Christ Is Risen! - Resurrection

The sermon opens with a true story of a nineteenth-century English philosopher who did not believe in God and wanted to establish a new religion. His philosopher friend challenged him to accomplish three things: live a completely holy life, be crucified to death, and rise from the dead on the third day. The resurrection is the most important belief for Christians, as the entire Christian faith is founded on two historical events: the death and resurrection of Christ that occurred 2,000 years ago. If Christ did not rise again, the Gospel would be useless, faith would be meaningless, and the witnesses would be liars about God.

The second section answers the first question: Did Jesus actually rise from the dead? The pastor presents three main pieces of evidence. First is the testimony of women, particularly Mary Magdalene, who was the first to report Christ's resurrection. Notably, in that time, women's testimony was not accepted in court. If the resurrection story were fabricated by the disciples, they would certainly not use women as witnesses. Scholar Richard Bauckham demonstrates that the repeated mention of women's names in Scripture is a sign of testimony from living witnesses, people who were still alive when the Gospels were written. Greek philosopher Celsus, a fierce opponent of Christianity in the second century, even acknowledged that the early church based the testimony of the resurrection on women, which actually proves the story's authenticity.

Second is the existence of many living witnesses when Scripture was written. Just about two months after Christ's resurrection, Peter preached the first sermon in Jerusalem and three thousand people believed. About twenty years later, Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and stated that Christ appeared to more than five hundred believers, most of whom were still alive. This proves that people could verify the truthfulness of the testimony with living witnesses when the New Testament writings were composed. Paul also testified before King Agrippa that the resurrection was a real historical event that did not happen in darkness but had many witnesses. Third is the miraculous transformation in the apostles' lives and the spread of the Gospel. Before Christ rose, the disciples were cowardly, fleeing when Jesus was arrested and denying Him when questioned. After Christ rose and appeared to them, they became brave and willing to die for faith in Christ. Except for John, all the apostles were killed for the Gospel. The reason was that Christ truly rose from the dead. Notably, Paul transformed from a persecutor of the church to a faithful witness of the resurrection until his death. In history, dozens of people claimed to be the Messiah, but their movements failed when they were killed. Only Christ and His disciples, His church, have continued to exist and flourish for 2,000 years, with 2.4 billion believers worldwide.

The final section applies the message of resurrection to practical life. Because Christ rose, death is no longer the most fearful enemy, for beyond death's door lies the light of eternal new life. Christ's resurrection proves that God can completely transform desperate circumstances. The disciples changed because of Christ's unconditional love and forgiveness. Through an angel, Christ told the women to go and tell the disciples and especially Peter—an act of forgiveness for one who had denied Him three times. Christ gave them the Holy Spirit to help them live a new life and sent them to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The pastor calls believers to come to the risen Christ to receive faith, hope, and meaning for life, as many believers have experienced the power of transformation in their lives after trusting in Christ.