Resurrection

Good morning, church.

Good morning, church.

Good morning, church.

Good morning, church.

In other words, I want to know that I've done something meaningful with my life, that I haven't lived it in vain.

This Easter morning, we're looking at one of the most famous and classic New Testament texts on the resurrection.

And what we find is that the resurrection of Jesus has everything to do with that deep human longing not to live our lives in vain.

So turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

It's page 961 in the Pew Bible.

1 Corinthians 15.

961.

We're not going to read all of 1 Corinthians 15 this morning, but we're going to read selections of it.

Let me pray for us before we turn to the Word.

God, thank you so much for this Sunday when we can focus with laser-like intensity on the resurrection of Jesus.

Holy Spirit, we ask that you would open our hearts to see Christ afresh to your glory, Father.

In his name we pray.

Amen.

Paul writes this,

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved,

if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received,

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

But by the grace of God, I am what I am.

And his grace toward me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Whether then it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.

Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,

how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain.

We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ,

whom he did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.

Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.

The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own order, Christ the first fruits.

Then at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

Skip ahead down to verse 55.

Oh death, where is your victory?

Oh death, where is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

It's easy, isn't it, to get distracted from what truly matters.

So Paul begins this chapter by reminding us of the gospel.

The good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried,

was raised bodily on the third day, and was seen by many witnesses.

And isn't that what Easter Sunday is really all about?

In the midst of everything else that fights for our attention,

to remind ourselves again of the good news of Jesus' death,

and above all, his resurrection.

And Paul says this is of first importance.

In other words, this gospel is not something that we kind of master,

and then move beyond.

Rather, it's the center that holds it all together.

It's the life-giving well that we come back to again and again,

and continually, continually draw water that satisfies.

And you know, it's worth pointing out that 1 Corinthians 15,

this chapter we just read from,

is the climax of a letter to a very troubled church.

If you were to read the rest of the book,

you'd find that the church in Corinth was wrestling with issues of unity.

There were factions all over tearing it apart.

They were struggling with holiness,

wondering what kind of ethics they should live their lives by.

They were struggling most of all with love,

as they tore one another apart,

even in their very worship services.

And now Paul brings it all to a head by saying,

let me remind you of what's of first importance.

Friends, could it be that each of these problems,

in their life and in ours,

come from a failure to understand and apply the gospel.

So we need to get the gospel straight, don't we?

And in particular, on Easter,

we need to get our thinking about the resurrection straight.

Because in Corinth, and for us,

I don't think we really grasp the significance

of what we mean when we say,

Christ is risen.

And we can begin by considering the very word gospel itself.

Which if you've hung around Trinity long enough,

you know that the word gospel means good news.

And that means this, you see,

Easter, the resurrection,

all of what we're doing this morning,

isn't just a really helpful metaphor

about how there can be light after darkness,

or hope from despair.

It's not a figurative way of saying

that there can be new beginnings after loss.

No.

What the first Christians were spreading

wasn't a metaphor,

but news.

They were making a historical claim

about something that happened

in space and time.

Easter wasn't a nice way of dressing up the belief

that there's sunshine after the rain.

It's a concrete, flesh and blood,

historical claim that something happened

in and through Jesus of Nazareth.

It's news.

It's a claim.

And the first part of this claim,

as we see here,

is that Christ died.

Now it's hard for us to imagine

how paradoxical,

even offensive,

that would have sounded

to a first century Jew.

that God's long-promised king and liberator,

the Christ,

the Messiah,

died.

And died by Roman crucifixion

like a common criminal.

It's about as absurd as saying

that the Canadian military forces

have successfully staged a takeover

of the United States government.

That doesn't make sense

in anybody's universe, right?

There's no such thing

as a three-sided square

and the Messiah wasn't supposed to die.

The Christ was supposed to conquer,

to get victory,

to elevate Israel above her enemies,

not be executed

by the very oppressors

he was meant to overthrow.

And so you see,

from the moment

of Jesus' crucifixion,

around 30 AD,

which no historian doubts,

there was no reason,

absolutely none,

why the little movement

from Galilee

that had started to gather around him

should have gone on existing at all.

There was no reason

that it should have spread

like wildfire,

such that within the lifetime

of those first disciples,

there were followers of Jesus

in nearly every corner

of the Roman Empire.

You see,

there had been plenty,

plenty of messianic

or quasi-messianic movements

in the first century.

And most of those leaders

end up being squashed.

And the reason why

you've never heard

of any of those people

is because they amounted to nothing.

Every single one

of those movements collapsed

practically right away.

except for one.

Except Jesus.

And why?

