Is Jesus' Resurrection from the Dead More Than Just a Nice Story?

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The Resurrection of the Dead

12 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? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith
Paul gets down to the "brass tacks" today.  Some in the Corinthian church were saying the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus was not really all that important.  They thought it was really a nice story but people don't just rise from the dead.  Paul says, "Wait a minute! We've got a problem here.  If Jesus did not raise from the dead, then no one has been raised from the dead.  And we are preaching a lie." 
At the heart of Paul and the other apostle's testimony was that Jesus literally rose from the dead not just in a spiritual kind of way.  The original 12 disciples had LITERALLY seen the risen Christ, and this was at the heart of their preaching and message.  But the Corinthians still regarded it as a fairy tale.  For Paul the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus was the "linchpin" of the Christian faith and on which everything stood or fell. Why? 
Jesus claimed to be God.  Jesus claimed that he would die and then be raised from the dead; and all who believed in him would do the same.  So if Jesus really didn't do it, he was not telling the truth.  There really isn't a gray area here.  Jesus couldn't just have SORT OF been raised from the dead.  Paul is so bold to say that if Jesus didn't really rise from the dead then his preaching was useless and their faith was in vain.  
So you can see why the resurrection of Christ is so important and non-negotiable.  And the GOOD NEWS is that if Jesus did rise from the dead then those who trust in Him will live even though they die.  Take a moment to think this truth and reality.  I don't think there is really any more important truth to consider in this life.  I am betting my life that Jesus really did rise from the dead and I think I have a lot of evidence to base my faith on.   How about you?  What do you think about this matter?

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