The Resurrection of Jesus is a Believer's Greatest Hope

In the Christian writer C. S. Lewis's famous children's story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, sisters Susan and Lucy mourn the death of the great lion Aslan, who had sacrificed his life for the kingdom of Narnia. The narrator of the book describes the somber moment as the two weep over their lost leader. He says, "I hope no one who reads this book has been quite as miserable as Susan and Lucy were that night."

But if you have been, if you've been up all night and cried till you have no more tears left in you, you will know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. But at last, Lucy noticed two other things as well. One was that the sky on the east side of the hill was a little less dark than it had been an hour ago. The other was some movement going on in the grass beneath her feet. Well, we feel the solemn weight of Good Friday and we explored that two days ago.

We remember the day that Jesus died for his kingdom. So today, we look at the east side of the hill and we see the light that is bursting forth. We feel the grass of the earth shake beneath our feet as we hear the exaltation, the amazing truth that Jesus has come back from the dead. This morning I wanna tell you that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the believer's greatest hope. And that is because of what was coming back from the death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What that resurrection proves to us this morning. So in order for us to understand what that resurrection proves, I want us to look at one Corinthians, the letter of Paul to the church in Corinth in Greece, chapter 15, the great chapter on the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of humanity as well. And we're gonna read from verse 12 through to verse 28. 1 Corinthians 15:12. "Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that He raised Christ whom He did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own order, Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God, the father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under His feet.

But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that He is accepted who put all things in subjection under Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all." So far our reading. This morning, with the truth that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Christian's greatest hope, there are three things I wanna share to explain why that is the case. The first thing is that the resurrection proves that we are forgiven.

The theological concept talked about here is justification. The resurrection proves that we are forgiven. Paul is writing to a people like us in this church, this Corinthian church in Greece two thousand years ago. Some of these Christians doubt that someone can die, that someone can be physically dead, then come back to life. It's true.

Christians wrestled with that thought as well. But to these Christians, the apostle Paul writes, "Guys, it is really, really important to understand that it really, really happened. Because if it happened, it changes everything." And Paul constructs a very tight argument in the passage that we just read to say that the Christian message rests entirely on the reality of God being able to bring back people from the dead. Why?

Well, we read in verse 16. "For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." Paul makes the case in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus has verifiably come back from the dead. And this is not simply good news because we hate it when people die.

His resurrection assures us of the forgiveness of our sin. Paul says, "If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we are still in our sins." To flip it on its head, to put it positively, if Christ has been risen from the dead, then our sins are forgiven. We are not in our sins anymore. And one of the repeated truths of the New Testament tells us the tragic condition of humanity, that we are a people gripped by a deep, inescapable slavery to sin.

Now this thing called sin has two basic problems in it. And Richard Gaffin puts it this way. He says, "First, sin affects our standing before God. It renders us guilty, liable to His unbiased judgment and condemnation." That's the first problem: we are guilty.

Secondly, it affects our condition. It leaves us thoroughly corrupt and enslaved to satan and sin as a power that dominates our lives. The depth of sin's effect is such that if we are left to ourselves apart from God's intervention, we are dead in our trespasses and sins, as Ephesians 2:1 says. In other words, sin leaves the sinner both inexcusably guilty before God and helplessly enslaved to satan. The Bible describes that the problem of sin is held up to our faces.

Sin is continually put up to us by the reality of death. Firstly, the thing we all see: a physical death when human bodies die, but then the thing we don't see, that once that body dies, a spiritual death also happens where people die eternally, continuously in hell. The reality of sin is proven in death. And when you read the apostle Paul's writings in the New Testament, you see how much he hates death.

He hates it, like as if it's a real person. He hates it because he explains in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. The penalty for sin is dying. Biblical scholar Gerhardus Vos says of Paul that death is understood by Paul to point us toward the personified sentence of God against sin. In other words, the reality of death is proof of the criminality of sin.

Death proves that sin is real. Yet the good news of Easter is that Jesus has died on the cross for sin. He was dead and he was placed in a tomb. Three days later, he rose physically from death. And it is because he has come back from death that we have proof that sin has been forgiven.