What made Jesus

any different

from all those other

failed messiahs?

Well, the reason

all the earliest followers gave

for why they worshipped

and followed

a crucified messiah,

following him

even to the point

of giving up their own lives,

the reason why

they went from a frightened

and dejected band

of nobodies

who bet on a losing

messiah

and were transformed

into a community

of such joy

and resilience

that they laid down

their life

for their faith in Jesus,

the reason that they gave

was that three days

after his burial,

Christ

was raised.

Now, understand

what is

and is not

being said here

in verse 4.

When the earliest

followers of Jesus

said that God

had raised him

from the dead,

it was not

a nice way

of saying

that Jesus

simply went to heaven.

And it wasn't

a nice way

of saying

that he was

spiritually present

to his followers.

They had lots

of words

to describe

that sort of thing.

But that is not

what the words

raised

and resurrection

meant.

Now, if I told you

that my family

was having an Easter egg hunt

with our neighbors

this afternoon,

which we are,

you wouldn't think

that that was

just a nice way

of saying

that I'm headed home

to take a nap.

Though I might

take a nap

after the Easter egg hunt.

No, you see,

we have words

for taking a nap

and we have words

for hunting for eggs.

And though they may

be related

in my little world,

they mean different things.

And when the followers

of Jesus

said

that he had been

raised,

they were saying

something very specific

and very concrete.

Resurrection

for first century Jews

meant that Jesus

was bodily

alive again.

That he had broken

the bars of death,

come out

through the other side

into a fully

embodied life,

never to die

again.

That was the claim

they all made.

That the tomb

was empty,

that he had defeated

death,

and he was gloriously

alive again,

body and all.

And that meant

that this one

who claimed

to be Messiah,

that this one

was the one

who claimed,

not just to point

to the truth

like other religious

leaders,

but claimed himself

to be

the way

and the truth

and the life.

The resurrection

means

that he was

and is

who he says

he is,

the Lord.

Of course,

Jesus'

bodily resurrection

is a hard claim

to wrap our minds

around.

I fully get that.

Maybe you're here

this morning

and that just seems

completely implausible.

How can we

in the 21st century

believe such a thing?

Well, you know,

it would have been

just as implausible

in the first century,

too.

After all,

the idea that

dead people

stay dead

wasn't something

we just all of a sudden

discovered in the

Enlightenment.

Everybody kind of

knew that in the

first century,

too.

And what's more,

nobody in the

first century

was even expecting

something like this.

Your typical

first century pagan

may have believed

in some sort of

afterlife and souls

and spirits

and the underworld

and such,

but they knew

that you didn't

come back,

not in a body.

Nobody beat death.

And besides,

many Greeks and Romans

wouldn't have thought

that coming back

in a body

was such a good

thing anyway.

Soma,

Sema,

they used to say.

The body

is a tomb.

The quicker

we're released

from our fickle,

corrupt bodies,

the better.

So a bodily

risen Christ

certainly isn't

something that the

Greeks would have

made up.

They would have

had a hard time

wrapping their minds

around it,

too, you see.

But you know,

the same is true

for first century

Jewish culture as well.

You see,

all the earliest

followers of Jesus

were good,

monotheistic Jews,

which meant

that they

most certainly

believed

in a great

final resurrection

of all God's

people at the

end of the day

when God would

come to put an

end to evil

and injustice

and to heal

his creation.

So yes,

they were looking

forward to a

resurrection of

all God's people

at the end of

history,

but what they

weren't expecting

was the

resurrection of

one person

in the middle

of history.

That was off

the grid.

Think of

baseball.

We fully expect

one team

at the end of

the season

to win the

whole thing,

to be the

victor.

But what we

don't expect

is a single

player in the

middle of the

season to be

crowned the

World Series

MVP.

It just doesn't

work that way.

So you see,

Jesus'

resurrection in

the middle of

history was

something that

no Jewish

person would

have made

up.

So for Jew

and Gentile

alike, the

resurrection of

Jesus was

unexpected,

surprising,

shocking,

even hard to

believe.

Just like it

is for us

today.

So given

all that,

how did

they come

to believe

it?

our text

tells us

in verse

5,

he

appeared.

He came

to them

and they

saw him

with their

own eyes.

The account

from John's

gospel that

we read

earlier tells

us that

Mary even

embraced him.

And the

gospel of

Luke tells

us that

they ate

with him.

And in

Matthew's

account of

all this,

we're even

told that on

those first

occasions,

seeing the

risen Jesus,

some of

them still

doubted.

which shows

how great

of a

worldview

shift was

happening

for even

the followers

of Jesus.

