Beloved brothers and sisters; if you don’t know anything else know the facts surrendering the death and resurrection of our Lord. In I Corinthians 15:1-21 Paul gives  us the magnitude of the importance of the resurrection.

 “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.” NKJV

         The resurrection of Christ is indeed the foundation of our faith. Without it there is no Christianity. The existence of God is clearly seen in nature according to Romans.[1] If you are a serious student of the cosmos, physics, mathematics, science in general and somebody who is able to make a simple observation of the beauty and complexity of nature, there is no way you can deny the existence of a Designer. Every human being knows that God is real; nevertheless, many chose to suppress the truth and are currently objects of God’s wrath.[2]

         It is the resurrection of Christ that seals the matter of God’s existence. Jesus was real! He impacted the world like non other. Our time was divided to before and after Him. He was the fulfillment of many prophecies; no other religion can claim that! He was never out argued; He walked in power performing many wonders, signs and miracles; no other religion can claim that! He stated that He was the Son of God; He announced his own death, He also announced His own resurrection and, guess what? His resurrection is a historical fact; only an idiot denies this amazing fact.

         His death was a public death, witnessed by believers and unbelievers. More than 500 hundred witnesses testified of his resurrection. The tomb used to bury my Lord was not cheap and was not a secret, but was the tomb of a rich and recognizable figure by the name of Joseph of Arimathea.[3] This is significant because that tomb’s location was not only known, but also heavily protected. Nevertheless, the greatest evidence we have of the resurrection is that the tomb is empty. No other religion can do claim that!

         Happy resurrection Sunday!

[1] “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” Romans 1:19-20 (NKJV)

[2] Romans 1:18

[3] Mark 15:43