Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. ¹⁴If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith also is in vain. ¹⁵Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. ¹⁷If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.

¹⁹Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

²⁰When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately wither away?”

²¹Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. ²²All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”