The Resurrection: How Important Is It? - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
INTRODUCTION:
This is possibly the strangest Easter that any of us have ever had. But our circumstances do not change the fact that on this day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the tomb is empty, and the Lord of Glory is risen. Praise God!
My wife and I spent several years in Russia as missionaries and this Easter egg that I am holding was made in Russia in a glass and crystal factory about three miles from the town that we lived in. It is hand-blown crystal. There are some unique things about this egg that remind me of the first Easter when our Lord and Savior was resurrected from the grave. First, there are two letters etched into the crystal which look like and “X” and a “B”. These two letters are Russian letters that stand for “Xpuctos Bockepec” which means “Christ is risen.” Second, this crystal egg because it is hand-blown is hollow, it has nothing inside it, it is empty and this reminds me of the tomb that first Easter morning that was empty, Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and had left the tomb empty. These are the two facts that we celebrate on Easter Sunday, but why are they important, what do they mean to us. That is what we are going to explore this Easter morning.
--PRAY--
If you are following along in your Bible this morning and I hope you are, please turn to 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Paul great defense of the resurrection. Please, follow along while I read the first 8 verses.
I Corinthians 15:1-8,
“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:1–8, NASB95)[1]
THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
Paul begins this passage to the church in Corinth by stating that he wants to remind them of the Gospel which he had shared with them. The Gospel which they had heard, received and believed, and on which they had taken their stand in the city of Corinth in front of their family and friends and co-workers, the Gospel which had changed their lives from being spiritually dead pagan idol worshipers into spiritually alive sons and daughters of the true and living God. Paul goes on to say that if they do not believe in the Gospel which he preached then their belief is in vain. What does Paul mean, he is saying that if you add or remove anything from the Gospel that he preached to them, then they are not believing the true Gospel and your belief is in error and your belief will not save you, no matter how much faith you have in what you believe, it is worthless unless you believe the whole Gospel as preached by Paul. Paul had spent two years in Corinth teaching the Corinthians the Gospel and all that had been revealed to him by God, the Holy Spirit. Paul had taught that God has one way in which we can come to Him in faith and receive forgiveness of sins and be reconciled to Him and justified by Him and become a member of His family. It is only by God’s way that this can happen, nothing that we do or don’t do will make us righteous before God, it is only what He does in us that will make us righteous before Him. The only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God is through faith receiving and believing the Gospel as it was preached to them by Paul.
THE GOSPEL EXPLAINED (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Paul then goes on to remind his readers what the Gospel was that he preached to them. He writes in verses three and four, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4, NASB95)[2] Paul begins by reminding them that this Gospel was not something that was taught to him by man, but something he received by divine revelation from the Lord and he had passed this information on to them as of first importance. These are the things that have to believe for your sins to be forgiven and you are to be reconciled or made right with God. These are the truths which are most important and necessary for salvation. There are three things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that must be believed by faith if you are to receive the free gift of salvation on the basis of God’s grace for us. Let’s look at each of these separately:
1. “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:3b, NASB95)[3] The first truth that we must believe is that Jesus Christ died for our sins. The fact that Jesus died is an historical fact, not only do the Scriptures attest to this fact, but also unbelieving, contemporary authors and historians from Jesus’ day attest to the fact that Jesus died on a cross. The fact that His death was for our sins is affirmed by the Scriptures. Now when Paul speaks of according to the Scriptures, He is speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures, the only Scriptures he had. Paul knew that the Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would die for man’s sins. Possibly he had in mind the passage that we looked at on Friday evening, Isaiah spoke of the Messiah suffering and dying for our sins. Isaiah 53:4-6 says, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NASB95)[4] Isaiah 700 years earlier predicted that Jesus Christ would become the perfect substitute and die for our sins, our transgressions, our iniquities. He would take our place and pay the penalty required for sin which is death. We must first believe that Jesus died for our sins as prophesied in the Scriptures.
2. “…and that He was buried…” (1 Corinthians 15:4a, NASB95)[5] The second truth that Paul says is of first importance in our belief for salvation is that after Jesus died for our sins He was buried. Again, this is an historical fact. Again, this is prophesied in the Scriptures, again in Isaiah 53 the prophet predicts that Jesus will be buried in a rich man’s tomb. Isaiah 53:9 states, “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9, NASB95)[6] His burial should have been in a common grave with the wicked men that He died with, but because He was innocent, because He was sinless, had done no violence and was blameless in His words, God assigned Him the tomb of a rich man to be His burial place. This is exactly what happened, Jesus’ body was place in the private tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, who was a member of the Sanhedrin, but also a secret disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. We read these words in Mark 15:42-45, “When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.” (Mark 15:42–45, NASB95)[7] The testimony of the centurion to Pilate, the granting of the body to Joseph and placing the body of Jesus in a tomb is all proof that Jesus Christ was in fact dead. Joseph and another disciple named Nicodemus removed the body of Jesus from the cross, washed the body with water, then wrapped the body with linen cloth along with spices and laid Him in a tomb and rolled a stone over the opening. He was without doubt dead.
