5th sunday - second reading - 1 corinthians 15:1–11

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1 Corinthians 15:1-11 By the grace of God I am what I am Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing. Catholic Lectionary. (2009). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

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1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Corinthians 15:1-11By the grace of God I am what I amCopyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing. Catholic Lectionary. (2009). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

1 Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand.2 Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;4 that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures;5 that he appeared to Kephas, then to the Twelve.6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

7 After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.8 Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.9 For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God (that is) with me.11 Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Greek city of Corinth was a wild city that legally offered any type of entertainment one could imagine.The Greeks did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.When Paul had preached in Athens and told of Christs Resurrection, some of his listeners actually laughed at him (Acts 17:32). Corinth was also the center of the Epicurean philosophy, which said that, man should eat, drink, and be merry because there is no eternity.If you dont believe in eternity how can you believe in the resurrection of the dead.The Epicurean philosophy offers no hope, nothing beyond life.In todays reading we see Paul answer the question, Are the dead raised?

He provides three proofs that Jesus did indeed raise from the dead.First, a dead Savior cant save anyonebecause had the Savior remained dead then death would have conquered the Savior.If you believe in the Gospel, if you live the Gospel, then you must believe in the Resurrection.Without the Resurrection of Jesus, without his return, without hundreds of people bearing witness to the Resurrection, you could not logically have faith in your potential salvation or eternal life.Second, When Paul wrote according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3) he was referring to the Old Testament Scriptures.

The sacrificial system outlined in the Old Testament pointed to the sacrifice of Christ.The annual Day of Atonement rituals show a substitute victim for the sins of the people (Lev. 16) and prophecies like Isaiah 53 point to the coming Savior.Turning to Zechariah 9:9 and following through to chapter 11 we find Christs Passion, 30 pieces of silver etc.Keep in mind that Zechariah wrote these prophetic chapters around 480 B.C.Pauls third argument for the Resurrection points to the witnesses who saw Christ after his Resurrection (Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32).

Perhaps the most unlikely witness to the Resurrection was Paul himself.Paul was an unbeliever,convinced that Jesus was dead, and then made a radical religious conversion on the road to Damascus.Clearly, the Old Testament tells of a sacrificial Savior, it predicts Jesus entry into Jerusalem, his sufferings and Passion at the hands of the religious leaders and his Resurrection from the dead.The non-believing Greek might have laughed at Pauls original account of the Resurrection but no one could disprove his three logical and provable proofs.

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