1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ~ 20150405 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
04/05 1 Corinthians 15:4-8 Resurrection Good News; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20150405_1cor15_1-8.mp3
1 Γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὃ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν, ὃ καὶ παρελάβετε, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἑστήκατε, 2 δι’ οὗ καὶ σῴζεσθε, τίνι λόγῳ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν, εἰ κατέχετε, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ εἰκῇ ἐπιστεύσατε. 3 Παρέδωκα γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐν πρώτοις, ὃ καὶ παρέλαβον, ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν κατὰ τὰς γραφάς, 4 καὶ ὅτι ἐτάφη, καὶ ὅτι ἐγήγερται τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ κατὰ τὰς γραφάς, 5 καὶ ὅτι ὤφθη Κηφᾷ, εἶτα τοῖς δώδεκα· 6 ἔπειτα ὤφθη ἐπάνω πεντακοσίοις ἀδελφοῖς ἐφάπαξ, ἐξ ὧν οἱ πλείονες μένουσιν ἕως ἄρτι, τινὲς δὲ ἐκοιμήθησαν· 7 ἔπειτα ὤφθη Ἰακώβῳ, εἶτα τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πᾶσιν· 8 ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων ὡσπερεὶ τῷ ἐκτρώματι ὤφθη κἀμοί.
1 Corinthians 15 [ESV2011]
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
We are being reminded today of the gospel. We celebrate the gospel. We are standing in, holding fast to the gospel. We are being transformed by the gospel. The gospel is a message of good news. The gospel is the message by which we are being saved, so we need to know the gospel and remind ourselves of the gospel. This message is of first importance. So whatever else is on your mind or on your heart, whatever else there is that seems so important, you can safely set aside as second. This is of first importance and demands your immediate attention. This is the priority that displaces every other priority.
For those of you who were here two weeks ago, I want to ask you, how are you doing on your homework? In case you missed the homework, I will give it to you up front today, so that you can be thinking about it throughout the message. I want you all to know the gospel so well that you are able to proclaim the gospel to anyone you meet. These first 8 verses of 1 Corinthians 15 are such a clear summary of the gospel that they are worth memorizing, and being able to unpack the meaning to anyone you meet. And not merely being able to, but actually doing it - actually telling someone the good news contained in these verses. These verses contain the facts of the gospel, the meaning of the facts, and the necessary response to that truth.
That will be my outline for the sermon this morning: The facts of the gospel, the meaning of those facts, and our necessary response.
Christ Died
I'm not great at memorizing things, so I want to keep this simple, and thank God, Paul kept it simple for us. He gave us two facts to hold on to. That Christ died (that's what Good Friday was all about) and that he was raised (that's what resurrection Sunday celebrates). Those are the two facts. Do you think you can remember those? If the two holidays that commemorate those events aren't enough to cement them in your memory, maybe you are a visual learner and you need an image to hold on to. The cross and the empty tomb – Christ died and he was raised. Paul gives us one sub-point for each of these two main facts. All four start with the word 'that' – they are events. These are thing that happened in history. That Christ died, that he was buried, that he was raised, and that he appeared. The burial and the appearances are authentication for the two main facts. Christ died, and he was buried to demonstrate that he was really and truly dead. You don't bury live people. You don't bury sick people. You don't bury severely injured people. You don't bury mostly dead people. You take them to the hospital, or you take them home and try to care for them and help them get better. Jesus was really dead. The expert Roman executioners were absolutely convinced that he was completely dead. But their lives would be on the line if they were responsible for executing a prisoner and they let him go alive. So they made sure. A soldier thrust his spear up under the rib cage and into the chest cavity, and out came blood and water, evidence that fluid had already gathered in the pericardial area. Pilate allowed the corpse to be handed over to Joseph of Arimathea who, together with Nicodemus, wrapped the body in linen cloths with 75 pounds of spices and laid him in a new empty tomb. The tomb was sealed with a large stone, and at the request of the Jews, a guard of soldiers was posted to keep anyone from stealing the body. Jesus died and he was buried to demonstrate that he was really and truly dead.
He Was Raised
The second major fact is that Jesus was raised. Jesus didn't stay dead. His corpse didn't stay in the tomb. The linens were there but the body was gone. The Roman soldiers responsible for guarding the tomb were unable to produce the body. The Jews, who feared the body would be stolen could not produce the body. The disciples had gone into hiding for fear of the Jews. Jesus had been raised and was really and truly alive, evidenced by multiple appearances to different individuals and groups at different times.
He Appeared to Cephas, Then to The Twelve
He presented himself to Cephas (or Peter), the leader of the twelve. Then he presented himself to the twelve – which was still used as a title for the original twelve apostles even though Judas was no longer with them. Thomas was not with the other ten the first time, so eight days later Jesus presented himself to them again and invited Thomas to inspect the crucifixion wounds to verify that it was really and truly the same Jesus who had been killed that was now really and truly alive.
Then He Appeared to More Than 500
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
We aren't told exactly when this happened. It could have been in the upper room in Jerusalem, when he appeared to the eleven and those who were with them. Probably it refers to his appearance in Galilee before he ascended. The women who saw him first were instructed to tell his followers to go to Galilee and he would meet them there. If you had heard that news, would you have stayed home? Paul is explicit that there were more than five hundred who saw him all at one time. Paul, writing 1 Corinthians in the spring of AD 55, a mere 22 years after the event, could say that the majority of those five hundred were still around. At least 251 of them, along with Peter and the majority of the eleven were still alive and could be interviewed. That is a substantial amount of eye-witnesses.
