3 For what I [Paul] received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

5 and that He appeared to Cephas and 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 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.

— 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

— Isaiah 53:10

25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.

26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.

— Job 19:25-26

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

The resurrection of Christ is an integral part of the gospel message that must be believed for a person to be saved from the penalty of sin. The resurrection validated Christ’s victory over both sin and death. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:4 that … He was raised according to the Scriptures just as the precisely fulfilled prophecies prove the validity of Christ’s death, the precisely fulfilled prophecies also prove the resurrection of christ.

There were multiple eye-witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. Peter saw the risen Christ and that later enabled him to martyr willingly because he believed Jesus died for our sins and rose again. Besides Peter, another 12 disciples of Jesus also witnessed Christ’s resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 Luke recorded the resurrected Christ appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time and most of these witnesses were still alive when 1 Corinthians was written. Then Jesus’s half brother James and the apostles also saw the resurrected Christ. And lastly even the apostle Paul also saw Christ alive and believed in Him.