrection is good news because it declares that life, with all its ups and downs, is not all there is. With Jesus resurrection, we can confidently say we are not to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19). We have a blessed hope in this life and the next that transforms our earthly experience through the eyes of faith. We can remember that we also will rise again with Christ. We can have hope in the present that no matter what life brings, in success or failure, life or death, pleasure or suffering, the Christian is victorious because Christ was victorious.

3. IF CHRIST WAS RAISED, ALL THINGS ARE SUBJECT TO HIM.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:24-28 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death. 27 For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says everything is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. 28 When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

Have you ever wondered why the song titled Victory in Jesus does not have anything to say about His resurrection? The song speaks about our victory in Jesus, yet as a song about victory, it doesn t even mention the greatest victorious act in history - the resurrection! If we ve learned something in this Reflect

lesson, then it is time for someone to get up and write the next verse to Victory in Jesus. If we ve learned something from this lesson, maybe we recognize now that there is NO victory without Jesus coming back to life. Victory is ours, yes, because of His death, but more importantly, because the cross didn t have the final word! Reflect

There is more to Gods story after the gospel writers and 1 Corinthians 15, but as the writer of Hebrews has said about Jesus definitive work: Apply

HEBREWS 1: 1-4 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Jesus has provided purification for sins, and now he is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (v. 3). May our hearts be drawn to exclaim together: 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! (Romans 11:33). Apply