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SERMON:
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was no accident. It was predicted in the Old
Testament of the Bible, hundreds of years before it happened. Psalm 22 and
Isaiah 53 contain detailed descriptions of the crucifixion even though
Isaiah was written 700 years before the crucifixion, and Psalm 22 was written
nearly 1000 years before.
Ancient
though they are, these prophecies match up perfectly with what happened to
Jesus: His hands and feet pierced, his silence acceptance of mockery, lots cast
to divide up his remaining possessions. These ancients Scriptures even tell us
that Christ was not suffering because of something he had done. He was
suffering for the sins of others.
To
many involved, the crucifixion was an unexpected turn of events. But not to
Jesus. And not to his heavenly Father. To them, the crucifixion was the
culmination of a great plan to rescue sinners from hell.
▬
You
see, the God who created the universe is a good God. A God of love,
righteousness, and justice. As a just God, he must punish evil. And the penalty
for sinning against the Almighty, is separation from him, and all his goodness—forever.
In a word, the punishment for sin, is HELL. This is what the Son of God suffered that
Friday afternoon as he hung from on the cross. And he suffered this in your
place, for your sins, to save you from hell.
No, the crucifixion was not an accident. It was foretold, and carried out, so
that your sins now stand forgiven in Christ.
▬
But
today, our mediation does not focus on the cross. On Easter Sunday we focus on
what came AFTER the cross: THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS FROM THE DEAD.
Like the crucifixion, the resurrection was also, not an
accident. The resurrection of Jesus from the
dead was foretold in the Old Testament. The resurrection was also expected by
Jesus.
To
many involved, the resurrection was an unexpected turn of events. But not to
Jesus. And not to his heavenly Father. To them, the resurrection was a
predicted, calculated event, meant to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything
Jesus had said about himself was true.
▬
To
help us understand how important the resurrection is, today we’re going to read
from a letter written by the apostle Paul. This letter was written to
Christians gathering in the ancient city of Corinth.
Paul’s
letter to the Corinthians reveals that there were some people at Corinth who
were saying that any type of resurrection from the dead was a fiction, and
impossibility. But that’s not what God’s Word says. And that’s not what Paul
had been teaching. May the Holy Spirit help us, through his Word, to see how
very important the resurrection of Jesus truly is.
1 Corinthians 15:13-23 (NASB)
13 But
if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
14 and
if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is
vain.
15 Moreover
we are even found to be false
witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom
He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For
if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and
if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your
sins.
18 Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If
we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
20 But now Christ
has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For
since by a man came death, by a man
also came the resurrection of the
dead.
22 For
as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each
in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at
His coming,
▬
You
remember that old Jimmy Stewart movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life?” You know, the
one that used to play over, and over, every Christmas? In the movie Stewart
plays “George Bailey”, a businessman with a beautiful family. George becomes depressed
and begins to despair thinking that his life hasn’t mattered at all. That the
world would have been a better place without him. Then an angel steps in to help
George see that his life has been very important to the people around him. The
angel does this by showing George what the world would have been like if he had
never existed.
The apostle Paul does something similar here. The
apostle Paul helps the Christians in Corinth by showing them what life would be
like if Christ Jesus had never been raised from the dead.
▬
Paul says, Okay Corinthians, there are people among
you teaching that resurrection from the dead isn’t possible? Don’t you realize
what this would mean if it was true?
Let’s start with what this would mean for those
who have gone out into the world to teach the Gospel. Do you realize what would
this mean for them?
It would mean
that this message that they’ve been risking their lives to spread—is
empty. That’s what that word “vain” means in the Greek. Empty. Without
substance. Hollow. Nothing there.
▬
And not only would their preaching be empty, it
would be a blatant lie. If Jesus has not been raised from the dead, then all
of the apostles who said they saw him alive after he had been dead—they were
liars. And all those other people who claimed to have seen him, conversed
with him, to have eaten with him, hundreds of people over the span of forty
days—they were all liars too. And not just liars, they were guilty of lying
about God.
That’s not a good idea to lie about God. We’re
all going to stand before God one day and he’s going to judge our choices according
to his standards. It’s not a good idea to lie about God.
▬
Not only that. Paul says, Corinthians, do you
realize what this would mean? Think about your friends. Your Christian
friends who died trusting in Jesus as their Savior from sin. If Christ is not
raised, then he can’t be the Savior. And so any who died trusting in him are
lost forever.
