The resurrection of Jesus belongs to the core of the gospel

The apostle Paul describes it this way:

“But I make known to you, my brethren, the gospel,

• • that I proclaimed to you,
  • which you have also accepted,
  • in which you also stand,
  • through which you will also be saved if you hold the gospel in the form of expression in which I preached it to you, unless you believe only in pretense.

For in the first place I have delivered to you that which I also received:

• • that Christ died for our sins (according to the scriptures),
  • that He was buried,
  • That He was raised on the third day (according to the scriptures).”

1Cor 15,1-4

These are the key points of the gospel as Paul preached it. This is different from the gospel of the kingdom preached by Jesus in the gospels. He came to Israel because of the promises to the fathers (Rom 15:8) and preached exclusively to Israel (Matt 15:24). That was before the cross. The focus was on the approaching kingdom of heaven (Matt. 4:17), which the prophet Daniel prophesied to the people of Israel (Dan. 2:44; Dan. 7:27).

When Jesus was killed, it was with the intention of eliminating Him. No one expected Jesus to rise from the dead. Every effort was made to ensure that such a narrative could not emerge. If they had known what problems a resurrection would entail and what a decisive role this development would have in God’s actions, they probably would not have killed Jesus. Paul writes later:

“Wisdom, however, we speak among the mature, but not wisdom of this aeon, nor of the superiors of this aeon, who are dismissed. But we speak of God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden one that God predestined before the eons for our glory. This wisdom has not been recognized by any of the superiors of this eon. For if they had known these, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
1Cor 2,6-8

The intention to take Jesus out of the way had been nullified by the resurrection. The apostles became “witnesses of His resurrection” (Acts 1:22). That’s new. The kingdom for Israel took a back seat (Acts 1:6-7) and with Paul a 13th apostle came on the scene, through whom surprisingly the nations would be addressed directly (i.e. without mediation through Israel). The situation after the resurrection is different from that before the resurrection. After the resurrection, a tremendous dynamic arises, which is described in detail in the New Testament.

As seen earlier, Paul’s gospel was not about the “kingdom of heaven.” This messianic kingdom was central in Jesus’ proclamation. With Paul, however, it was about a good news that pointed to the work of God in Jesus. It is not simply the continuation of what Jesus told in the Gospels, but a new message emerged. Paul was not about the kingdom for Israel, but about reaching the nations. His death, his burial and finally the resurrection were central. These were the essential features of the proclamation. A lot has changed!

The resurrection, however, immediately came under fire from skeptics. Some denied the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12). Others later claimed that the resurrection was “already over” (2 Timothy 2:18). In First Corinthians, Paul devotes an entire chapter to the resurrection. There are few topics that are given so much space coherently. This is the core for the apostle. Those who block out the resurrection no longer have anything in their hands, so to speak. He writes:

“For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is not, and you are still in your sins. Then even those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If only for this life we have set our expectation on Christ, we are the most pitiful of all men.”
1Cor 15,16-19

Immediately afterwards, Paul makes the resurrection of Christ the most important event with regard to the completion of God:

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead: the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep! For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. Because

• • • just as in Adam all die,
    • so also in Christ all are made alive

But each in his own particular department:

1. 1. 1. the first fruits Christ,
      2. then those who belong to Christ, in His presence;
      3. After that, the rest at completion.”

1Cor 15,20-24

Paul describes here a perspective that leads to the goal that “God becomes all in all” (1Cor 15,28). Along the way, death is dismissed as the last enemy (1 Cor. 15:26).

Apart from this far-sightedness, there is a series in the New Testament with resurrections of individuals as well as small groups. It is further not the making alive of all that Paul speaks of. Some of the resurrections described in the New Testament today are in the past. Others lie in the future.

In order for us to appreciate the significance of the resurrection in the context of preaching, it helps to make a distinction between the terms “resurrection,” “raising,” and “making alive.” Resurrection and resurrection describe how someone is “woken up” from the sleep of death, and then “rises”. Bringing to life goes one step further. Vitalization knows “Christ as the firstfruits” (1 Cor. 15:20), which does not apply to a regular resurrection to this life we know. Christ was made alive, that is, beyond the power of death. He is the only one who has immortality (1Tim 6,16). This is the outlook of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:42-44; 1 Cor. 15:51-53; 2 Tim. 1:10).

Resurrections in the New Testament

In some resurrections, people were brought back to this life. They were raised to the “old life” and were therefore mortal again. So Lazarus (John 11) and others died twice.

The term “resurrection” is not always used. For example, Rev 20:12 says that “the dead stand.” However, dead people can not stand. This describes how the dead were raised and now stand before the Great White Throne. The word “resurrect” is not used here, only “stand”.

Here is a list of directly named resurrections:

Making all people alive is not in this list. It comes later and is described in more detail by Paul in 1Cor 15:20-28. The bringing to life of all is “at the consummation,” as it is said. That God can become “all in all” is related to this. That’s as far as anyone sees in the Bible. This is the goal toward which everything is directed when it is said that everything is “toward God” (Rom 11:36).