The Resurrection of Jesus

By Amanda Olson

The Resurrection of Jesus continues to be the strongest proof of His deity.  Centuries after it transformed the lives of His timid band of disciples into the pillars of the New Testament church, it still calls out to us to wrestle with this immutable fact that the grave was found empty. Just as those who stood in the shadow of the stone that had been rolled away, we, too, look for the Risen Lord – and when we find Him to be proven powerful over the grave, it should transform our faith, emboldening us to victorious living. 

I saw it on a shirt in a Christian bookstore, and it hooked me – “Graves to Gardens”.  What a powerful image worth exploring! When God created the world, His first setting is a beautiful garden, a picture of heaven on earth. Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and with it death. So also through one man, Jesus, in a garden, sin and death are defeated in the resurrection.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is addressing the concerns and possible misunderstandings of the Corinthian Christians about the resurrection. Paul opens the argument with the credibility of the sources witnessing the resurrection. He is establishing again the truth on which their faith is founded. 

Paul moves on with excellent logic to argue using the antithesis, “If Christ is not raised.” In the first century, if Christ is not raised, for how many days do the women visit the tomb?  How long do the disciples meet to await the Messiah?  How long before the Jewish Council quits worrying and moves on with business as usual? Move forward 2000 years - If Christ is not raised, there is no Bible, church, forgiveness of sins.  The empty tomb changes not just the past, it changes our present, and most significantly our future.  

In 15:17, Paul expresses the extent of the resurrection’s effect in our lives; without the resurrection, your faith is futile, preaching is vain, and we are still in our sins. Each of these ideas has depressing consequences, and if we look honestly at the fruit we bear in our lives, I wonder if we have truly been transformed by the resurrection.  What does a faith with no power look like?  It looks like a person characterized by anxiety, fear, and worry.  If we are still in our sins, the result will be people who are motivated by guilt, concerned with retribution, filled with bitterness, always feeling unworthy. Living as those most to be pitied shows up as a victim mindset. If we suffer persecutions and hostility in this life, but we have no hope of the promise of resurrection, then we would be miserable, indeed - martyrs and victims of an unsubstantial hope.  Even the world would pity us as those who are living a set apart life with no possibility of reward.  “Playing by the rules” with no referee or judge just means you are doing everything the hard way - and getting beaten by those who cheat. Too many times I hear my own words and inner thoughts and realize I need to root out anxiety, guilt, and a victim mindset. According to Paul, the solution is focusing on the truth of the resurrection.

This concept is illustrated by Paul using the example of a seed in 1 Corinthians 15: 35-49: “that which is sown perishable is raised imperishable.” I’m not much of a gardener, but I know it is a work of faith.  I love looking at seed catalogs and imagining my crop of tomatoes, bushes full of fragrant flowers, and clusters of bountiful grapes. However, the catalogs show you a picture of the fruit, not the ugly, dried-out seeds they send you in the mail.  The beauty only comes after the work is done. Think of the times God took a barren, lifeless object and showed what He could do: creation, the ark and flood, Sarah’s womb, the slavery of Egypt, the wilderness wanderings, the widow of Zarapheth, the den of lions, the abandoned Temple, the heart of a sinner, the cross and the tomb. 

Galatians 6:6-10 explains how the law of sowing and reaping should impact Christian priorities. We are called to the difficult work of bearing the spiritual burdens of each other, teachers and students sharing in all things, doing good for others, especially within the household of faith.  1 Corinthians 15:32-34 also mentions this idea in the same text, not focusing on food and drink as though today is all we have. Paul interjects here a reminder of the deceptive nature of relationship with unbelievers: “bad company corrupts good morals”. If we are blessed to live in a region with many Christians and opportunities to serve one another, then we should be busy with it! Sharpen our minds with study, shine light into dark corners, and be with God’s people whenever possible. To cheapen this gift by calling it a “bubble” or rejecting fellowship with saints to spend time in worldly pursuits is a foolish rejection of the wisdom of scriptures. We reap what we have sown.  The fruit we hope to harvest in eternal life is so much more beautiful, more amazing, than what this world has to offer.  The seed is not our focus; it’s the fruit.  The seed will be buried; the flower will emerge. 

My husband comes from a strong heritage of New Testament Christians in North Alabama. There’s a large tract of land that was settled by the Jennings and Hall families in Limestone County.  They built a small church building, Jennings’ Chapel, and in the shadow of that building is a family cemetery where seven generations of Christians’ bodies are buried. Three years ago, we buried his grandmother, and I watched as the family cemetery tradition was carried out, a concept foreign to me as a city girl.  As the casket was lowered into the ground the children, followed by grandchildren, and then the great grandchildren, picked up shovels and covered the box with dirt.  I was shocked at the grittiness of this task and what it meant literally and symbolically. It was a very personal and cathartic burial for the family. Then I watched as the women carefully moved all the sprays of flowers that had been brought to the graveside and began to form a blanket of beautiful flower arrangements to cover the freshly turned earth. Nine months later, when we returned to bury my husband’s mother, the same tradition was carried out - symbolically turning our grief and loss into a reminder of God’s ability to transform our mourning into His victory. Only when the seed is buried can it eventually bloom. 

Finally, this idea is concluded in three strong statements at the end of our chapter division. In verses 53-58, Paul proclaims death has no sting for us.  If you have lost a saint in your life, you understand this. Of course, there is loss and grief, but we do not sorrow as those without hope.  There is still hurt but not despair. His instruction to be steadfast - immovable - stand firm in the truth is life giving. Give yourself fully to the work of the Lord. Go all in, with all you’ve got: your time, talents, and treasure - all of it is sown for eternity.  And claim your victory through Jesus! You can’t mess up the work that He finished on the cross. It is done.  You know how the story ends, so stay on the winning team. 

Let us celebrate the resurrection and let the fruit of our lives tell the story of our faith.  He turns our graves into gardens - women of the resurrection let our lives speak boldly: “Christ the Lord is risen indeed!”