Easter 2023: Made Alive (I Corinthians 15:20-22)

We're going to be starting from uh a reading in Matthew, starting in verse or uh chapter 28, verse 1, and then we're gonna be turning to 1 Corinthians after that, and that's the verse that you will find in your program that you have in your hands, hopefully already.

So, like I said, we're gonna start with Matthew uh verses uh 1 through 10 of chapter 28, and from our text this morning, this is the famous line that you've probably heard this morning in verse 6.

It says, He is not here, for he is risen.

Which, amen.

That's a reason to celebrate.

But you have to be careful to say that phrase slowly because five-year-old Timmy, who was a part of his church's Easter program, had one job during that program to recite this one line.

He is not here, for he is risen.

But when it came time for him to recite this line, he froze and he forgot what to say.

So the program director leaned over and whispered this line very quietly into his ear.

He then confidently grabbed the microphone and triumphantly shouted, He is not here, for he is in prison.

But as we'll see today, it's quite the opposite.

Jesus rising from the grave is actually what opened the prison doors that we were being held captive in.

That prison being sin and death.

So let's stand for the reading of God's word.

Matthew 28, verses 1 through 10.

Matthew 28:1–10

It says, After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb.

He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.

The angel told the woman, Don't be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here, for he has risen.

Just as he said, Come and see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples, he has risen from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee.

You will see him there.

Listen, I have told you.

So departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news.

Just then Jesus met them and said, Greetings.

They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

Then Jesus told them, Do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.

Please join me in prayer.

Lord, I thank you so much for this beautiful day that you've given us.

Lord, we thank you that this is the day that we get to gather and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which, as we're going to see in our text today, means everything to those that follow you.

So, Lord, I pray that we would have hearts that are filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for all that you've done for us, for the way that you have poured your love out on each one of us and have shown that so tangibly through the gift of Jesus Christ.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

So my hope is that today we can answer some questions about Easter.

You know, in a lot of ways, it has just become another holiday that we gather with family and we have a barbecue and then we move on and go back to the grind on Monday morning.

So my hope is that when we leave here today, that we can all answer these specific four questions.

The first question being, why do we celebrate Easter in the first place?

You know, is it about family and barbecues, or is there so much more behind that?

The second question is, why did Jesus need to die such a brutal death on the cross?

The third question is, why did he need to be raised from the dead?

And then the fourth question, how does this affect my eternity?

So my hope is as we go through these scriptures today that we'll all be able to walk out of here, being able to answer those four questions.

So I want everyone, if you're following along in your Bible, to turn to 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 20.

And if you have that program in front of you, this verse is in there, and there's an area below it for notes if you'd like to take some notes.

So we as a church, right now on Sunday mornings, we're going through the book of 1 Corinthians.

And currently on Sunday mornings, we're about to head into chapter 11, starting next week.

But today I want to jump ahead a little bit.

We're gonna be jumping into 1 Corinthians 15, 20 through 22, because it's gonna help us to answer those four questions that I just asked specifically.

So let's start with verse 20.

So 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 20.

It says, But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So the first thing we need to ask here is what does that mean?

You know, Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So what does that mean?

Well, first fruits are exactly what it sounds like.

It's the first fruit to be produced by a tree or a bush or whatever it might be, but it also by definition includes the first fruit of any crop, including grain.

And I think an easy way to sum up first fruits in a biblical context is it's the first part of your increase.

Anything that is an increase to you, it's the first part of that.

And for any Jewish people that were a part of this original Corinthian audience, or maybe any Jewish people that are going to be reading this letter that we're reading right here later on, it has a lot deeper meaning.

There's a lot more significance to this word to them, because God instituted the offering of firstfruits when he was establishing the nation of Israel.

And he gave them the law and he gave them the feasts that they were to observe as he was establishing this nation.

And the offering of firstfruits was where the Israelites would bring the first bundle of grain from their fields, and they would bring it to their place of worship as a sacrifice to God.