Also tells

us some of

the honesty

of the

gospel writers,

doesn't it?

So after the

resurrection,

Jesus spent

40 days with

his disciples,

teaching them,

being with

them,

assuring them

that he was

risen,

and then he

ascended to

the Father

and sent

them out

as witnesses

of his

resurrection,

of his

lordship,

and of

his

grace.

And it

wasn't just

single

individuals who

saw the

risen Jesus,

just two

or one or

two people

here or

there,

isolated.

We're told

that the

twelve saw

him,

and the

apostles saw

him,

and even

500 at

once saw

him,

Paul says.

And Paul's

writing all

this in a

public letter

as if to

say,

look,

you can go

talk to

them,

they'll tell

you what

they saw.

And it

wasn't just

insiders that

Jesus came to

either,

right?

We know

that the

James mentioned

in verse

seven was

Jesus'

brother.

And we

know from

the gospel

accounts that

during Jesus'

ministry,

his brothers

and relatives

totally rejected

him.

They thought

he was

crazy.

Which,

by the way,

you would

have too if

your brother

was telling

you that

he was

the Christ.

And yet

we know

that historically

within a few

years,

the person

leading the

church in

Jerusalem is

none other

than James,

the half

brother and

once despiser

of the

crucified

Jesus.

What would

have changed

his life

so radically?

And then,

of course,

there's Paul

who was a

young,

zealous

Pharisee,

had persecuted

the early

church for

their blasphemy

in claiming

that the

crucified

Jesus was

Lord.

But again,

within a few

years of

Jesus'

death,

it's Paul

who's risking

his life

to start

churches

that are

proclaiming

Jesus

crucified and

risen.

as Lord.

Friends,

this is the

core of

the gospel

message.

Christ died,

was buried,

and was

bodily raised,

offering his

grace to

all who

believe.

Now,

if you're here

this morning

and you're not

a Christian,

we're really

glad you're

here.

You picked

like the

best Sunday

to come to

church,

right?

And I hope

you're starting

to see that

this claim

about Jesus'

resurrection

isn't just

kind of a

nice private

thing for

Christians to

believe.

I hope you're

starting to see

that from the

very start,

it's always

been a claim

about something

that happened

publicly in

history that

has changed

the course of

history and

will change

your life if

you believe it.

I wonder how

you make sense

of this claim.

How do you

deal with the

resurrection?

And you

know,

if we're

being honest,

there is

one thing

that we

can't say.

We can't

say that

Jesus'

resurrection

is just

a legend

that grew

up over

time.

Maybe like

a great

extravagant

game of

whisper down

the alley.

You see,

Paul wrote

this letter

that we call

1 Corinthians

in the early

50s,

just a couple

decades after

Jesus'

death.

And did

you see what

he says in

verse 3?

This gospel

that I declared

to you is

what I also

received.

In other

words,

Paul is

saying that

this is

the core

teaching that

the earliest

followers of

Jesus believed

and taught

and passed

on to

everyone else.

So what

we've been

unpacking in

verses 3

through 7

is Paul

citing for

us one

of the

earliest

Christian

summaries

of the

good news.

And this

means that

when Paul

started his

own ministry

in the

mid-30s,

just a few

years after

Jesus'

death,

this was

his message.

Christ died

for our

sins.

He was

buried.

And he

was bodily

raised on

the third

day.

And he

was seen

by many

witnesses.

You see,

as deep

as you

go in

the historical

record,

back to the

earliest years

after Jesus'

death,

this is the

claim.

He's risen.

He's Lord.

And it's

time to

decide.

God's

God.

But you

know,

1 Corinthians

15 was

originally

written for

Christians,

for believers.

So,

fellow

Christians,

I wonder

if you

have a

right sense

of how

important

this is.

Does the

resurrection

carry the

weight of

first importance

for us?

Or do we

spend more

time building

and worrying

and dreaming

and contemplating

about other

things?

Paul goes

on to say

in verses

12-19

that if

Christ hasn't

been raised,

look,

if none

of this

is true,

pack it

up and

go home.

Stop

making us

use the

balcony on

Easter.

It's not

worth it,

right?

Without

the resurrection,

it's all

in vain.

Our

preaching,

our faith,

our hope

is futile.

The whole

ship sails

on the

reality of

the resurrection.

Take it

away and

it's empty

and pointless.

Nothing

changes.

We're still

in our

sins,

Paul says,

and nothing

matters.

If Christ

hasn't been

raised,

we die,

we perish,

that's the

end.

The great

yawn of

non-existence.

There's no

halfway here.

If it's not

true,

find something

better to do

with your

time.

