Jesus, the Lamb of God | Pastor Tre Townsley | 4.19.26

 Jesus, the Lamb of God

 John 1:29 29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him,

and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of

the world!

 Recount the narrative of the sheep who rescued the lamb

from the wolf

 Leviticus 4 institutes the law of sacrificing of animals to atone

for sin. But the practice occurred long before the law was

written.

 The first mention of a lamb in scripture is in Genesis 22:6-8

6  So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on

Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and

the two of them went together.  7  But Isaac spoke to Abraham his

father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb

for a burnt offering?” 8  And Abraham said, “My son, God will

provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of

them went together.

 Exodus 12 is possibly the greatest example of this

throughout the Tanakh (the Old Testament)

 Each of the plagues exacted upon Egypt is thought to be an

affront to one or more false gods of Egypt

 Exodus 12:3-13 3  Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying:

‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a

lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a

household.  4  And if the household is too small for the lamb, let

him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the

number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall

make your count for the lamb.  5  Your lamb shall be without

blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep

or from the goats.  6  Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day

of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the

congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.  7  And they shall

take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on

the lintel of the houses where they eat it.  8  Then they shall eat the

flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened

bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.  9  Do not eat it raw,

nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its

legs and its entrails.  10  You shall let none of it remain until

morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with

fire.  11  And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your

sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall

eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12  ‘For I will pass

through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all

the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast;

and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute

judgment: I am the Lord.  13  Now the blood shall be a sign for

you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I

will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to

destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

 God’s judgment was not just to be poured out on the

Egyptians. He was judging Israel for their participation in the

idolatry of Egypt

 Ezekiel 20:4-10 4  Will you judge them, son of man, will you

judge them? Then make known to them the abominations of their

fathers. 5  “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day

when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the

descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to

them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them,

saying, ‘I am the Lord your God.’  6  On that day I raised My hand

in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a

land that I had searched out for them, ‘flowing with milk and

honey,’ the glory of all lands.  7  Then I said to them, ‘Each of

you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes,

and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God.’  8  But they rebelled against Me and

would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations

which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of

Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My

anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’  9  But I acted

for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the

Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made

Myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

10  “Therefore I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought

them into the wilderness.

 God would not be just if He did not require blood

 The blood of an innocent lamb was used to satisfy the law

and extend mercy to the guilty

 BUT HERE’S THE PROBLEM

 The law can never make anyone perfect

 Hebrews 10:1-4 1 For the law, having a shadow of the good

things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never

with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by

year, make those who approach perfect.  2  For then would they

not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers,

once purified, would have had no more consciousness of

sins.  3  But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every

year.  4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats

could take away sins.

 This takes us back to John’s proclamation

 John 1:29 29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him,

and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of

the world!

 Sin, by definition, is an offense; a missing of the mark

(standard)

 Isaiah 59:2 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your

God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He

will not hear.

 Leviticus 17:11 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I

have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your

souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

 Hebrews 9:22 22 And according to the law almost all things

are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is

no remission.

 The price that is paid for something shows its value to the

one who pays it

 How much was He willing to pay?

 Isaiah 53:10(a) 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise (crush) Him…

 Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

 Gethsemane: oil press. This is where His “passion” begins

 Luke 22:41-44 41  And He was withdrawn from them about a

stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,  42  saying, “Father,

if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My

will, but Yours, be done.”  43 Then an angel appeared to Him from

heaven, strengthening Him.  44  And being in agony, He prayed

more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood

falling down to the ground.

 Why is He so stressed? Is it because of the crucifixion? No.

It’s because of 2 Corinthians 5:21

 2 Corinthians 5:21 21  For He made Him who knew no sin to

be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in

Him.

 Jesus before the Sanhedrin

 Jesus has been forsaken as all his friends have scattered

 All alone, Jesus is falsely accused repeatedly. When He

speaks the truth of who He is, He is condemned to death

 The crowds spit into Jesus’ face (Numbers 12:14)

 He was blindfolded and buffeted. He was repeatedly struck

in the face. His body was struck with fists, sticks, and rods.

 Jesus before Pilate

 Jesus has likely not slept at all in the last 24 hours due, in

part, to the pain coursing through his beaten, dehydrated,

and weakened body

 Pilate, the Roman governor, declared he thought Jesus was

innocent, but released a known murderer and sentenced

Jesus to death

 He was scourged with one or (likely) two flagrum

 The flagrum was the instrument the lictor used to whip the

victim. It had a short wooden and leather-wrapped handle to

which were fixed three or more leather straps. These straps

were knotted with small pieces of metal or bone attached at

various intervals. At times, a flagrum would also have a hook

at the end of one strap that was called the "scorpion." With

or without the "scorpion," the flagrum would quickly remove

skin from the victim and create deep lacerations with

exposed ribbons of muscle.

 The crown of thorns: Jesus’ crown was likely made from a

plant native to the area which has thick thorns capable of

growing up to three inches in length. They were pressed into

the scalp, one of the most vascular areas of the body,

causing more bleeding. At this point, Jesus was likely

experiencing hypovolemic shock

 Jesus at the Crucifixion

 Jesus was forced to carry the crossbeam of His cross

(weighing about 110 lbs.) approximately 600-700 yards to

the place of execution.

