3 Reasons the Resurrection Matters - Everyday and All the More During COVID-19

by Oscar Leiva

What a surreal Easter! I love Easter. I love the voices proclaiming, “He is risen!” I love the triumph of the music. I love watching my three sons scramble for hidden Easter eggs and competing with each other. I love being with friends and family. But I wasn’t quite ready, this year, for how different it would feel not being able to shake hands, hug, and affirm together the refrain, “Christ is risen, indeed!” as a collective voice under the same roof. How strange. 

But the change this Easter is about more than just our celebration. To date, 140,000 have died from COVID-19. Our global economy has slowed. The pandemic is like nothing we have ever seen. More than ever, we need to know clearly what our hope is beyond death. Whether you are a Christian or not, or someone who is seeking spiritual truths, the resurrection of Jesus is one of the more controversial doctrines in the Bible. Debates and arguments have been fought over the doctrine of the resurrection. In our post-Christian culture, the notion of someone coming alive again is strange and abnormal. In modern culture, we’ve been programmed to believe that if someone comes alive again, it’s a zombie or a medical miracle! We don’t have a category for the concept of resurrection outside of a zombie apocalypse or a pseudoscience sci-fi thing.

So, does the resurrection matter? Why? More than ever before, today, we need to explore and embrace the conviction of the resurrection as we go through the toughest, most tragic moments of our lives. The truth of the resurrection reminds us that God is with us, God loves us, and God wants to develop a living faith in us so that we can withstand any circumstance.

In this week following Easter 2020, I want to pause with you to explore why the resurrection matters more than ever in a culture of imminent death. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, tells us that in the resurrection—even in our confusion of the pandemic around us—God protects his truth, provides forgiveness, and promises hope.

1.  GOD PROTECTS PROMISES IN THE CONFUSION SURROUNDING DEATH

1 Corinthians 15 is a pivotal text for us to find hope in the midst of this pandemic. In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul seeks to bolster the faith of the believers by reminding them about the priority of the gospel (vv. 1–11) and to prove the resurrection (vv. 12–58). Paul argues that as a result of the resurrection, God protects HIS truth. Paul contends that the resurrection is a biblical, theological truth and a fulfillment of Scripture (v. 4). Jesus had to be raised for many reasons: to defeat death, to confirm our victory over sin, and to grant us eternal life. God is the agent who raised Christ from the dead,  and we know that the benefit of the resurrection is that we can rely on the truth of the Word of God, because it was foretold in the Old Testament (see, for example, Isaiah 25:6-8 and Dan. 12).

God secured this truth of the resurrection by fulfilling his Word; therefore, we do not have to be doubtful. In the midst of death in the headlines all around us, across the U.S., in Italy, in Spain, in China, and in our own backyard, we can stand firm in our faith that God secures his justification and salvation to us in the resurrection.

2. GOD PROVIDES FORGIVENESS BEFORE THE SPECTER OF DEATH

Related to accomplishing what God had promised, for unsteady hearts in the midst of this pandemic, Paul also proves that God provides forgiveness by the resurrection. In verse 17, Paul tells us that if Christ had not been raised from the dead, we are “still in [our] sins.” To be “still in [our] sins” means that we are enslaved to corruption, injustice, selfishness, and ultimately, separation from God. And this goes contrary to what Paul has already established in verse 3, “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scripture.” In the resurrection of Jesus, we stand forgiven. We are not dead in our sins. Paul says in Romans 6:5–7, 

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. 

Forgiveness was a gift that only God can provide. Forgiveness is a gift that God sealed to the believers because of the resurrection.

And because we are forgiven, we are adopted children who continue by faith through sanctification. Nothing can remove that from our identity. We are his children in the face of death or in the best health.

3. GOD PROMISES HOPE IN THE FACE OF DEATH

Paul shows us that God promises hope because of the resurrection. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to give us that hope. That hope for the life to come is promised and guaranteed to us. We have an enduring and abiding hope that will not disappoint us (1 Peter 1:3–5), because the resurrection of Jesus secures an ever abiding-living hope. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me will live, even if he dies” (Jn. 11:25). We take comfort in this promise. May we declare with confidence in affirming that He is risen, indeed! May we be convinced that in the resurrection of Jesus, we can see the world through God’s truth, with forgiveness and everlasting hope.

In  1 Corinthians 5:19, Paul states, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” He is arguing that if we only live for this life, how sad. The resurrection is a means for enduring hope for the life to come, because, in this life, we are not guaranteed good health, wealth, or life without trials. Even before COVID-19, this present life was filled with disappointments, and the present uncertainty can lead to despondency, which ultimately will distract us from a hope of eternal life.

DOUBT, REVENGE, AND DESPONDENCY—AND HOPE!

 For those of us who are Christians, for those who’ve placed faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Bible passage found in 1 Corinthians 15:12–20 tells us that our faith is contingent on the resurrection. Our faith depends on the resurrection. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Our faith is generated and sustained by the power of the resurrection! The resurrection of Jesus is not a glitch; it is God’s definitive work of proving power over sin, Satan, and death.

 Given that we are living in an age of “fake news,” where truth is hard to discern, we need the resurrection—we need truth. Given that we are living in a time where it is more convenient to hold grudges and bitterness against our enemies, we need the resurrection—we need forgiveness. And, given that we are facing a pandemic that has a choke hold on this world and is causing people to respond in utter despondency, we need the resurrection—we need hope in the life to come. Christ’s resurrection liberates us from doubt, revenge, and despondency.

 The spectre of death is all around us. And social distancing constricts us all—being able to shake hands, hug, and even affirm in person the refrain, “Christ is risen, Christ is risen, indeed!” as a collective voice under the same roof. But more than this, the reminder of the importance of the resurrection is needed. You see, the celebration of Easter tells us what lies on the other side of COVID-19, on the other side of all our trials—eternal life with God.

Oscar Leiva is a Pastor at Holy Trinity Church where he has served for 15 years. He lives in the Pilsen neighborhood with his wife, Megan, 3 boys and a dog.