Dying to be Alive
The Resurrection of Christ (1st Corinthians 15:1-11)
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Paul's account of the resurrected Jesus was the first biblical account that we have. Paul's account was written in 54 AD, roughly 20 years of Christ's death, while the first of the Gospels weren't written down until nearly 50 years after Christ's death. Here we are today, roughly 2,000 years after Christ's death, and not much has changed. The fact that Jesus died for sinners has not changed. The message of the cross is as relevant and important today as it was then. And the question still remains: What does the empty tomb mean?
For whatever our reasons may be, we often feel under qualified for God's love and grace. This may seem a little strange but think about it... How often do we feel like we don't deserve to be loved like that. Whether someone close told us that or made us feel that way. Whether some over-zealous Christian made us think we didn't deserve God's love unless (fill in the blank). I am here to tell you this morning that you do deserve God's love and grace. You do deserve to feel like you are forgiven. It doesn't matter your past or even your future because the events of the cross are over. It is done. God's love, grace and forgiveness already surrounds you. God thought you important enough to show you that kind of love and grace. I don't care what someone has said to you or how someone has made you feel. I am telling you this morning that you good enough, that you are important, that God does love you.
If you are looking for proof, I have that too. There is proof to be found in Jesus dying on the cross in an act of sacrifice for you but there is even more than that. Christ lives on through eternity because God raised him from the dead. Christ is alive! Christ died to be alive! And I just do not mean in heaven. Christ is alive in you. That is where the resurrected Christ lives. In your heart. We do not have to search the heavens to find Jesus. God is all around and it is faith that helps us see Him.
During Easter, it is easy for us to want to worship Jesus. I caution you in doing this. Jesus never told us to worship him. Instead, Jesus ordered us to pick up our cross and follow him. He never demanded us to bow before him, instead he told us to help the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We are called to make sure every person on this earth knows that they too deserve God's love and grace. We have failed severely if someone thinks they do not deserve God's presence because something we have said or done. Verse 10 says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect." By the grace of God, we are what we are. By the grace of God, we have become who we are. And when we acknowledge that grace, we will not go unchanged by it.
That right there is the importance and modern relevance of the empty tomb. The power found in knowing that God thinks you deserve this kind of love and grace. The power that knowledge gives to someone. The power that causes someone's innermost self to change for the benefit of faith and humanity. That is power. That is God. Amen.
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