What was the message of the false teachers about the resurrection? Perhaps an analogy will help. The life of Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically cut short, but what he stood for continues through people who believe what he believed and teach what he taught.

It may be that Hymenaeus and Philetus said something like this about Jesus: “The life of Jesus was tragically cut short. But what He stood for continues through people who believe what He believed and teach what He taught. His work is being carried on by His people.”

“Yes, we believe that Jesus rose from the dead,” they would say. “And what this means is that His spirit lives on in His people. What matters is not that the tomb was empty, but that we do the kinds of things that Jesus did.”

Their message was not so much about Jesus but about us. The power that would change the world, in their view, was not the power of the risen Lord, but the power of what we do as we follow the example of Jesus. You can see how this would gain traction:

It sounds spiritual. “You don’t need to worry about the body,” they would say. “It is just a shell. What matters is your spirit—what you feel, what you want, what you choose to live for.”

It sounds relevant. “The calling of the church,” they would say, “is not to prepare people for another world. It is to meet the needs of the world today.”

It sounds liberating. If there is no resurrection to eternal life, we are accountable only to ourselves. That puts us in control and leaves us free to live and plan our lives as we think best.

What is most attractive to you about this view of the resurrection? What is the biggest problem you can see with it?