...live with certainty...

“1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, that is Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed” 1 Corinthian 15:1-11.

I have always loved this passage because it is so direct, so sweet. Here Paul is reporting on the death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. I love its simplicity and certainty in spelling out the truth behind the death and resurrection of Jesus. Listen again: “3 Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, that is Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

Consider what Paul is telling us: Jesus died for our sins! How clear can we be regarding the intention of Jesus’ death? And as if he knows you and I might sometimes be incredulous about this fact, Paul assures us that the death of Christ was clearly spelled out in the scriptures, in the words and actions of Jesus. And then again, reminding us of the fact that this was all sitting clearly in the scriptures, Paul says, “4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Notice the verb tense of His resurrection: Jesus WAS RAISED from the dead. He was so completely dead and buried that He did not raise Himself from the dead, but His Father in heaven raised Him from the dead, a statement reflecting the absolute unity and oneness of the Triune God. And then consider once again the appearances of Jesus — first to Peter, the Rock of Jesus on whom He will build the church! “8 And I (Jesus) tell you that you are Peter (Cephas), and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” Matthew 16:18. Then notice Jesus appeared to the The Twelve. Paul refers to the group of the twelve apostles as "The Twelve," even though Judas had died and Matthias had not yet been chosen to replace him. Matthias was chosen after the ascension. So, Paul uses "The Twelve" as a proper title for the group of disciples in other instances when only eleven were present. Then Jesus appears to a large crowd of 500, and then to James and the apostles. And finally Paul notes that Jesus appeared to Paul who was “abnormally born.”

Paul being “one abnormally born” is Paul’s reference to being “born at the wrong time.” Paul uses this phrase to emphasize his late conversion to Christianity, which happened after Jesus' ascension, making him different from the other apostles who knew Jesus during His earthly ministry. This phrase also conveys his feeling of unworthiness due to his past as a persecutor of Christians. 

This is such a sweet confession of Paul and a clear word of respect for “The Twelve” who never persecuted Jesus except for Judas Iscariot!

This passage matter-of-factly lays out the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of Jesus. The absolute casual certainty of the words of Paul makes the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection words that will hopefully take easy root in our hearts. None of us has to prove the existence of God to others. Like Paul, we know the truth of Jesus Christ. Now is the time to worship Christ and follow Him in our lives.

Today give thanks to God for being who He says He is. In your heart and mind, bow down to Him and pray for a faithful day of living in the presence of the Risen Christ!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Today’s Prayer

Oh Lord, I thank You from the bottom of my heart

for your life, death, and resurrection.

I thank You for dying for the forgiveness of my sins.

May I live this day in faithfulness to You,

in awe of Your love for me and for all humanity.

May I thank You in advance for using me today

to exude the certainty in my heart of who You are.

Use me as you wish this day.

In Your name I pray. Amen