Are we to be pitied?
1 Corinthians 15:1-27 – The Message Bible
1 Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time - this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand 2 and by which your life has been saved. (I'm assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy that you're in this for good and holding fast.) 3 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; 4 that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; 5 that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, 6 and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); 7 that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; 8 and that he finally presented himself alive to me. 9 It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don't deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God's church right out of existence. 10 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn't amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. 11 So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it's all the same: We spoke God's truth and you entrusted your lives. 12 Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? 13 If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ. 14 And face it - if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. 15 Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ - sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection. 16 If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. 17 And if Christ wasn't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. 18 It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. 19 If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot. 20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. 21 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. 22 Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. 23 But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, 24 the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. 25 He won't let up until the last enemy is down - 26 and the very last enemy is death! 27 As the psalmist said, "He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them. When Scripture says that he walked all over them, it's obvious that he couldn't at the same time be walked on.
My Friends our hope – our eternal hope rests in Christ’s resurrection just as we have read in the scripture.
What is the measure of that hope for you?
If you have seen your loved ones precede you to glory than perhaps your hope is greater.
You possess greater reasons to hope – to hope for an eternal reunion. But what about the rest of you?
Maybe you still enjoy the company of your loved ones here and now and the separation of eternity seems far away.
I can tell you this – that the Living God holds your next breathe in His hands.
Living as Christians today we need to exemplify our hope in Christ and in His resurrection by our changed hearts and the conduct of our daily living.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead as our Bible tells us then we are to be pitied as St. Paul puts it.
1 Corinthians 15:19 NIV
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
In other words if Jesus only helps us in the Here and Now what hope do we have in the Great Here After if he did not rise from the dead in a resurrection body what is there for us to look forward to after this life on earth?
As Dr. J. Vernon McGee puts it - the gospel is not the Ten Commandments, or the Sermon on the Mount. The gospel is a series of facts concerning a Person and that Person is Jesus Christ. – The gospel does not tell us something that we must do. The gospel tells us what Jesus Christ has already done for us. He died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried, He rose again the third day. – That is a historical fact.
If Jesus did not overcome the cross and the tomb then we who are worshiping Him are guilty of worshiping a false god and St. Paul says that we should fear God if we are spreading such a lie. 1 Corinthians 15:15
But is it a lie?
No - the truth is that He did rise that Sunday morning more than 2,000 years ago.
The existence of Jesus Christ is one of the most well documented facts of antiquity.
Yes, it’s true. There are many ancient non-Christian sources for the life of Jesus.
These are: Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Thallus, Pliny the Younger, Emperor Trajan, Emperor Hadrian, The Talmud, and ancient Christian and Gnostic sources too many to list. Source -The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, Gary R. Habermas
His resurrection from the dead however is debated but the scholars can not have it both ways. Either we can trust the scriptures or they are a false source. I will stand on the scriptures – what say you?
Matthew tells us that there was an earthquake and that Angels rolled back the stone to reveal an empty tomb.
The Angels did not remove the stone so that Jesus could get out but so that we could get in and see for ourselves. His grave clothes were still in tact as if He had risen out of them. They were strips of cloth like a cocoon.
The angel told Mary to go and tell the news to the disciples and Peter.
Marks gospel tells us that the angel made this special reference to Peter.
Mark 16:7 NIV
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.
Why single out Peter?
Friend it was Peter the elder statesman of the group who crumbled under pressure and denied even knowing Jesus not once but three times in succession. Remember the rooster crowing?
Peter, - Peter are you here today? Do you sit among us in this congregation?
Friends I’m afraid to look for Peter here it just might be that I’ll catch my own reflection in a window or in someone’s glasses and there I will see him looking back at me.
All of us are as guilty as Peter was for having a weak faith a faith that teeters now and then with our human doubts.
But take courage my friends and find hope in knowing that Christ himself restored Peter to his place among the Disciples.
Easter is about being restored. Jesus was restored to life in a resurrection body.
St. Paul was trying to restore the Corinthian church to faith in Christ resurrection by pointing them to the scriptures.
That is what we are trying to do here at New St. Andrews. We are standing on the scriptures when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus.
We are not standing on our feelings or on a folk tale but on the scriptures. That is one reason why we are so proud of our Adult Sunday School and our Children’s Sunday School they are encouraged to know and stand on the scriptures. Not the word of some Pastor or teacher but the Holy word of God.
So what of you and your faith this Easter? Could you use some restoring today perhaps you could use a resurrection in your faith walk? Then look to Jesus in the scriptures.
He conquered sin and death overcoming the tomb and rising to live in a new and glorious body the first resurrection body. It looked different it worked different Jesus could walk through walls and materialize and disappear at will. But his scars remained proof it was Him.
Scars from the crown of thorns, scars from the scourging and the beating and scars from the nails and the spear were still all evident. These scars made for a new kind of Birth Mark a resurrection Birth Mark. Thomas checked it out for himself and was convinced.
Friend I know our world is unkind to our message and to you its messengers but do not grow faint in your labor for the Lord. Do not doubt His resurrection – He is alive even today. Read the scriptures, know your Bible it’s your best weapon against doubt and the lies of the enemy.
Jesus resurrection is in the scriptures you can find him in the Book of Jonah and the whale where he is for 3 days in fact Jesus even mentions this himself in the book of Matthew 12:40
Jesus is seen in the entire Passover Festival as the Lamb of God whose blood covers the sin of the people.
Jesus is in Isaiah Chapter 53
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Most importantly today Jesus should be seen in our changed lives and in our changed character.
Keep your faith friend trust in the resurrection – hold to that eternal hope that we find today in the empty tomb and in the risen Christ. Trust the scriptures they are eye witness statements to the truth.
He is risen – he is risen indeed! Set your heart upon it do not doubt – do not be misled –
He lives! - Amen
