by Patrick Sawyer, Missional Living Pastor
In the movie The Crimson Tide(1), a civil war erupts in an ongoing conflict in Chechnya, and a military unit loyal to a Russian nationalist takes control of a nuclear missile. The USS Alabama is dispatched and is ordered to launch a nuclear strike if the Russian nationalists fuel their missiles. The USS Alabama received a message ordering them to launch a nuclear attack, and then they received a second message, but this message was incomplete due to damage to the ship's radio. This incomplete message causes a civil war on the ships where one group wants to proceed with the nuclear strike, and the other group wants to wait and get the radio fixed to receive the second message.
The entirety of the movie rests on this important second message. If they wait, they risk a nuclear attack from the Russian nationalists, but what if the second message tells them to stand down and they proceed with an attack? Now, America has just started a nuclear war. Think about the implications of that second message. Everything hangs in the balance of that message.
When you think about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything hangs in the balance of its truthfulness. Is the resurrection true? Did Jesus really walk out of the grave three days later? Or is it not true? Did the disciples make it up? What about the Great Commission? What implications does the resurrection have on the Great Commission?
We live in a culture that says there is no God, no absolute truths, and no moral obligation. We can live however we want, and no God nor the Bible can tell us differently.
Friedrich Nietzsche, in The Gay Science (2), stated, "God is dead, God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves?... is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods to be worthy of it?"
Nietzsche believed there was no need for God because men could determine how best to live and govern themselves morally.
The Bible teaches something very different. The Bible teaches we were created to know God and worship Him (Genesis 1-2), but sin has caused us to rebel against God and worship ourselves (Genesis 3). But God, in His love and mercy, sent His Son Jesus to come and die on the cross so that we can be saved and forgiven from our sins and be reconciled back to a relationship with Him so that we can live a life that is pleasing and honoring to Him and leads to a life of flourishing.
The world says we can lead ourselves to a flourishing life, but the Bible says the only way is through a relationship with Jesus. This argument between the culture and the Bible hangs in the balance of the resurrection. The truth of the resurrection is the key. Look at what Paul reveals in 1 Corinthians 15:12-58.
Paul reveals that if Jesus's resurrection is not true, the Great Commission becomes the Great Deception.
Verses 12-19 "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."
Paul believed that if the resurrection did not happen, then we are still in our sins, and Christians are to be pitied because we live by and preach a false message of hope.
The Bible teaches Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world (Matthew 1:21; Matthew 16:15-17; Matthew 21:9; Luke 4:18; John 1:35-36; John 4:25-26, 29-30; Micah 5:2; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 16:20; Luke 2:25-26; John 5:18; John 3:16; John 20:31; Acts 2:31-33; Acts 5:42; 9:22; 1 Timothy 1:15).
The Bible teaches Jesus is the only way we can be saved (John 14:6; Acts 2:38; 4:10-12; Romans 5; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 3:22; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 John 5:20; John 3:17; 5:39; 6:54; Galatians 2:20; John 6:22-71)
The Bible teaches that whoever confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior will be saved (Matthew 10:32; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:21; 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 1:9)
If the resurrection is not true, then Jesus is not the Messiah, and the Bible is not true, and we are still in our sins. If the resurrection is not true then we are proclaiming a false message that has no power to save. The Bible teaches all disciples of Jesus are to go and proclaim the truth that Jesus is the Savior of the world so the world can hear and believe in the gospel (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). But if the resurrection is not true, then we are not proclaiming a message of hope, but a message of deception that does not save and will only lead to destruction and condemnation.
But, if the resurrection is true, it changes everything.
Paul reveals that if Jesus's resurrection is true, the Great Commission will not be an option but a necessity.
Verses 20-58 "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits 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 firstfruits, 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[c] 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 excepted 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. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus, it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being," and the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall[f]also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
If Jesus did come and claim to be the Messiah, if He died and did not stay dead but rose from the grave and is on the throne today, then this changes everything.
If Jesus is alive and on the throne, we must believe every word of Scripture. We must believe that we are all born lost, dead in our sin, condemned, and separated from God. We must believe the only way we can be saved is through the gospel of Jesus Christ by putting our faith in Jesus and surrendering our lives to Him. We must believe those who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in hell, away from the presence of God.
If Jesus is alive and on the throne, then we have hope. When we look at the evil, wickedness, and craziness in the world, we can know that Jesus is in control, and all things will work according to His plan. One day, He is coming back, and He will destroy the wicked, gather His people, and we will be with Him in His kingdom forever. Tim Keller stated, "If Jesus died and three days later walked out of the grave, then everything will be okay."
If Jesus is alive and on the throne, we have a message and a mission. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave us the Great Commission, which states that "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me so go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you until the end of the ages." Why were the disciples willing to die to get the gospel to the world? Because they saw the risen Jesus and believed He was the true Messiah and the only way people can be saved is through the blood of Jesus Christ. So this caused them to have a passion and a desire to get this true message to a world that desperately needed to hear the gospel. Nothing would stand in their way. No amount of suffering and persecution was going to stand in their way.
If the resurrection is true and Jesus is alive and on the throne today, then we must go into the world and tell them about the gospel's good news so they can hear the gospel, believe it, and be saved (Romans 10:11-14).
Is Jesus the true Messiah? Is He the only way we can be saved? Throughout history, there have been numerous men who have come claiming to be Jesus or claiming to be the Savior of the world. These include Muhammad, David Koresh, Jim Jones, and Charles Manson. All these men came, claimed they were the true Messiah, and led many astray. All of these men died and are still dead, and when they died, everything they taught died with them. When Jesus came, he claimed He was the Messiah and came to save the world from their sins. So, what made Jesus' claims more truthful than any of these other men? The resurrection.
Everything hangs in the balance of the resurrection. If the resurrection is not true, then the culture is right, but if the resurrection is true, then the Bible is right. We can believe Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one can go to the Father except through Him because Jesus did rise from the dead. He is alive, and because He is alive, we can believe that He is the true Messiah and through His life, death, and resurrection, we can be saved and reconciled back to God. Just like these other men, if Jesus had come, preached He was the Messiah, the only way to God, and died, but never raised from the dead, then we can be like Paul and state, "If Christ never raised from the dead then we are still in our sin." The resurrection of Jesus is important because it validates His claim that He is the Messiah. In Matthew 16, Jesus told the Pharisees that His resurrection would be a symbol from heaven that He is who He claimed to be (Matthew 16:1-4).
On the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished." Jesus stated on the cross that He had finished what God had sent Him to do, which was to pay for the sins of the world. He died, and three days later, He rose from the dead, and through His resurrection, God affirmed to us that Jesus is the Messiah who has come to save the world. And because Jesus has been raised from the dead, we can have assurance that our sins have been paid for, that He will one day come again, and when He comes, we will be raised with Him and live with Him for eternity. And because Jesus did rise from the dead, we must go and tell others this wonderful message of salvation and hope.
(1) Crimson Tide movie
(2) Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science.