Title: What Was Most Important
Text: I Corinthians 15:1-9
Thesis: What was most important, still is!
I passed on to you what was most important and what has also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he raised from the dead on the third day, just as the scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then the Twelve. After that he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time… than James and later by all the apostles. Last of all… I saw him. !5:3-6
Introduction
Naomi Seldin began her article in Simpler Living like this: “First and foremost, allow me to let you in on a little secret. It’s not a little secret. It’s a huge secret I’ve been privy to over the years since I’ve been doing this work, a secret so blasphemous it is hardly uttered above a whisper. It’s a secret the knowledge of which is so powerful it can move mountains. It’s a secret many of us will go to our graves never having discovered.
The secret: Your kids don’t want your stuff! (Naomi Seldin, A message to seniors: Let you clutter go, Simpler Living, June8, 2010)
Many of the things we have in our homes are things that have been passed on to us. In some cases those things have been passed down from one generation to the next and we feel obligated to pass those things on to the next generation. And it makes us a little sad to realize they don’t want it.
Some of those things have been kept by loving mothers who dutifully saved every finger painting, popsicle-stick project, plaster-of-paris hand print, lock of hair, first tooth and who knows what in anticipation of that day when her, all grown up son or daughter, will be moved to tears when she presents them with her box of treasures. It is shocking to know they don’t want that stuff.
Everyone knows that everything important is on your computer or a flash drive or in the cloud.
In our text today Paul wrote, “I passed on to you what was most important and what has also been passed on to me.” The thing that was passed on to Paul and the thing that Paul passed on to the Christians living in Corinth and now to us is not something to clutter up our lives, it is truth that gives clarity to our lives.
He described this truth as being “most important.”
Part of our heritage is the truth of the death of Jesus Christ. This knowledge was important to Paul and he wants us to have it too.
I. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, I Corinthians 15:3
I recently read article about a group of friends who get together every January to read the Christmas letters they have received from family and friends. They call these gatherings “Annual Mock Readings.”
We all want to hear about someone’s $450,000 starter home they got for just $390,000… or that 1,000 square foot addition (digital photos included) and the $5,000 pool table which they know is extravagant but “the kids love it so if they are happy, we’re happy.” We love hearing about little Johnny who is in the 99th percentile of his age group and already showing signs of being unusually gifted and likely the next Einstein.
We love talking about the people and the things for which we are proud.
A. We are quick to acknowledge our accomplishments and successes
Many people accomplish a great deal in life… most of us more than we realize and we are proud of those wonderful things.
B. We are less inclined to acknowledge our faults and sinfulness
Similarly, many people have accumulated a great deal of sinful baggage in their lives… most of us more than we realize.
Sin has a cumulative effect. We understand the cumulative effect… in my study there is a spot next to a door jamb where my hand brushes every time I go through that door. The spot is not only dark but the paint is even worn from the wall. It wasn’t always like that but today that spot reflects the cumulative effect of my actions.
Similarly a person save one egg cartoon or paper sack or newspaper and over time, the cumulative effect necessitates that someone intervene, bring in a dumpster, haul out the trash and take it away.
That is what Jesus has done. He has removed the greasy spots and hauled away all the accumulated sinful baggage and clutter in our lives.
Recently I was kind of shocked when I ran across the web site for one of the new “Fight Churches.” Fight churches are churches for tough guys and gals… they are cage fighters for Christ. The graphic I saw was of a totally bulked-up, bodybuilder Jesus on a cross flexing his muscles and snapping the six foot long, six inches wide and four inches thick timber that held his arms.
I think I get it but that does not justify our creating and recreating Jesus into our image of Jesus.
• There's the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms.
• There's Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart and for reducing our carbon footprint.
• There's Starbucks Jesus—who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations and drives a hybrid.
• There's Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.
• There's the Gentle Jesus, the Hippie Jesus, Yuppie Jesus, the Spirituality Jesus, the Platitude Jesus, the Protest Jesus, the Guru Jesus, and the Boyfriend Jesus—who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his sweet love.
And then, there's Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God… the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. (Kevin DeYoung, "Who Do You Say That I Am?" from his DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed blog, posted 6-10-09)
The bible teaches us, “Jesus suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.” I Peter 3:18
This truth is reiterated in Hebrews 9:27-28, “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes the judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away our sin. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Jesus’ crowning accomplishment was a sacrificial act of love for mankind… he gave his life for others.
