2008 Easter Sunday – “The
Day-shown-a 500”
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – March 23, 2008
Prayer Introduction: It was a 100 degree September day in San Antonio, when a 10 month-old baby girl was accidentally locked inside a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and aunt ran around the car in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the infant was turning purple and had foam on her mouth. It had become a life-or-death situation when Fred Arriola, a wrecker driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer and smashed a window of the car to set her free. Was he heralded a hero? He said, “The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, ‘What's more important--the baby or the window?’” Sometimes priorities get out of order, and a Fred Arriola reminds us what's important.
Easter Sunday also reminds us what’s truly important in a world where it is easy to get our priorities out of order.
We looked at
On this Easter Sunday we are going to look at the rest of that passage, which tells us what the gospel is – to which we should hold firmly, that which is of first importance. Particularly, we will focus on the importance of the resurrection.
Let’s pray to the God who raised Jesus from the dead – and in His Word reminds us what is of first importance…We pray now for the preacher in the pulpit. He is not worthy, but by your grace he is able. And so it is through Jesus Christ that we pray – Amen!
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I. The First Importance of the Resurrection
First, I would have you see the First Importance of the Resurrection. At the sunrise service we looked at the resurrection accounts in the four Gospels. And ultimately saw that Jesus appeared on at least 11 different occasions (that are recorded in Scripture). This is important, because some people mistakenly think that Jesus only appeared on Easter Sunday morning, and that was it.
The last 40 days were the 40 days of Lent – anticipating the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The next 50 days are the 50 days of Easter – leading up to Pentecost (pente – being the word for 5/50 [i.e. pentagaon]). Jesus made at least 11 appearances to different people and groups over those 50 days.
And yet, there are some who don’t think Jesus ever truly rose from the dead. Did you know that the Koran states that Jesus never really died on the cross, but fled to India and is buried in Srinagar, Kashmir (Ian Wilson, Jesus: The Evidence & Surah IV:156-157). And yet, people suggest that Muslims and Christians believe in the same God. That’s ludicrous! Muslims certainly do not believe that we believe in the same God. They don’t believe in a Triune God – including a second person of the Trinity being the Son of God raised from the dead.
In
There are lots of other things that Christians can disagree on: the style of church government, the mode of baptism, the time of Christ’s return. There are lots of other things which not all Christians understand: predestination, supralapsarianism.
Mrs. Albert Einstein was once asked if she understood her husband's theory of relativity. “No,” she said, “but I know how he likes his tea.”
Whether or not a person understands the most theologically complex mysteries – or a person’s position on secondary issues – this doesn’t even come close to the importance of the foundational truths: Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised from the dead.
You don’t have that – you are lost.
A few verses after the passage we just read – verses 14-19 – “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
If Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, then not only are we wasting our times – we’re a bunch of idiots for making such a big fuss about Jesus.
Last week, we saw that the same crowd who was praising Jesus on Palm Sunday was shouting “Crucify Him” on Friday. People simply followed the crowd, without really knowing Jesus. And so we considered the fact that the 1950’s were not the “good ‘ol days” just because everyone went to church. Many people were simply following the crowd, without really knowing Jesus.
Parents didn’t raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord; because they didn’t really know the Lord. People have stopped coming to church, because they don’t know the Lord – and they have simply followed the crowd who has gone somewhere else
It begs the question: Do I know the Lord? Do I believe that Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead – because that is what the crowd says; or do I believe it, because he is alive in me?!
II. The Benefits of the Resurrection
And so, not only would I have you see the First Importance of the Resurrection, I would also have you see the first application of this first importance: The Benefits of the Resurrection.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism gives us four Q&A’s on benefits.
Question #32 asks – What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
Answer: They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them.
Through Christ, and through Christ alone, we have three main benefits: justification, adoption and sanctification.
Justification means that we have been declared righteous in God’s sight – not because we are righteous, but because Jesus was. Jesus gives us the credit for his righteousness, and takes the blame for our sins. We are justified by faith alone!
Adoption means that God brings us into his family and gives us rights to all the privileges of his children.