Then He Appeared to James, Then to All the Apostles
Then he appeared to James. There were several James's in the New Testament. James the son of Zebedee and James the son of Alphaeus were both disciples, but why would they be mentioned separately? James was also the name of one of Jesus' brothers, who we are told in John 7:5 did not believe in Jesus prior to his death. This James became a leader in the Jerusalem church, and wrote the New Testament letter that bears his name. It was apparently the resurrection appearance of Jesus to his brother James that persuaded him that his brother Jesus was in fact the Lord.
Then to all the apostles. This is a wider group than the twelve. Paul refers to James the Lord's brother as an apostle in Galatians 1:19. Others, like Barnabas and Paul (Acts 14:14), and possibly Andronicus and Junias (Rom.16:7) were also called apostles who were not part of the original twelve. Jesus appeared to this wider group of apostles, making them eye-witnesses of his resurrection.
Last of All He Appeared to Me
Last of all, he appeared also to me. Paul, at that time Saul, vehement persecutor of Jesus' followers, was confronted by the risen Lord on the road to Damascus and was made the final member of this wider apostolic group.
These are the facts of history. Christ died, and he was really dead – they buried him. Christ rose from the dead and he was really alive – he appeared to many different individuals and groups on different occasions, several of whom were not believers in him at the time of his appearance. As we are told in Acts,
Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
These are simply the facts of history, attested to by many ancient documents. But that is only part of the good news. What do those events mean? What is their significance?
The Meaning: Christ
Christ died. Christ is not a name, it is a title. The man from Nazareth, Jesus son of Mary, was the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one, the promised coming King, the eternal one. The Christ died. But why? The Christ was expected to conquer, rule and reign. Why did he die at the hands of the Romans?
Died For Our Sins
Christ died for our sins. He did not die for his own sins – he had none. He did not die because he was defeated – his death was a victory, in fact he came to die. He came to be the substitute sacrificial lamb, to die in our place, to pay our debt, to suffer the wrath of God against our sins. The wages of sin is death and Christ died for our sins. Our sins separate us from God, and Christ was forsaken by the Father so that we could be reconciled to the Father.
According To The Scriptures
This death for our sins was not some new idea. This was in accordance with the Scriptures. This is what the entire Bible is about. Genesis to Malachi points to the one who would come to pay for our sins. We looked at some of those scriptures a few weeks ago. Isaiah 53, for instance, paints a vivid picture of the one who would suffer as a substitute and bear the sins of many, written 700 years before Christ came.
He was Raised on the Third Day According to the Scriptures
The fact that he was raised from the dead was also according to the scriptures. Psalm 16:10 is pointed to in the preaching of the Apostles in Acts 2 and Acts 13 as a promise of the resurrection.
Psalm 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Jesus himself pointed to the sign of the prophet Jonah,
Matthew 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
We could look at Genesis 22, where Abraham comes to them mount of sacrifice on the third day, where he would receive the son of promise back as from the dead.
We could look at Exodus 19, where God came down to reveal himself to his people on the mountain on the third day.
We could look at the feast of firstfruits in Leviticus 23, to be held after the Passover on the Sunday after the Sabbath.
We could look at the prophecy about the nation of Israel in Hosea 6
Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Jesus' own words were clear predicting what would happen to him
Luke 9:22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
In John 2:
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ...21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
The Father raised Jesus from the dead as a confirmation that Jesus was indeed who he claimed to be. In Romans 4, we are told that Jesus
Romans 1:4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
In Acts 17,
Acts 17:30 God... commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
The Response
We understand the historical facts; Christ died, and he was really dead; he was raised and he is really alive. We understand the meaning; Christ the Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; he was raised according to the Scriptures, authenticating his claims to be equal to and one with the Father. That is the gospel message. That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that he was raised. That is good news – forgiveness of sins through Jesus' death; the promise of new life through his resurrection. That is good news indeed. But that good news demands a response from us. That greatest of all news, that message of first importance does us no good if we do not respond. What kind of response must we make? The first two verses of this chapter tell us.
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.
This is a message that must be believed. Jesus said 'whoever believes has eternal life.' But what does it mean to believe? Paul tells us that there is a way to believe in vain. James tells us that even the demons believe (2:19). So what does it mean to believe in such a way that the good news benefits me? Does it mean to agree that the historical facts of the gospel message are indeed historical? The demons know that to be true. Does it mean to agree with the theological significance of those events, that Christ died for our sins? I think the demons believe that too.
Paul spells out what the kind of believing looks like that brings with it all the benefits of the gospel. He says you received it. You took it to be your own. The good news is that God offers you a gift. A gift cannot be earned. You insult the giver if you attempt to pay off a gift as if it were a debt. Gifts must be received. Humbly take what is offered.
He says for the gospel to benefit you, you must stand in it, you must hold fast to it. The good news that Jesus died for your sins is not something to enjoy for a moment and then move on to the next thing. The gospel is where the true believer stays. The gospel is my only hope, so I cling to it, I take my stand in it. I never depart from it. I live daily in the gospel. I breathe gospel air. I move in gospel truth.
And the gospel does something to me. Paul says that I am being saved by this amazing good news message. I am being acted upon by this message. It is a powerful message that is at work in me, changing me, making me new. It is a message that heals what is sick in me, that fixes what is broken in me, that rescues and redeems what is lost and gone astray in me. As I live and breathe in the gospel, as I cling to the gospel it is in the process of shaping and transforming me.
I would invite you today to believe the good news that Christ died for your sins and that he rose again. Believe it in such a way that you receive it as a gift and take it to be your own, in such a way that you cling to it and live in it, in such a way that it begins to work on you, to transform your thoughts and your desires and your attitudes, that it so transforms your heart that you begin to live like Christ, you begin to really live, in intimate fellowship with Jesus. You begin to live a resurrection kind of life.
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org