They weren't allowed to harvest any of the rest of their field or process any of the rest of their grain until they came and gave this first bundle of grain as an offering to God.

And what it was, it was a way for Israel to tangibly be recognizing that their increase, their whole crop that was still left in their field, was from God and is for God as well.

The whole field, it's a way of saying the whole field already belonged to God.

And this offering was to be made on the first day of the week following the Passover.

So why is that significant?

Well, in this case, regarding Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, it's the same Sunday, that first day of the week, that Jesus was raised from the dead.

So look at verse 20 again.

Now with all of that context, it says, But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits, there's that word, of those who have fallen asleep.

Fallen asleep just a nice way of saying people that have died.

So Jesus was the first bundle of the harvest that was sacrificed for us.

So again, well, what does that mean?

Well, he was the first to be raised from the dead into his eternal body as a symbol of the abundant harvest that is ahead.

A symbol of all of those that will be raised from the dead into their eternal bodies also.

So the question now becomes I know this getting a little technical, but follow, follow with me because it's pretty amazing.

Who are those that will follow?

That Jesus was a symbol of?

Who are those that are still in the field, so to speak?

And the answer is all that have accepted Jesus as God.

All those that have accepted Jesus as their Savior.

And if we have done this, we will follow suit.

If we're following Jesus, we're that picture of the field where Jesus was the first fruits.

We'll also be raised into eternal life, into an eternal body.

We are the harvest that is to follow the first fruits.

That is Jesus Christ.

Because as it says in verse 20, Jesus is our first fruits.

So that's the answer to our first question if you're following along.

That's why we celebrate Easter.

Because Jesus was raised from the dead.

He's the first of many, the first fruits of what is to follow for those that place their trust in him.

Now look at verse 21 with me.

For since death came through a man, and actually, wow, that's really interesting.

Get to preach a sermon while gunshots are going off, it sounds like.

Look at verse 21 again.

For since death came through a man, so we're just gonna stop right there.

So this is a reference to Adam and Eve, as we'll see in verse 22.

But first, let's talk about what it means that death came through a man.

The first sin committed that brought death and decay upon the earth, and all of humankind for that matter, was when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of good and evil.

You may have heard of this referred to as original sin.

Before sin came into this world, Adam and Eve essentially lived in paradise.

There was no hurt, there was no pain, there was no striving, no tears, there was no hardship in their life.

Think about that.

There was no toil in their work.

That means that when they worked, nothing went wrong.

When they woke up in the morning, it wasn't like, ah, I gotta go to work today.

They actually looked forward to it.

When they had plumbing projects, they didn't have plumbing projects, but when they had plumbing projects, they didn't have to go to the hardware store five times just to find the right fitting, you know, that actually would work.

There was no toil in their work.

And most importantly, they had a perfect relationship with God.

And he spoke to them directly.

He was seen by them.

But when they ate of that fruit, they were wanting to be equal with God.

That's why they ate it.

So they were kicked out of this paradise.

There was pain and suffering.

They started to age.

They started to witness death and decay all around them for the first time.

And it was their sin that caused this.

And don't for a second, because we often tend to do this, think that we would have handled things differently if given the same opportunity as Adam and Eve.

Has anybody here ever told a lie?

You don't have to raise your hand.

That's a little embarrassing.

But I'm pretty sure all of us would be raising our hand right here, wouldn't we?

Or maybe never had an inappropriate thought.

I don't think any of us would be able to raise our hand for that one either.

So we can't blame Adam and Eve.

Because their sin represented all of our sin.

And we actively participate in that sin on a daily basis.

So God had to set up a sacrificial system to save Adam and Eve from eternal death, from eternal separation from God.

Because only death could pay for the death that they brought upon themselves.

So they had to offer sheep and they had to offer goats and young cattle to temporarily cleanse and remove their sin.

Their sin was placed on these animals that would die in their place.

And you might be thinking, well, those poor animals, what did those poor animals ever do to deserve this death?

And the answer is exactly.

