The Heart of the Gospel series is the only series with just one episode. This episode is so important that we did not want it to get overshadowed or lost in a series with many episodes.
It isn’t just our opinion that the subject of the episode is uniquely important. The Apostle Paul thought so, too. In 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul says this subject is of first importance. Nothing is more important than the reality of the resurrection of Jesus.
Many people relegate the subject of resurrection to the Easter season. Since the resurrection of Jesus is the heart of the Gospel, it should be important every day of the year.
And for us at Eyewitness Bible Series, the resurrection of Jesus is extra special – there were more than 500 eyewitnesses to it!
1 Corinthians 15:3 begins with the startling claim by Paul that he is about to say the most important thing. Not something that is important, or kind of important, but the thing of very first importance. One Bible translation calls it “the heart of the Gospel.” Then, Paul says something so…familiar…to Christians: Jesus died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and a lot of people saw him.
In the verses following that statement, Paul goes on to emphasize the overwhelming importance of the reality of Jesus’s resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:17-19, Paul says that if Jesus’s resurrection isn’t real, the faith of Christians is futile and they are to be pitied above all people.
This chapter of 1 Corinthians is toward the end of the letter. In the preceding 14 chapters, Paul tries to impart basic knowledge to the Corinthians so they can address their many problems. Chapter 15 is the final foundational piece. It’s as if Paul is saying that if they get this right, everything else will fall into place.