 6”-9” nails were used to pierce the wrists between the radial

and ulnar and fasten his arms in an extended fashion to the

wooden beam

Christ the First Born | Pastor Chris Searcy | 4.12.26

- Familial Meaning:
The eldest son; who usually received a double portion and became the principal heir with primary family authority after the father’s death.


- Representative Meaning:
“Firstborn” can refer to the one holding the highest status or the one given the place of honor.
In Scripture, someone can be called “firstborn” to emphasize supremacy and privilege, even when not born first.

Psalm 89:20, 27 (David, Jesse’s youngest)

20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,

27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.


Context of Colossians:

- Church founded by Epaphras in Colossae (Turkey)

- Paul didn’t visit before writing

- The church is dealing with people teaching a false gospel that Christ is not enough:

    

They are teaching:
1. Human tradition (verse 8)
2. Dietary restrictions, festivals, new moon, Sabbaths (verse 16)
3. Asceticism (severe self discipline) (verse 18)
4. Angels and visions (verse 18)

Colossians argues:1. Christ is enough.

2. Christ is above all.

3. Christ is the source of creation, redemption, and reconciliation.

4. Therefore the Colossians must not be drawn away by any teaching that lowers Christ or supplements Christ.


Colossians 1:15:-20

The Supremacy of the Son of God

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

1. Image of the invisible God
2. Firstborn over all creation
3. Creator and upholder of all things
4. Head of the church
5. First born from the dead

Romans 8:18-1918 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.


Romans 8:28-3028 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.


31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 

33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:23

23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Surrender | Pastor Chris Searcy | 4.5.26

Matthew 26:36-46.                      

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Luke 22:39-46      

39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Matthew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Wednesday Night Notes | Pastor Chris, Lance & Trey | 4.1.26

 

Matthew 13 verses 47-58, Chapter 14 followed by Notes on the Resurrection of Christ

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Net

47  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered

fish of every kind. 

48  When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers

but threw away the bad. 

49  So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from

the righteous  50  and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping

and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51  “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 

52  And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of

heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what

is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53  And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,  54  and coming

to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and

said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 

55  Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers

James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 

56  And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 

57  And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor

except in his hometown and in his own household.” 

58  And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 14

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,  2  and he said to his

servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these

miraculous powers are at work in him.” 

3  For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of

Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,  4  because John had been saying to him, “It is not

lawful for you to have her.” 

5  And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held

him to be a prophet. 

6  But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the

company and pleased Herod,  7  so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever

she might ask. 

8  Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a

platter.” 

9  And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to

be given. 

10  He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,  11  and his head was brought on a platter

and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 

12  And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13  Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by

himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 

14  When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and

healed their sick. 

15  Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate

place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy

food for themselves.” 

16  But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 

17  They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 

18  And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 

19  Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and

the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and

gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 

20  And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken

pieces left over. 

21  And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22  Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other

side, while he dismissed the crowds. 

23  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to

pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  24  but the boat by this time was a long

way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 

25  And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 

26  But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is

a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 

27  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28  And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the

water.” 

29  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to

Jesus. 

30  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord,

save me.” 

31  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of

little faith, why did you doubt?” 

32  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 

33  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

34  And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 

35  And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region

and brought to him all who were sick  36  and implored him that they might only touch the

fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Would you please make the following notes available for people to access

through the church app/website?

4 Proofs of the Resurrection- by Lee Strobel, author of “The

Case for Easter: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the

Resurrection”

1. JESUS WAS DEAD Did Jesus die on the cross? Was he dead?

- Virtually every scholar on planet Earth concedes that Jesus was dead after

crucifixion.

- We have no record of anyone, anywhere, ever surviving a full Roman

crucifixion.

- Even the Journal of the American Medical Association published a peer

reviewed scientific medical study of the evidence for the death of Jesus and said,

“Clearly the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus was dead even before

the wound was inflicted.”

- Even the atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdeman says, “Historically it’s

indisputable that Jesus was dead.” So, Jesus was dead.

2. EARLY ACCOUNTS FOR THE RESURRECTION The second category of

evidence is the early accounts we have for the resurrection. In other words, I

used to think is an atheist that the resurrection was a legend and that took a long

time to develop in the ancient world. What I learned is that we have preserved for

us a creed of the earliest Christian Church. A creed that is an eyewitness-based

report of the resurrection of Jesus. Now this creed has been dated back by

scholars to within months of the death of Jesus — within months. That is

historical gold. So, we’ve got a news flash from ancient history on the

resurrection.

3. THE EMPTY TOMB The best evidence for the empty tomb is even the

opponents of Jesus implicitly admitted the tomb was empty. When the disciples

began proclaiming that Jesus had risen what the opponent said was, “The

disciples stole the body.” They’re conceding that the tomb was empty, they’re just

trying to explain how it got empty. So, everybody’s conceding that the tomb was

empty. How it got empty is the real issue, and that goes to the fourth category of

evidence, which is eyewitnesses.