But if it

is true,

well then,

Paul says,

everything

changes and

everything

matters.

And how

so?

Well,

first,

Paul says,

it changes

our future.

Look again

at verse

20.

But in

fact,

Christ has

been raised

from the

dead.

The first

fruits of

those who

have fallen

asleep.

Now,

first fruits,

as you might

have guessed,

is a metaphor

from agriculture,

from farming.

The first fruits

were the initial

part of an

incoming harvest.

it was the

initial crop

that told you

what you could

expect from

what was to

come.

It was a

taste of

what was

coming.

Think of it

this way.

Imagine standing

before a dam,

solid,

impenetrable,

stories high,

a whole lake

of water behind

it, a little

sort of small

river trickling

from it,

and suddenly,

contemplating said

dam, you see

a stream of

water come

shooting out of

a crack right

in the middle.

Now, you

don't have to

be a structural

engineer to

know that

something is

inevitably going

to happen.

That dam is

going to

break, and

nothing is going

to stop it.

And that

stream is

going to turn

into a flood.

Paul says

it's the same

with Christ.

What's true

of him will

be true of

those who

belong to him.

He has

broken the

dam of

death, and

nothing will

stop him from

one day bringing

the whole thing

down.

And those who

belong to him,

those who have

believed in him,

and taken him

as their Lord,

will be like

that flood

rolling over

the rubble

of death,

rushing into

the world to

come.

We don't

often get

amens at

Trinity.

That's

thanks.

we're a

pretty

solid,

stolid,

sort of

quiet bunch

here.

Don't you

see what

Paul's saying

in verses

20 through

23?

What's true

of the king

will one day

be true of

the kingdom.

If he has

been raised,

then so shall

we.

Next Sunday,

Worcester Square

will be having

their Cherry

Blossom Festival.

Small group

activity.

There you go.

And if you

were to go to

Worcester Square

and stand in

the park

and face

north,

you'd actually

be looking up

a little street

called Hughes

Place.

And the trees

along Hughes

Place every

year always

peak about

three to five

days before

the rest of

the square.

So you see,

when you see

them starting

to come into

bloom,

you know that

at any day

that whole

square is going

to erupt into

color and be

transformed.

For my money,

that's probably

one of the most

beautiful moments

in our city.

And it's the

perfect metaphor

for what Paul's

trying to get us

to see here.

The Christian

hope,

friends,

is determined

by Christ.

He's the first

fruits.

If he has

erupted into

life,

then so shall

we.

If he's been

raised in a

body,

then so shall

we.

If he's broken

through death

into incorruptible

physicality

and beauty,

then that is

where God

is taking us.

Now get

this.

This means

that your

future isn't

as a disembodied

spirit floating

on a cloud

in some

ethereal

afterlife.

But it's

in a renewed

body,

free of

decay and

death,

filled with

glory and

the spirit

of God.

And if

that's the

future Christ

guarantees for

us,

then don't

you see,

the pleasures

of this

life are

only a

rumor.

They are

only a

whisper of

what's to

come.

The drink

and the

laughter

and the

love now,

they're only

a dim

reflection of

what's in

store.

One of the

main metaphors

that Jesus

uses for the

new creation

is of a

wedding feast.

Friends,

what could

engage our

physical senses

more than a

feast?

Where we

eat and

drink and

dance and

laugh.

That's

what's in

store.

Not less

physical,

but more.

And that

means that

no matter

what happens

or doesn't

happen to

you in

this life,

you are

not ultimately

going to

miss out.

So if you

never take

that epic

hiking trip

through Europe,

if you

never land

that dream

job,

if you

never meet

that someone

special,

you're not

going to

miss out.

Your life

isn't ultimately

going to be

incomplete.

Christ has

something in

store for you

that's more

real than you

can imagine,

a feast.

Do you see

how liberating

that is?

Here and

now?

The world

to come is

going to be a

flood.

It's going to

be an explosion

of cherry

blossom leaves

that takes

our breath

away.

And you'll

be a part

of it.

So relax.

Give.

Make

sacrifices.

Forbear.

Forgive.

Forgive.

Easter's the

great promise,

friends,

that death

has been

swallowed up

in victory

and what's

in store

is unmitigated,

unashamed,

material joy.

And if that's

what the

resurrection of

Jesus means

for our

future,

then here's

what it means

for our

present.

Paul ends

this great

chapter on

the resurrection

by saying,

therefore,

my beloved

brothers,

be steadfast,

immovable,

always abounding

in the work

of the Lord,

knowing that

in the Lord

your labor

is not

in vain.

