Introduction:
ILLUS: Harry Houdini
- Have you ever heard of a man named Harry Houdini?
- He died in October of 1926…but Harry Houdini’s claim to fame was that he was a magician and an excellent escape artist.
- As a matter of fact, he was said to have laughed at locks and sneered at fetters.
- Houdini was said to have the flexibility of an eel and the lives of a cat.
- They did all kinds of things to incarcerate him.
- They would seal him in coffins. And he would escape. They riveted him in a boiler and he would escape. They sowed him up in canvas bags and he espcaped. They locked him into a high security, maximum prison and somehow, Old Harry still got out.
- But then in Oct. of 1926, Death laid its hands on Harry Houdini and he would never escape.
- As a matter of fact, he told his wife, when he was talking about death, “If there is any way out. I will find it. If there is anyway out, I will find you and I will make contact with you on the anniversary of my death.”
- After Harry’s death, for 10 years, his wife kept a light burning at the bottom of his portrait. And after 10 years, she turned out the light. Death had laid it’s hands on Harry Houdini and he could not escape.
- Death laid its hands on the Lord Jesus Christ also. And death laid Him in a rock-hewn tomb. But on the 3rd day, Jesus stirred himself. He arose from the sleep of death. He was resurrected.
- Jesus left those grave clothes behind and passed through the walls of that tomb.
- And may I remind you, that stone over his tomb was not rolled away in order to let the Lord Jesus out…that stone was rolled away in order to let the disciples see in and to realize that He was no longer there!
- If there is only one message I can give you today…it is the simple fact that Jesus Christ is ALIVE!
- He is not longer behind us in a tomb, He is no before us on a throne.
- But I want to ask you…suppose that resurrection never happened…suppose that the Lord Jesus was still in that tomb.
- What if there had been no Easter?
That’s what the Apostle Paul is talking about in I Corinthians 15…let’s begin reading in verse 12.
READ I Corinthians 15:12-19
I. THE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES OF A FALSE RESURRECTION – I Corinthians 15:12-19
Paul is saying in this passage…suppose there had been no Easter. Suppose Jesus is still in the grave…if that is true then there are 6 tragic consequences that you need to consider if there is no Easter.
A. Our Preaching is Profitless.
- vs. 14, “and if Christ be not risen, our preaching is in vain.”
- “Vain” = empty, futile, with no purpose, a colossal waste of time.
- Listen ladies and gentelemen, if there is no Easter, then you and I are wasting our time by being here.
- If Christ be not raised then our preaching is profitless. Why is that?
- Heart of the Gospel is this… 15:3-4, “That Christ died for our sins, was buried, and has risen again…according to the Scriptures.”
- Many preachers today preach that the body of Jesus still lies in a nameless tomb but the Spirit of Jesus still marches on…
- There’s a Greek word for that… “Baloney!”
- Any preacher who preaches that ought to quit the ministry and find an honest job.
- If there was no resurrection, then our Preaching is Profitless…
B. Our Faith is Foolish
- He goes on to say in vs. 14, “and your faith is in vain.”
- That is to say that you are trusting in something that does not deserve your trust.
- Who wants to put their faith in the Lord Jesus if Jesus is dead.
- That’s why the Bible says, “If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised him from the dead then you shall be saved.”
- You see…this is the paramount difference between Jesus and the rest of the founders of the world religions.
- Those guys lived, they died…and they are dead….Jesus lived, Jesus died, and Jesus rose from the dead.
- Buddha…he’s still dead…Confucious…he’s still dead…Mohammed…he’s still dead / BUT Jesus Christ of Nazareth is Alive and is seated on the right hand of God!!!
- ILLUS: A buddhist in Africa was converted to
Christianity. They asked this buddhist why did you
change your faith? Here’s what he said: “It’s like
this: If you are walking along and came to a fork in
the road and two men were there, and one was dead and
the other was alive, which man’s directions would you
follow?”
C. The Disciples are Deceivers
- I Cor. 15:15, “Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise…”
- Paul is not saying that if there was no resurrection, then they were just mistaken; he was saying that they were deliberate false witnesses.
- “False Witness” = somebody who gets in a courtroom and knowingly, willingly, deliberately purges himself and becomes a liar.
- Paul is saying that he and the disciples were testifying to the fact that Jesus is alive.
- After the resurrection, these disciples talked with him, ate with him, fellowshipped with him, touched him.
- YOU MAY SAY, “Well, Pastor, how do we know that the disciples weren’t a bunch of liars. How do we know they didn’t just make up the Easter story just to save face?”
- All the disciples (except John) died a horrible martyr’s death for preaching the resurrected Christ.
- Hypocrites and Martyrs are not made of the same stuff…A man may live for a lie…but no one would die for a lie.
D. Sin is Sovereign
- vs. 17, “And if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain and ye are yet in your sins.”
- What does this mean? That if Christ did not rise from the dead…then God has not accepted payment for your sins.
- Because you see, when God raised him from the dead, that was positive proof that he has made the full payment for your sins.
- That’s why Paul said, “He was delivered up for our offenses, and raised for our justification.”
- Without the resurrection of Christ, I wouldn’t give you half a hallelujah for your hope of heaven.
- No resurrection, No Savior…No Savior, no forgiveness…No forgiveness, no justification…No justification, no cleansing…No cleansing, you have to pay the penalty for your sins.
- AREN’T you grateful…that Jesus was “delivered for our offenses, and raised for our justification!”