Because it took the perfect human sacrifice to put an end to all that humans had started.

To put an end to the sacrificial system of animals.

Which leads us to verse 21.

Look at verse 21 with me.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.

So it's because the sin of Adam and Eve brought death both on themselves and everyone that came after them, it had to be through a man that the spiritual death would be put to an end for good.

The animals only provided temporary forgiveness, temporary cleansing of sin.

Because it had to be through a man that things were made right.

But no one, when you think about this, no one in their own power could end this.

As I asked before, anyone here ever cheated on a test?

Anyone here ever been drunk or high?

Anyone here maybe not have told the whole truth on their taxes?

Is that too soon?

It's a little too close to the middle of April right now, maybe.

A little conviction maybe going on here.

None of us could have done what Jesus did.

Only Jesus could do that.

That's why it couldn't just be a man that put an end to spiritual death.

It had to be someone that was fully man and also fully God.

Someone that had the capacity and desire and the nature to remain sinless, to live the perfect life in our place, so that Scripture could tell us, as it does in 2 Corinthians 5.21, that God made the one who did not know sin, that being Jesus, to be sin for us.

So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

So Jesus gave his perfect life in place of our sinful life.

In effect, saying, I'm dying your death so that you don't have to.

I'm paying your debt because you don't have the capacity to pay it.

And it will be a free gift that you just have to receive and accept.

Because Jesus loves us that much.

But I know that one of the questions that often comes up at this point is how can we be sure?

How can we be sure that Jesus paid that price?

How can we be sure that Jesus was God and not just some really good historical person?

That is why the resurrection is so important.

That's why we're here today.

Jesus raising from the dead in his eternal body was proof that he was God.

Proof that death could not hold him in the grave, that he was more powerful than the effect of sin on this world.

And to ensure that his resurrection was real, Jesus showed himself to his disciples and then to a crowd of over 500 people at one time.

To leave all of these eyewitnesses behind that saw him in his resurrected state.

Which answers our third question.

Why did he need to be raised from the dead?

The answer to that question is to prove he was God and that he defeated sin and death once and for all.

That's why the resurrection means everything if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 22 with me.

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

So if we sin, even just once, just as Adam and Eve did, our eternity is laid out before us to be separated from God for all time.

Anything that you have ever experienced that is truly good is a gift from God.

Is made by God.

I mean, look around at the beauty that we're surrounded by right now.

Or look around at the beauty of the central coast at this time of year.

It's just unbelievable.

That is a gift from God.

And if we choose to be separated from God on earth, he'll allow you to remain that way for eternity.

But in eternity, he'll allow you to be separated from him along with everything else that is good as well.

You know, as C.S.

Lewis so famously said, the gates of hell are locked from the inside.

Want us to think about that for a second.

Because it's so true.

The gates of hell are locked from the inside.

If you don't want anything to do with God on earth, why do you think you'd want to spend eternity even closer to him?

It's like asking somebody to marry you and then telling them that you don't want to see them or talk to them for your year-long engagement.

That just doesn't make sense, does it?

It doesn't make sense to ignore God now and then think that you're gonna want to be near him for all of eternity.

But there's a second half of verse 22 here, and it's the part of verse 22 that gives us the hope, as we just saying, that living hope in Jesus Christ, that hope of eternity being near to him.

And it says, so also in Christ, all will be made alive.

If we accept that perfect sacrifice that Jesus made for us, his death in our place, accepting his gift for the forgiveness of our sin, we will be made alive for all eternity with Jesus in paradise, with no more suffering and no more toil, and no more hurt, and no more death, and no more pain.

You know, God loves us so much that he gave us his son Jesus, that whoever believes in him will not know eternal death, but will only know eternal life.

And that is why we're here today.

That is why we're celebrating Easter.

Jesus' resurrection was the moment that death and sin lost its grip on us, so we could be made alive in Jesus Christ.

So we don't have to suffer current separation or eternal separation from God.

You know, later on in that same chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 and verses 54 and 55, it says, Death has been swallowed up in victory.