The reality

of the

resurrection,

friends,

doesn't make

us less

engaged

in this

life,

but more.

Because the

bodily

resurrection

of Jesus

is the

great

affirmation

that God

is at

work

redeeming

this

world.

And the

work that

we do

in the

Lord

for his

kingdom,

out of

love and

gratitude

toward him,

that work

will not

be lost

or wasted

or useless.

In the

Lord,

your labor

is not

in vain.

And that

certainly

applies to

our witness

bearing,

right?

To the

work that

we do

to introduce

others to

Christ and

to help

others grow

in the

faith.

Because

there's no

doubt about

it,

that work

can be

hard,

and sometimes

it can

feel like

it's in

vain.

When the

neighbor that

you've been

praying for

doesn't seem

to show any

spiritual interest.

When the

Christian friend

that we've been

encouraging and

meeting with

doesn't seem

to be

growing.

But this is

what the

resurrection

means,

that in

Christ,

God's new

creation work

has broken

into the

world.

And that

Christ is at

work to bring

life and

renewal,

even in the

hardest and

most unlikely

of places.

Friends,

if Christ has

conquered sin

and death

and a grave,

surely he

can soften a

hard heart

and cause

us to

grow.

So our

labors of

witness-bearing

are not in

vain.

But this

also applies

not just to

our witness-bearing,

but to our

image-bearing,

to the work

that we do

as humans

in bearing

the image

of God,

in glorifying

him in our

endeavors of

work and

of artistry

and creativity

and of

justice.

when we do

these things

as part of

our loving

response to

Christ and

his grace,

they too

are not in

vain.

Christ has

assured us by

his resurrection

that this

world matters,

that God

created this

world of

matter,

that he

called it

good,

and though

it's broken

in sin,

God isn't

simply going

to replace

it,

but renew

it and heal

it.

He's going

to redeem

it.

And this

means that

the new

creation work

that broke

out of the

tomb at

Easter in

Jesus' own

resurrection and

continues now

through the

church will

all be swept

up in the

symphony that's

to come when

Christ returns

and his glory

covers the

earth like the

waters cover

the sea.

The resurrection

assures us that

nothing will be

wasted when it's

done for him.

Not in the

lab or in the

office.

or in the

classroom or

in the

studio or at

home with the

kids.

Friends, all of

that work will

find its fitting

place and

purpose and

part to play in

the new

creation.

We might not

know how it

will all fit in

in the end.

Surely there

will be surprises.

Didn't Jesus

say that the

kingdom of God

is like a

mustard seed and

sometimes the

first are last

and the last

are first.

But to be

sure, nothing

will go

unadorned.

Nothing will

be in vain.

And so

Easter, friends,

is this great

glorious

bulwark

against

cynicism

and nihilism

and burnout.

Your labor's

not in vain.

It reminds me

of a story I

once read about

Christopher Wren,

who was a

British architect

who designed

London's St.

Paul's Cathedral.

The story goes

he was once

touring the

cathedral site

during construction

to talk to the

various artisans

who were working

there about how

things were

progressing.

And he was

talking to

masons and

carpenters and

sculptors and

stained glass

artists.

And as he was

finishing his

story, he came

across this old

man whose job

was to stir

cement with his

shovel to keep

the cement from

hardening.

And when the

great architect

asked the man

what he was

doing, the

man, not

knowing it

was Christopher

Wren who

was asking,

answered him,

Why, sir, I'm

building a great

cathedral to the

glory of God.

Friends, in the

same way, those

who belong to the

risen Christ can

know that they

too, no matter

what their task,

are part of a

great project to

the glory of God.

The greatest

project that there

is.

The project of

God's new

creation.

So the great

question that

runs under the

surface for all

of us, is this

making any

difference?

Am I living my

life in vain?

Is answered in

the resurrection of

Jesus Christ.

For those who

belong to the

risen Jesus,

nothing is in

vain.

life.

You see, friends,

in his

resurrection, he

has ended our

emptiness and

filled us with

life.

And he'll do the

same for all who

believe.

Christ is risen,

we say.

Christ is risen,

indeed.

Let's pray.

Father, what a

great act of

grace it is that

you have raised

Jesus from the

dead.

God, I pray

that you would

grant clarity to

those who are

still searching.

God, that they

would see Christ's

resurrection as

meaningful and

true and real.

And God, for

those of us whom

you've brought to

faith, help us to

live lives in line

with the truth of

the gospel.

God, fill our

hearts with the

joy of the new

creation.

Give us tasks that

we might, like

Paul, run with

this grace that

you've given us.

We ask all this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Friends, let's