The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
- Matthew 28:5-10
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
- Luke 24:10-12
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
- John 21:6-9
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ has indeed 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 comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
- 1 Corinthians 15:12-22
“This is the great choice every human being has to make: ls the resurrection account true or only a myth? If the latter, it is an abomination, taking away any validity to the Christian claim. Believing that the resurrection was merely symbolic doesn’t create liberal Christianity or a more enlightened version of our faith as many argue; it reduces Christianity to something utterly vain, a belief system like paganism. For if we were to believe Christ was not bodily raised, then Christianity would rest on the belief in a human sacrifice—offering an innocent man to die for our sins. This is not enlightened thinking; it is barbaric. It is why so-called liberal Christianity is untenable, no better than paganism.
“The apostle Paul put this question to rest once and for all. ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; [and] we are to be pitied more than all men’ (1 Corinthians 15:17, 19). All the apostles recognized that if the resurrection was not a historic fact, there could and should be no such thing as Christianity.”
- Charles Colson (with Harold Fickett), The Faith
I arranged the first three Scriptures in that order to tell the chronological story. The ladies went to the tomb. Jesus told the ladies that He would meet them in Galilee. Then John and Peter ran to the tomb to confirm things. Then Peter has been given a bad rap about going back to his fishing, but Jesus told the ladies that He would meet them there. In a way, Peter was going to the one place that he knew Jesus would find him.
But the 1 Corinthians 15 Scripture talks about the resurrection and how the entire belief in Jesus hinges on the resurrection of the dead.
Lee Strobel in The Case for Christ points out that the apostles, with the possible exception of John, died martyrs deaths and possibly none of them would have died in that fashion if it were not that they would not renounce their belief, really the knowledge, that Jesus rose from the dead.
And really, what remains if Jesus did not rise from the dead? We have no hope in that either. And Jesus does not sit on the right hand of the Father interceding for us. And He does not reside in our hearts.
No, a thousand times no. Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed!
Lord, show me what are the foundations of “the Faith.” The resurrection of the dead is ensured in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We can claim victory over sin and death because Christ has already won that victory. Jesus, help us to live out the life that reflects that victory. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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