Sanctification means that we, who have been declared righteous, actually can progressively become more righteous. We can become more and more like Jesus as the Holy Spirit enables us more and more to die to sin and live unto righteousness.
WSC #36 tells us about the additional benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification, [they] are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
Want to be filled with God’s love, peace and joy?! Invite Jesus, who is alive, to live in you through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul in verse 10 writes, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” Anyone who claims to be a Christian – justified by faith – demonstrates true faith by the effect God’s grace has on their life.
G. K. Chesterton once said that if he were a landlord what he would most want to know about his tenants was not their employment nor their income, but their beliefs. Our beliefs affect how we live. If we truly believe in Christ’s resurrection, that changes how we live. We don’t live for ourselves; we live to glorify God.
WSC #37 then asks – What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
Answer: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ do rest in their graves till the resurrection.
There are many benefits, which we receive in this life; but ultimately we look to the benefits of eternity – which is a lot longer that the years of this life.
The first part of eternity (before Christ returns) our souls will be made perfect and will dwell in heaven. But here comes the really exciting part.
WSC #38 asks – What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
Answer: At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.
The benefits of Christ’s resurrection will be fully experienced when Christ returns and we receive new, resurrected bodies; and live in the new heavens and new earth. Is this not the best news?!
There’s an old Mercedes Benz TV commercial showing their car colliding with a cement wall during a safety test. Someone then asks the company spokesman why they do not enforce their patent on the Mercedes Benz energy-absorbing car body, a design evidently copied by other companies because of its success. He replies mater-of-factly, “Because some things in life are too important not to share.” How true. In that category also falls the gospel of salvation, which saves people from far more than auto collisions.
How can we not celebrate the good news of Christ’s resurrection together and share it with others?!
III. The Fellowship of the Resurrection
And so, from the First Importance of the Resurrection, I would have you see the first application: The Benefits of the Resurrection, and also the second application: The Fellowship of the Resurrection.
God created us to live in community. After God created Adam he said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). In the Old Testament God brought together the whole nation of Israel. And in the New Testament, after Jesus’ resurrection, God pulled us together into the covenant community of the church.
In verses 5-8 of our passage, Paul records some of the people to whom Jesus first appeared. But notice while there were a couple of times he appeared to individuals – Peter, James, Paul; he mainly appeared to groups – the Twelve, and on one occasion he showed himself to 500 people.
There were people in Corinth who doubted the resurrection. Paul is saying, “If you don’t believe me – here are a whole bunch of people you can ask.” If you’re trying to start a conspiracy, you make sure that no one can substantiate your claims. Yet, here Paul says let me give you the names of 500+ people you can ask! It must not be a conspiracy.
And it becomes a call for us to come together as a covenant community sharing a common creed.
In the Old Testament, any time God appeared – or revealed a new revelation of his word – it was for the purpose of drawing his people together.
Every time Jesus appeared it was for the purpose of drawing his people together.
The Holy Spirit is now here – applying what was planned by the Father and accomplished by Christ – for the purpose of drawing his people together.
In his letter to the Ephesian Church Paul writes, “You are…built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22).
Do you see? Jesus’ resurrection is to pull us together: to worship together, to grow in faith together, to serve Christ together.
There are other religions and other faiths that are individualistic; but the Christian faith is a communal faith.
To be sure, we are saved individually – but we are saved to live in communion with the Lord and with one another. It is a chief benefit and application of the resurrection. It is what we celebrate when we come together at the Lord’s Table for communion.
A young man was being interviewed to be a pilot for a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The interviewer, doubtful that the young man could know the dangers of the river, asked if he knew where all the rocks were. To this he replied, “No, sir, I do not know where all the rocks are, but I know where they aren't.” He got the job.
There are all kinds of ways to get off track – and all kinds of rocks you risk hitting. But if, together, we look to be guided by Christ there is smoother sailing ahead.
On this Easter Sunday, may each of us commit – or re-commit – ourselves to living in communion with the Lord and in communion with one another; because He is alive!
MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!