4. THERE WERE EYEWITNESSES For most of what we know about ancient

history, it comes from one or maybe two sources of information and yet for the

conviction of the disciples that they encountered the resurrected Jesus, we have

no fewer than 9 ancient sources inside and outside the New Testament

confirming and corroborating the conviction of the disciples that they encountered

the risen Christ. That is an avalanche of a historical data. So, you put all that

together and you have a really good case for Easter.

https://youtu.be/FT4Cj-Pi4m0

5. “There are actually 110 facts about the life teachings, miracles, death, and

resurrection of Jesus from ancient sources outside the Bible documented by the

historian Dr. Gary Habermass in his book, “The Verdict of History.” Lee Strobel

Ancient sources that confirm the conviction of the disciples

that they really did see the risen Jesus.

1. The Creed that is quoted by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7. “In 1

Corinthians 15:3-7, the Apostle Paul quotes an early Christian creed, which is

believed to have been formulated within a few years of Jesus' death and

resurrection. This creed includes key elements of the Christian faith, such as

Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances.”

2. The Apostle Paul- Paul states that he saw the risen Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:8,

and goes on to state that both he and the apostles preached that Christ was

crucified and raised from the dead in 1 Corinthians 15:10-17. He also states that

he got to know some of the disciples Peter, James and John for instance, and

subsequently heard their accounts for himself.

3. The Book of Acts- Even atheist scholars will admit the Book of Acts contains the

summaries of teachings of the early church. “The resurrection is a central theme

in the book of Acts, with seven out of ten recorded sermons focusing on it, and

the resurrection of Jesus is implied in the remaining sermons. This highlights its

significance in the early Christian message.”

4. Peter testifying in Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of

Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and

signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—  23  this

Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you

crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 

24  God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for

him to be held by it.” 

The people didn’t deny it: Acts 2:37-38 “Now when they heard this they were

cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what

shall we do?”  38  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of

you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will

receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” 

5. The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all contain the account of

the death and resurrection of Jesus, and list 9 separate times that Jesus

appeared before witnesses. He talked with them, ate with them, and allowed

them to touch him.

6. Clement of Rome (martyred in 100 AD) - Clement was ordained by Peter

himself and he wrote a letter “First Epistle of Clement” where he “mentions the

resurrection of Jesus, highlighting it as a proof of a future resurrection and

emphasizing Jesus Christ as the first-fruits of this resurrection.”

7. Polycarp (AD 69 – 155) - was discipled by the apostle John, and John

appointed him to be bishop at the church at Smyrna. Polycarp wrote a letter in

which he mentions the resurrection no fewer than five times. In the letter, he

stated that the apostles got their confidence from the resurrection of Jesus

because they knew that he returned from the dead.

The Sequence of Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances-

Where Exactly Did Jesus Appear, and to Whom?

 Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18)

 The other Mary, Salome, Joanna, and at least one other woman (Matthew

28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10)

 Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5)

 Cleopas and another disciple on road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35)

 The eleven disciples minus Thomas (Luke 24:36–43; John 20:19–25)

 The eleven disciples (John 20:26–29)

 Seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1–23)

 Disciples at a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16–17)

 James (1 Corinthians 15:7)

 Disciples, possibly in Jerusalem before He led them to the Mt. of Olives,

gave the Great Commission, and ascended into heaven (Luke

24:49–53; Acts 1:3–11)

 The Apostle Paul stated, “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by

one born out of due time.” This appearance occurred while Paul (then

called Saul) was traveling to Damascus on a mission to persecute

Christians (Acts 9:1–9; 1 Corinthians 15:8).

In most instances, Jesus did more than just appear before

people.

- Christ’s words in John 20:17 seem to imply that Mary Magdalene clung to

Him, indicating that He could be touched.

- The other women worshiped Him and held Him by the feet (Matthew 28:9).

- He broke bread in front of Cleopas and an unnamed follower (Luke 24:30).

- He showed His scars in His hands, feet, and side and then ate fish and a

honeycomb before the gathering of disciples without Thomas (Luke

24:40–43; John 20:20).

- Later, with Thomas present, Jesus invited Thomas to touch His hands and

His side (John 20:26–27).

- At the Sea of Tiberias, He performed a miracle, allowing the disciples to

catch 153 large fish (John 20:6–11).

- He also cooked and ate some food (John 20:9, 15).

- Paul claimed that Jesus had appeared to over 500 people at one time (1

Corinthians 15:6). This may be an additional appearance, or it may be the

same event as the one on the hillside in Galilee (Matthew 28:16–17).

The report in 1 Corinthians 15 is probably the earliest extant writing about the

Resurrection appearances, penned around AD 55. Paul claimed that he was

writing what he had received.

1 Corinthians 15:3-19

3  I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on

to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 

4  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the

Scriptures said.

  5  He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 

6  After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of

whom are still alive, though some have died. 

7  Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 

8  Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 

9  For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an

apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

10  But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on

me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other

apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 

11  So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the

same message you have already believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12  But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some

of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 

13  For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised

either. 

14  And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your

faith is useless. 

15  And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God

raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of

the dead. 

16  And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 

17  And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still

guilty of your sins. 

18  In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 

19  And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than

anyone in the world.