3. “…and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:4b, NASB95)[8]The third truth that Paul said we must believe in order to have our sins forgiven and be justified by God is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This truth cannot be removed from the Gospel message. It is essential to the Christian faith, without the resurrection the Christian’s faith is worthless, this is what Paul states later in this chapter, in verse 17 he writes, “…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17, NASB95)[9] My question at the beginning of this message was why is the resurrection and the empty tomb important to us? Paul says it is essential to our salvation, that it is of first importance. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, then there would be no Christian faith. Why? Paul says because it is according to the Scriptures. The Scriptures teach that Christ must rise from the dead, again Paul is referring to the Old Testament Scriptures. What does the Old Testament say, David prophesied in Psalm 16:9-10, “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” (Psalm 16:9–10, NASB95)[10] This is speaking of the resurrection of Christ. His body would not be left in the tomb to rot, nor would His soul be left in Sheol, but instead God would raise Him from the dead imperishable. Isaiah also prophesied of His resurrection in Isaiah 53:10-11, “But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:10–11, NASB95)[11] After laying own His life as the sacrifice for sin, Isaiah writes that the Messiah, the Servant, who we know is Jesus Christ, will see His offspring, His spiritual children, God says He will prolong His days and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. That cannot happen if you are dead, this is speaking of the resurrection, the result of the anguish of His soul, the agony and pain of suffering God’s wrath against sin, of dying for those sins, He will see it and be satisfied, because His sacrifice will justify the many. He will see it because He is alive, He is raised from the dead. Jesus many times during His earthly ministry predicted His resurrection from the dead understanding that without it there would be no salvation. Why is the empty tomb and Resurrection so important, that we set a day aside each year to celebrate it and in fact we celebrate it every Sunday by worshiping the Lord on the first day of the week, the day He was raised from the dead? The empty tomb and the resurrection are important because they are the hope of salvation. They are the proof that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, the Messiah, the Son of God. They are the proof, the evidence that sin has been fully paid for and death has been forever conquered. Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our eventual resurrection, when we will be transformed shedding our earthly, mortal bodies for a heavenly, immortal, imperishable, eternal body like the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why the resurrection is important for us. Without it there is no salvation and no hope of eternal life. The resurrection is so important to Paul that he does not stop by just stating this as a truth of first importance but goes on to give us further proof of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE EYE-WITNESS PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)
The proof of the empty tomb and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the eyewitnesses, or those who saw Jesus after He was raised from the dead. Paul does not list all the eyewitnesses of Christ after the resurrection, but He list far more than would be required in a court of law. Paul writes, “…and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:5–8, NASB95)[12] Paul begins with the Apostle Peter whom he calls Cephas, the Aramaic rendering of Peter. Jesus appeared to Peter on the day of His resurrection. Luke 24:34 says, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” (Luke 24:34, NASB95)[13] Then Paul writes that Jesus appeared to the twelve disciples and this was more than once, but at least five times that we have recorded in Scripture. Then Paul speaks of our risen Lord appearing to more than 500 at the same time, possibly just before He ascended back into heaven. Paul says that most of these 500 were still living at the time that he wrote 1 Corinthians and could be contacted to verify that they saw the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Then Jesus appeared to James, the Lord’s half-brother, the son of Mary and Joseph who became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and wrote the book of James. Then Paul says that He appeared to all the apostles or all those selected to go and preach the Gospel which is probably in reference to specific ones who saw Him on the Mount of Olives and were with Him when He ascended back into heaven. Finally, Paul says that he too was an eyewitness to the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was not like the other apostles who had followed Christ during His earthly ministry, but instead he was chosen after Christ had ascended into heaven. Paul says he was one who was untimely born, the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Paul as he was making his way to the city of Damascus to arrest and take to prison those who were followers of Jesus Christ. The Lord met Paul on the road and his life was radically changed from persecutor of Christians to persecuted for Christ as He boldly proclaimed the Gospel across the Roman empire. This is Paul’s proof of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is solid proof that cannot be denied. Is there proof of the resurrection? Yes, overwhelming proof as seen in the testimony of the eyewitnesses, and I have just touched on a small portion of the proof this morning.
CONCLUSION:
Why is the empty tomb and the resurrection important to us today? It is the empty tomb and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God a possibility. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, there would be no salvation. Because Jesus predicted His resurrection, He had to rise from the dead to show that everything else He said concerning Himself was true. His shed blood was the price that had to be paid for our sins, but His resurrection was the proof that His sacrifice was sufficient to pay for our sins. It was the proof that He was who He claimed to be, as Paul declared in Romans 1:4 that Jesus Christ was declared with power to be the Son of God because of His resurrection from the dead. Furthermore, the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are important to us who are saved because they are the guarantee of our future resurrection and the guarantee that one day we too will have glorified bodies like the glorified body of our Savior. The empty tomb and the resurrection are very important to us, it is the hope of our future.
What about you? What do you believe about the resurrection and what are you going to do with the overwhelming proof of the empty tomb and the risen Lord Jesus Christ? If it is true and the proof and evidence certainly point that way, then what Jesus said in John 14:6 must also be true, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6, NASB95)[14] Jesus Christ is the only way to reconciliation with God the Father. Jesus is the only One who can give us new life. If you have never in faith accepted the free gift of salvation offered to you by God’s grace and love for you, why not do so today? What better day then the day in which we celebrate the greatest event in all of history, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
If you already know Jesus Christ as your Savior, then what should your response be to His resurrection? Your response should be great rejoicing, praising God for your salvation and you should desire to share the joy of being reconciled to God and knowing Jesus Christ with everyone who will listen. This is not a secret to keep to yourself, it is the good news to be shared with the nations, something to be shouted from the mountaintops and shared in every little village, town, and city with everyone and anyone who will listen. This is the greatest and most important message of all time!
--CHRIST IS RISEN!--
--HE IS RISEN INDEED!--
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.