1 Corinthians 15:4

And that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

This dogmatic declaration of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ was written while the majority of that generation in which it occurred were still alive (1 Corinthians 15:6); and the presence of many enemies who denied it but who were powerless to produce any evidence against it, makes this an argument of eternal power and dependability. In fact all of the evidence in this chapter shows that even the enemies who were denying the resurrection (as a general thing) were compelled to admit the resurrection of Christ, because Paul adduced the latter as proof of the former!

Farrar extolled the apostolic witness of the resurrection in this passage by observing that:

It is a complete summary.

It includes material which is not in the Gospels.

It appeals to ancient prophecies.

It shows the force of the evidence which convinced the apostles.

It appeals to many eyewitnesses still living.

It was written within 25 years of the events themselves.[8]

And that he was buried ... This is one of three New Testament references to the burial of Christ, except in the Gospels, the other two being Acts 2:29 and Acts 13:29. "It blasts the swoon theory; he really died; and it leads naturally to the empty tomb, a witness for the resurrection which has never been effectively denied."[9]

Hath been raised the third day ... The Scripture which affirmed Jesus would rise on the third day is Jonah 1:17 (Matthew 12:40). For discussion of the day Jesus was crucified and the related question of "the third day," see my Commentary on Mark, pp. 341-348.

According to the Scriptures ... See under the preceding verse.

[8] F. W. Farrar, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 19, p. 484.

[9] S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., op. cit., p. 639.