Vos writes, "When Christ rose on Easter morning, He left behind Him in the depths of the grave every one of our sins. There they remain, buried from the sight of God so completely that even in the day of judgment, they will not be able to rise up against us anymore." The resurrection proves that our sins have been forgiven. And so the problem is that if you cannot believe in the resurrection, Paul says, your problem will be that you are still in your sins. So first of all, this morning, I wanna ask you, do you believe in the resurrection?

Only the resurrection can be the guarantee for you that your sins will be forgiven. Second reason why the resurrection of Jesus is a believer's greatest hope is that the resurrection assures us of becoming better people. The theological term there is sanctification. And Paul writes in verse 20, "But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man, Adam, came death, by a man, Christ, has also come the resurrection from the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." Not simply does the resurrection of Jesus vindicate Him as the sinless representative of mankind who took sin upon Himself on behalf of us all. Not only does it vindicate Him as guiltless, but because He lives, His new life says that new life is possible for those who enter into union with that death through faith and trust in Him. Again, Vos says, "To preach a risen Christ means to preach a gospel which claims to come with the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. It means to assume that this world is dead in trespasses and sins, that no word of persuasion, no force of example, no release from the body, in fact, nothing short of a new creation can give it life."

The reality of a resurrected Saviour guarantees us that new creation is coming. A few months ago, I shared this story where Desiree and I went for a holiday and we stayed with Desiree's brother and with her little nephew Noah, who is three years old. And when his dad wanted Noah to finish his dinner, he promised him ice cream with sprinkles. As Noah would say, "Sprinkles." And because Noah trusted his dad and believes his dad won't go back on his word, Noah would wait patiently, finishing eating his food instead of running off to play with his toys.

But not only does Noah wait patiently, but in his waiting, his eyes are twinkling because he is already experiencing the joy of ice cream with sprinkles. Paul calls Jesus the first fruits. Metaphorically, Jesus is like the first apple or mango in the season. And those who put their trust in him become like the fruit that follow after the first fruit of the season. Because He is our first fruit, we follow in His footsteps and we become the fruit that He has become.

There is something about Him that we become. Paul explains this powerfully in Romans 8:11, where he says, "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who is God who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you now." The fact that Jesus lives is the foretaste of what we will become. That future has two truths attached to it. Firstly, that our deaths do not have the final say.

But secondly, that sin doesn't hold power over me anymore. The promise of that thing that has already been given to us now is sealed within us, is guaranteed within us by the Holy Spirit that is with us right now, and who promises to work the good and the holy life that is Jesus, the good and holy life that was in Jesus when He was on earth, the same Spirit that enabled Him to do that lives in me. That is great news. That is great hope. In other words, the resurrection of Jesus assures us that we are becoming better people.

People who have not only had their past sins forgiven, but also those who will one day be free from sin forever. That future freedom is already causing sin to lose its power over us before our own death and our own resurrection. It doesn't hold on to us anymore. It doesn't have power over us anymore. It has lost the battle.

When Noah's daddy promises him ice cream with sprinkles, Noah is already enjoying the reality of that ice cream with sprinkles right now, even though he's taken the last few bites of broccoli or mushy peas. Why? Because ice cream with sprinkles is just around the corner. It's true.

It is coming. So also our freedom from sin is already joyfully experienced now, because our eternal freedom from it is just around the corner. And then thirdly and finally, the resurrection secures heaven for us. In verse 23 in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul continues his train of thought and he states that because Jesus has been raised to eternal life, so also will all who believe in him be raised to eternal life. He says, "But each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ, and then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." When Jesus came back from the dead, we got a glimpse of afterlife. We get to see what lies ahead for all those who receive His benefits from His victory. The gospel hope is therefore as concrete as a physical, real, body and bone experience.

And we know this is true because Jesus showed Himself to His followers in that way and we read it this morning. Noah read it for us. Luke 24, Jesus says to His disciples, "See My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

Why does Jesus have to say that? Because the likes of Peter and John don't believe it. The resurrection turned these scared, timid disciples, however, into fearless apostles, who were willing to travel the world over to preach and proclaim this resurrection. Why? Because in Jesus' physical body, they saw their future.

