The Resurrection

I read a sermon by G. Campbell Morgan today on 1 Cor 15-the resurrection of Christ. He made some great statements:

- "When He was crucified all the little company of people that had been gathered about Him left Him. I am not criticizing them; the more I know of my own heart, the less I can do that."
I'm sure I'm not alone in seeing so much fault in the disciples, seeing them as foolish at times. But as I explore my sinfulness, the darkness residing in my heart, the criticisms of them seem hypocritical ... I probably would have done worse.

- "The reverberation of the hammer that drives the nails is the thunder that scatters His followers."


- "He was the Son of God or the most disastrous deceiver that ever trod the earth."
That famous question - was He Lord, Liar, or Lunatic - is addressed here. He couldn't have been a moral man, for he was a deceiver, the worst deceiver ever. The centrality of the resurrection is sure.

- "When you tell me the story of the resurrection was a fraud, it was a fraud which made men pure and strong, and this is to reveal the absurdity of the charge."
Here he uses the argument of the transformation of the disciples. How can someone argue that they made up the resurrection and that this fake story made them into courageous men ready to die for Christ? That truly is absurd!

- "One has heard in these recent days that what happened on the road to Damascus was that Paul had an epileptic seizure in a thunderstorm. Supposing that were true, then I should set to praying for epilepsy and thunderstorms at once."

The resurrection is truly a central tenet to Christianity. Without the truth of the resurrection, our faith and our preaching are in vain. But, praise the Lord, they are not! For Christ has truly risen from the grave, victorious over death, victorious over sin, and proclaiming himself to truly be the Son of God.