And then it asks two questions.

It says, Where death is your victory?

Where death is your sting?

And here's a great illustration of what it is that Jesus has done for us.

I want to read it to you.

So a little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon with the windows down.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a honeybee flew into the car.

Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, he became petrified with fear.

The father quickly reached out and caught the bee in his hand.

And then soon after he released it.

But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frightened.

Frantic once again as a buzz around the car once more.

The father sensed his son's terror.

Once again he reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his hand.

There, stuck in his skin was the stinger of the honeybee.

You see this?

He asked his son.

You don't need to be afraid anymore.

I've taken the sting for you.

And that bee is only harmlessly buzzing around to his own death.

So when we see in 1 Corinthians, where death is your victory, where death is your sting, God the Father, through his Son Jesus, gladly took the sting of death for us.

He took the sting of nails in his hands and in his feet.

The sting of thorns on the crown that were pressed down into his scalp.

The sting of a hole being pierced into his side.

He took the sting of being whipped to the verge of death.

That's all the things that we deserve.

You see, we have so much to celebrate here today because our perfect sacrifice that absorbed the sting of death for us has risen from the grave.

So that we too can be eternally made alive and are secure in the salvation of Jesus Christ.

And that's the answer to the fourth question: how does this affect my eternity?

The answer is we now have a simple choice of where we want to spend eternity.

It'll be with Jesus and everything that is good forever or without Jesus and absent of anything that is good forever.

And if you don't have that security of knowing you're going to be with Jesus for eternity, it's a free gift that you can receive today.

Right where you're sitting.

He loves you that much that he gave his life for you.

He took the sting of death for you.

You know, Jesus actually said in John 15, 13, we'll end with this greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends.

And that is exactly what Jesus did.

And he wants to call you friend and begin that relationship with you right now.

He wants to walk through life with you.

And maybe you're going through some rough times right now.

He wants to walk through those times with you.

You know, I just had brain surgery in February, and the biggest thing that I learned through that whole process is that he wants to walk next to you.

He wants to be with you through those times.

He wants to walk through the valley of the shadow of death with you by your side, helping you and guiding you every step of the way.

So I want to encourage you to stop walking alone when you don't have to.

I want to encourage you to accept that free gift that Jesus is literally holding out there for you to just receive.

Scripture says if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

And you can do that right where you are sitting.

You can do that when you get home today.

You can do that before you go to bed, or maybe you even need a more time to think about it.

You can do that tomorrow as well.

But I can tell you from personal experience that after accepting Jesus over 30 years ago, you will not regret coming into a relationship with him.

The best relationship you can ever have is with someone that loves you perfectly and sacrificially, and only Jesus can do that.

You won't find it in any other relationship.

You won't find it in any one thing.

And you're definitely not gonna find it in a substance.

But Jesus freely offers that relationship, that perfect love, that sacrificial love that only He can give.

He's offering that to each one of us here today.

And all you need to do is accept it.

And if you do that, we would love to hear about it.

We'd love to chat with you, we would love to pray with you after the service.

So please let anybody running around here that has a name tag on or come up to me afterwards and we would love to chat with you more about this.

But let's close in prayer, Jesus.

Again, we thank you for the gift that you have given us.

Lord, you willfully walked that road for us.

You bore the weight of your own cross.

You went through the sting of death in so many different ways to become that perfect sacrifice, that substitutionary sacrifice to die in our place.

God, we love you so much and thank you for the gift that is Jesus.

And not just that he died on the cross, but he was raised on the third day.

That he proved that he is God and that our sins are forgiven if we will simply accept that.

Thank you so much for the way that you love us, the way that you've poured out that love, the way that you've tangibly shown that love to us through the gift that is Jesus Christ.

And that's why we're here today to celebrate.

So, Lord, as we continue to worship in these songs, I pray that we have hearts that are filled with gratitude and love for all that you have done for us.

Lord, as we say thank you for the gift of Jesus.

In Jesus' name, amen.