His accomplishment erased all of our accumulated sin.
“God commends his love for us in that while we were still in our sins, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through his Son.“ Romans 6:23
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
We understand now that the death of Jesus was deliberate and purposeful. We know what it was God was doing in Christ for us. This is one of those most important things anyone can pass on to another person.
However at face value… death is a traumatic experience, as is what follows.
II. Christ was buried, I Corinthians 15:4
A. We have all stood at a graveside… and we have wrestled with what seems to be the epitome of finality.
On the day before Prince William and Kate Middleton were married William and Kate visited Princes Diana’s grave. It was important to William that Kate know how much loved his mother and something of his grief over his loss and hers… At the time someone observed, “It is tragic that she won’t be there to see the wedding and that she never got me meet the bride.”
The graveside is the place where the finality of our earthly existence sinks in. It is where we realize what will no longer be and what will never be.
Our gravesides experiences are not unique…
B. Once people stood at Jesus’ graveside
At the site of Jesus entombment, the funeral director had not arranged to have a nice tent erected against the elements. There was no nice Astro-turf rolled out underfoot and there were no chairs set up for the family and friends. No one removed flowers from the casket piece to be tucked away for the ages in a thick book along with a copy of the funeral folder.
But I suspect Jesus’ family and friends felt the same sense of finality we feel when we are at the graveside of a loved one. I doubt that when they walked away they were thinking they would ever see Jesus again in this life, much less the next.
But they were wrong.
III. Christ was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, I Corinthians 15:4
Every Easter we focus on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We read and retell the biblical account as well as reflect on passages relevant to our own resurrection hope.
Transition: When we do this we are thinking of the resurrection as history.
A. The resurrection past… a story that has been told and retold, John 20
Mary went to the tomb early on Sunday morning. She stood outside the tomb crying and then stooped and looked into the tomb where she saw two angels sitting where Jesus had been laid. And they asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” And Mary said, “Because they have taken the body of my Lord and I don’t know where to find him.” Then another voice asked, “Woman, why are you crying?” She repeated the same answe4r thinking it was the sexton of the cemetery… but then she recognized the voice of the risen Christ.
In that instant her sadness was turned to gladness. Then Jesus told her to go and tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he was alive.
It is a remarkable tale… it is the type of story that lends itself to myth or legend or fairy tale. Except for the fact that the resurrection of Jesus is supported by the irrefutable testimony of over 500 eye-witnesses… it would be unbelievable.
So on Easter, in addition to commemorating the resurrection of Jesus, we also celebrate our own hope of a bodily resurrection. We may think of that as a pending future event.
B. The resurrection pending… a story yet to be told, I Corinthians 15:21-23
We are living in anticipation of the new light rail that will be passing through our community. Plans are in the works for developing the light rail center in Olde Arvada there along Grandview. There will be a wonderful new multi-level parking garage and a beautiful park like station area complete with a view of the mountains. It is what we call not yet but will be… it is pending.
When we have an illness and learn that there is a new experimental drug that has cleared the FDA and will be available to the public in September we live in the not yet but will be… it is pending.
When we experience death in light of the hope of a bodily resurrection we live and die in the not yet but will be… it is pending.
The thing that makes the resurrection of Jesus so critical to our faith is this: “…everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.” I Corinthians 15:12-20
Our own resurrection is not yet but will be… it is pending.
Conclusion
There is no shortage of insight into what is most important in life…
• One blogger suggested that taking care of your health, investing in relationships, having a positive view about yourself and living your life with purpose, values and dreams make up what is most important.
• Oscar Wilde said, “When I was young I thought money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know that it is.”
• Audrey Hepburn believed, “The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.”
• For Steve Jobs it was, “Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
• “Family,” was the most important thing in life for Princess Diana.
Answering the question regarding the thing that is most important to us really depends on the context. In the context of considering ultimate things: Living in relationship with God in this life in anticipation of eternity in the next life is most important.
What was most important, still is!
I passed on to you what was most important: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day and we, who belong to Christ, will be raised as well when he comes back.