▬
And think about yourselves, Corinthians. If
Christ is dead and rotting, then your faith is empty. Like I said, he can’t be
the Savior if he wasn’t raised from the dead. And if Jesus isn’t the Savior,
you don’t have a Savior, and your sins are still on you.
If Jesus is still in the tomb, then Christianity
is a truly pathetic religion. I mean, think about it. Jesus never promised to
give us good health in this life. He never promised to give us millions of
dollars. He never even promised to give us good times in this life. In fact, he
promised the opposite to his closest disciples. Jesus told them…
“‘A servant is
not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute
you” (John 15:20 ESV).
Jesus promised his disciples persecution in
this life. That’s what he promised. In another one of Paul’s letters he writes…
“12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV).
So, let me get this Christianity thing
straight. There’s no promise of health, riches, or good times. And the one we
trust in, depend upon, and put our hope in—is dead and rotting in a tomb
somewhere? If that were the case, our faith is about the most pathetic
religion in the entire world. It has NOTHING to offer.
Later in this same chapter Paul writes…
“If the dead are
not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1
Corinthians 15:32 NASB).
That would make sense. Enjoy it while you can. If
there is no resurrection from the dead. No judgment to come. No afterlife.
But that’s not the case.
▬
Paul says, enough of this pretending. Enough of
this “It’s a Wonderful Life” storyline. Let’s get back to the reality. Look at verse
20 again. Paul says…
“ 20 But now Christ
has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For
since by a man came death, by a man
also came the resurrection of the
dead.
22 For
as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But
each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are
Christ’s at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NASB).
I LOVE that first sentence there, “But now
Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are
asleep.” There’s SO MUCH wrapped up there.
Now I know we’re not all farmers, but I think
we can get the idea here. The “first fruits” are the FIRST… …FRUITS. I mean that’s not hard to grasp!
It’s the first stuff that comes out of the field. And that implies that there’s
going to be… …MORE!
Jesus wasn’t the first person in history to be
raised from the dead. But he was the first one who never died again. When he was
raised from the dead, the Father raised him to eternal life. His body was changed,
glorified, so that he could walk around with that hole in his side that they
could touch and feel, and these holes in his hands that they could see. And yet
he wasn’t in pain. He only let those marks remain so he could show them it was really
him. Really their Jesus, the one who had been crucified to death, but was now
alive.
He was the first fruits
of those who will rise, never to die again.
▬
Paul says, Death came into the world through a
man—Adam. Life and resurrection come through Jesus.
Picture two big circles. An Adam circle, and a
Christ circle. We’re all in the Adam circle. We’re his descendants, part of the
human race. As Adam’s descendants, we’re subject to death because of the sin he
brought into the world.
Now think of the Christ circle. Not everyone is
in the Christ circle. Only those who trust in him. But for those in Christ, he
brings life. He brings forgiveness of sins, reunification with our Creator, and
one day, bodily resurrection to eternal life.
But each in his own order: Christ first, then
those who are Christ’s, when he returns. Jesus is the first harvest. When he
returns, he will harvest the rest. He will make alive, and bring with him, all
who are in him by faith.
And Christ invites each one of us to be in that
circle. He didn’t just die for some, he died for all. And he invites each one
of us to rely on him. To be in that circle.
▬
It all hinges on the
resurrection. If Jesus had remained dead, and they had found
him rotting in that tomb on Easter morning—then we’d know that everything Jesus
claimed about himself was a lie.
But that’s not what they found. First they
found and empty tomb, and then they met their risen Savior.
You know, it’s ironic. When the disciples of
Jesus came to his tomb, they were all shocked and confused and full of fear
because the tomb was empty! That was actually the best thing possible! If they
had found the body of a dead Jesus, any faith in Jesus, would have been an empty
faith.
Because his tomb was
empty, our faith is full. Everything that Jesus said about himself is
true:
He is the Son of God.
He died for our sins.
We stand forgiven.
The Bible can be trusted.
One day he will return, and if we have died by
that time, he will raise us from the dead to eternal glory.
This is what the resurrection of Jesus Christ
means.
This is what Easter means.
Because his tomb was
empty, our faith is full.
Full of God’s forgiveness.
Full of peace.
Full of joy.
Full of power.
Full of solid hope for the future.
He is risen.
And thank God that he is!
Amen.
The
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and
your minds, in Christ Jesus.
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