Paul tells us that the gospel is “Christ crucified, buried and risen again…” that brings us to the sixth point in the gospel from Acts 10…..
6. The Gospel proclaims that Jesus rose from the dead and was seen by many witnesses. – 40-41
40 “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,
41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
Death of Christ paid the penalty for sin but His resurrection from the dead, gave us the ability for victory over sin and death. An unsaved person needs to realize why Easter is so important and why we celebrate the day – a Risen Christ gives us power over death and the power for eternal life. Paul’s great treatise on the resurrection….1 Corinthians 15 gives us great insights on the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (NASB95)
21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NASB95)
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The resurrection determines the validity of the Christian faith. Paul exclaimed, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). Resurrection was the guarantee of the Father’s acceptance of the Son’s work. The resurrection indicated that the work of the cross was completed. Christ prayed that the cup would pass from Him (Matt. 26:39); it was a prayer not for the avoidance of the cross but for death to issue in life through the resurrection (Ps. 16:10). The Father heard the prayer (Heb. 5:7) and raised the Son from the dead, indicating His acceptance of Christ’s work.
It fulfilled the prophecies concerning His resurrection.
David prophesied of Christ’s resurrection (Psalm 16:10); Peter indicated the resurrection of Christ fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 16:10. Christ Himself predicted not only His death but also His resurrection (Matt. 16:21; Mark 14:28). Peter tells Cornelius that the resurrection was also confirmed by those who saw a risen Christ – giving the gospel greater validity.
Who were some of the witnesses?
The resurrected Lord was seen by many people in the forty days that followed.
Among them were the faithful women at the tomb, the two on the Emmaus road, Peter – when he went to the tomb…The Twelve….when Thomas doubted…five hundred believers at one time, James, the apostles, (Matt. 28:1–10; Luke 24:13–35;)… Paul (1 Cor. 15:5–8).
Those witnesses were an important testimony to the veracity of the resurrection. Post-ascension appearances of the Lord Jesus to Paul and John are recorded in Acts and Revelation. When you preach the gospel there must be the cross and then there must be a resurrection – it is what makes Jesus distinct. Resurrected Jesus gives us NEW LIFE – and witnesses give validity to the resurrection.