They remembered what Jesus had told them before His death, the night before in John 14:19. Before long, Jesus said, "The world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will also live. Because I live, you will also live." So the apostles gladly endured the resistance to this message their entire lives when they started preaching. They, being rejected for that message, it was nothing to them.

Even dying for that message was fine because they knew that Jesus once stood before them in the flesh. And that changed everything. The scars in His hands, in His feet, in His side, they were real marks in real flesh. There was a heart beating in His chest. They could hear His real voice speak.

Jesus is alive. So when Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that those who belong to Christ will be resurrected, He tells us that those who believe in Jesus will follow in His footsteps. And just as He received a body that cannot die again, an eternal body that is heavenly, a body that is indestructible, a body that is glorified, so we will receive that body, that life. And the promise of the Bible is that these bodies will never experience the curse of sin again.

We will never fail again. We will never fall short of God's law again. We will never hurt ourselves or others again. Morally and physically, we will be perfect. That is why Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, "I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, will bring it to perfection in the day of Jesus Christ."

The day of Jesus Christ is the same day that is being described here in our passage this morning. The end will come and Jesus will deliver up to His Father a kingdom, a kingdom that has been reconquered entirely, having destroyed every enemy, every little bit of resistance, whether that is human beings who resist His rule or even the great powers of sin and death. Every single enemy is defeated and His eternal reign begins. That day will be the day of Jesus Christ, and on that day, the good work that He has begun in us now, He will complete when we are given our resurrection bodies, when we are given our perfected character, when we are given our indestructible future.

The fact that Jesus lives means we will also live eternally in glory with Him in His kingdom. For eternity, we will live in that kingdom when none of the greatest enemies of our existence now, sin, satan or death, have any power whatsoever. All we will ever know is how glorious God is and how powerful our Saviour Jesus was in saving us. In an old cemetery in Philadelphia in the US, a passerby can see through the iron railing into the cemetery and there they see the grave of one of America's greatest leaders, Benjamin Franklin. The gravestone is humble and doesn't appear to have any significant words on it.

But Franklin once wrote on his own epitaph before he died that was never placed on his grave. This is what he wrote: "Like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here, food for worms. But the work shall not be lost, for it will, as he believes, appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the author." Our lives will be corrected and revised by the great Author.

In the resurrection of Jesus, we see that heaven has been secured for us. In His glorified, perfected body, we see our glorified, perfected bodies. So let me ask you this morning as we finish. Do you hope for this? Does anything of this truth ring as truth for you?

And do you yearn for it? Let today be the day that you believe and receive the reality of this truth, that in the resurrection of Jesus, there is the forgiveness of sins, there is the hope that you will become better than you are, and that in Him, you will live a life that is lived perfectly in the kingdom of Christ.

For most Aussies, the thing we come to trust in, the thing we place our trust in, most of those things don't hold a candle to the promise found in Jesus' resurrection. And so this morning we are told again, don't place your trust in the things that cannot save you. The last time I checked, ten out of ten people die. The death rate of death is a hundred percent. There's no escaping it.

And so why do we get distracted by money, or by health, or by relationships, and somehow forget about this ultimate reality? How much money do you need to pay to avoid death? There is no power like the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is why His resurrection is the Christian believer's greatest hope. I hope that is true for you.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you that on this Easter Sunday, we can pause and think again of the incredible snapshot of reality, the breaking through of eternity into the temporal, of glory into the mundane, that pronounces to us and the whole watching and listening world that Jesus Christ is alive. And because He lives, so I will also live. Father, forgive us our sins, even as you have already forgiven it. Father, help us to trust that you are busy working in us.

That there's nothing we can do about it, but you will make us better. Lord Jesus, help us to look forward to that day where God will be all in all, where the kingdom of Jesus Christ is fully and finally established, where the last enemy, death, has been conquered. Today, we rejoice. Our hearts are so glad. Thank you for this great truth, and we walk in the power of that this morning. Amen.