- HYMN QUOTE: “Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, rising He justified, freely forever. One day He’s coming, Oh glorious day.”
- Thank God that we are no longer in our sins because our Risen Savior has paid the price for our sins.
E. Death has Dominion
- vs. 18, “Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”
- Are you going to ask me to believe that the intelligence that created this universe is going to let it all die down into the grave?
- God has not created you just to die.
- Isn’t it awesome to know that our loved ones…mother, father, grandparents, children, friends, relatives that knew the Lord…we will one day see them again.
- PERSONAL ILLUS: I have talked with, counseled with, prayed with many Christians who have lost loved ones. Although I saw sorrow in their faces, I see light and a hope of heaven in their eyes as we talk about that grand reunion on the other shore.
- OPTIONAL ILLUS: Professor and Little Preschool boy…wife and mother died. Boy cried, “wake up mommy, wake up mommy!” Professor said, “Son, you can’t wake her up…but when Jesus comes, He’ll wake her up.” FRIEND, he will. He will.
If Christ be not risen, our Preaching is Profitless, Our Faith is foolish, The Disciples are Deceivers, Sin is Sovereign, Death has Dominion…one last tragic consequence:
F. The Future is Futile
- vs. 19, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”
- What does that mean…that if this is all there is…that is really bad news.
- If you don’t believe in the resurrection then you must believe that good times are for the moment and life is going to get worse.
- Earnest Hemingway said, “It’s as though we are a colony of ants living on one end of a burning log.”
- I mean, think about people who do not know Jesus. What do they have to look forward to? A hole in the ground.
- But I have good news…Jesus Christ is risen and resurrected from the dead!!!
- Because of the resurrection, we can know that our Preaching is profitable, Faith is Feasible, The Disciples are Dependable, Sin is Subdued, Death is Defeated, and the Future is Fabulous…because Jesus Christ has risen.
TRANS: We’ve examined the Tragic Consequences that Paul gives if Easter were not true…but now let’s look at…
II. THE TREMENDOUS CHANGES OF A TRUE RESURRECTION
A. Through the Resurrection, a Statement was Made
- On the Cross of Calvary…when Man’s sins had been atoned for by the death of Christ, Jesus made a STRONG STATEMENT “It is finished.”
- In the Tomb of Triumph, Jesus made a SILENT SENTIMENT that “it was finished.”
- READ JOHN 20:6-7, “Simon Peter therefore also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there, and the face cloth which had been on his head, not lying by the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.”
- Why did John point out so much detail as to how Jesus left his burial clothes in the tomb?
- What did Jesus do for an occupation before he entered ministry? Carpentry.
- EXPLAIN: Carpenter’s had interesting custom. When a carpenter would go to a family’s house to do a project, after his job was done he would then take a towel...splash some water over himself and then cleanse the sawdust and sweat off of his face and arms. He would then take that towel, fold it in half, and then fold it in half again...and place that towel on top of the finished work. Whether it be a table or a cabinet, when that family got home from working on the fields...they would see the newly finished work in their house, and then they would see that cloth or towel laying on top of that work. They would know that the carpenter had just left a silent signatures - a reminder that the job was finished.
When Peter stepped inside that empty tomb and saw the face cloth of Jesus folded and laying by itself. He knew that Jesus was leaving a silent reminder that the job was finished.
- Jesus was leaving a silent reminder that IT WAS FINISHED.
b. Through the Resurrection, a Sanctification was Mandated
- Colossians 3:1-2: “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
- As we view Easter, the one thing that Christ wants from His people is for them to be heavenly minded.
- God wants you to purify yourself and redirect your attention on eternity.
c. Through the Resurrection, a Salvation was Manifested
- I Corinthians 15:20-22: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man (adam) came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.”
- ILLUS: Bird Cage
A preacher was walking home from the market one day and he noticed a little mischeivous boy playing with some old birds in a beat up, rusty birdcage. He asked the boy, "Son what are you going to do with those birds." That squirt of a boy said, "Well, I’m going to poke them with a stick...then I’m going to pull out the feathers...then I’m going to feed them to my cat!" Well that preacher had a soft heart and he felt sorry for those birds and he asked the boy, "How much do you want for them?"
"What? Why mister, you don’t want these old birds...why they’re worthless...they can’t mean anything to you."
The preacher replied, "How much?"
That boy sized him up and said, "well, ten dollars." And that preacher took out his wallet and gave that boy a ten dollar bill and then he took those birds over to nice patch of green grass under a shade tree. And he gently opened the door of that cage and he coerced those pitiful birds to come out of that cage and into freedom.
2000 years ago, Satan came to Jesus and said, "Yep! I just caught me a world full of people down there!"
And Jesus asked him, "What are you going to do with them?"
Satan replied, "well, I’m going to teach them how to hate each other, and lie to each other, and build bombs to destroy each other, I’m going to teach them to steal and to drink and to do drugs...and on and on he went."
And Jesus asked, "And then what are you going to do with them?"
Satan’s response, "Well, I guess I’ll just kill them!"
Then Jesus asked, "How much do you want for them?"
And Satan wondered, "Why in the world would you want these people? Why they will just hate you, and despise you, and betray you, and they will even beat you and crucify you! You don’t want them!!!"
And Jesus said once again, "How much!"
And Satan replied, "All your tears and all your blood."
And the Lord Jesus said, "DONE!"
What is the meaning of Easter? That Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried…and was risen again.
- “Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sin far away, rising he justified, freely forever, and One day He’s coming. Oh glorious day!
