The Remarkable Resurrection
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Happy Easter everybody my name’s Louis I’m one of the pastors at the church, it’s great to be with you, great to celebrate Easter with you this morning, and it’s no secret why Christians make such a big deal about Easter. It’s because we fully believe Jesus has risen from the dead and the implications are so massive, so incredible that we can’t contain it, we can’t be silent about it, instead we make a big deal about it and celebrate it. Now if you’re not a Christian you most likely don’t believe that, you don’t believe Jesus has risen from the dead, but what you do believe is we’re all gonna die one day. In fact you don’t just believe we’re gonna die, you KNOW we’re gonna die. Some of you are like “Well isn’t this a happy Easter, we’re all gonna die.” But it is a happy Easter, it’s not a downer message, and all I’m saying is death’s a universal language that causes everyone to ask a universal question. Is there life after death, is there life beyond the grave? It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian, non-Christian, what your background is, what your cultural, political, professional, philosophical, religious background is, sooner or later all of us ask the question “Is there life after death, is there life beyond the grave?”
Now about 300 yrs before Jesus lived there was a famous Greek philosopher named Epicurus who didn’t believe in God or the afterlife, so he taught there’s no reason to fear death. He believed when we die we’re just annihilated, we just cease to exist, so there’s no reason to fear death. But listen to what he said in one of his writings. Epicurus states, “If we could be sure that death was annihilation, then there would be no fear of it. For as long as we exist, death is not there, and when it does come, we no longer exist. But we cannot be totally sure there is annihilation, for what people fear most is not that maybe death is annihilation, but that maybe death is not.” He says what people fear most isn’t that death might be annihilation, it’s that maybe it’s not. He says if we could be “totally sure” that annihilation was true, we wouldn’t have to fear death because there’s nothing more to fear when you’re extinct. You wouldn’t have to fear what happens beyond the grave or any judgement in the afterlife because you’d be extinct. But he says we can’t be sure...He says we can’t be sure annihilation’s true, we can’t be sure there’s no life after death, so as a result, people are afraid...They’re afraid...He says they’re afraid to die because they know there might actually be an afterlife. But what Epicurus was uncertain of, Jesus made certain 300 yrs later when he rose from the dead. He made it certain that there’s life after death, there’s life beyond the grave, and his resurrection has incredible implications for your life. If the resurrection’s true, then its implications for your life are incredible. Today I’m gonna show you why you can believe it’s historically reliably true, and what those implications are for your life, so let’s turn to 1st Corinthians 15:1-11 and get into it. The title of today’s message is “Incredible Implications.” If the resurrection’s true, its implications for your life are incredible. Non-Christians should hope it’s true, and Christians should find hope in its truth.
Context:
Here’s your context. In Greco-Roman culture people had 2 primary beliefs about death. They either believed what Epicurus believed which is that our lives are just extinguished when we die, or they believed our spirit survived and went to a permanent, shadowy, insignificant underworld. But nobody believed in a physical bodily resurrection like what happened to Jesus. In fact the educated would laugh at anybody who believed in physical bodily resurrection. So this meant Christians living in Corinth were in the minority on this belief, some were even laughed at, and as a result some started denying their belief in a physical bodily resurrection. So Paul writes ch. 15 to address their denial and to explain what physical bodily resurrection is. It’s actually the longest chapter in the bible on the resurrection, and vs. 1-11 are critical to the rest of ch. 15 because it’s about the historical reliability of Jesus’ resurrection, and if you don’t believe in vs. 1-11 you won’t believe the rest of ch. 15. But if you believe in vs. 1-11, you’ll believe the rest of ch. 15, and so let’s see what Paul has to say about the resurrection, and its implications.
The Word:
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 states this, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you...” He’s reminding them “of the gospel.” Paul’s reminding the Corinthians of the gospel. Why? Because apparently the Greco-Roman culture’s influenced them so much, that some have forgotten the resurrection part of the gospel, they’ve started denying it, or at the very least they’ve become confused about it. So Paul’s having to remind them of the gospel.
Again vs. 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.” Notice Paul says they “are being saved” by the gospel, meaning their very own salvation depends on the gospel. The Corinthians are like “Oh we get it, our salvation depends on the gospel.” Paul’s like “No you don’t get it, because the resurrection’s a part of the gospel, and if you deny the resurrection, you deny the gospel, which means you deny your very own salvation and your faith’s in vain.” That’s what Paul’s saying, he’s saying their faith, their salvation, their very eternal lives depends on the gospel and the physical bodily resurrection’s a part of the gospel. Then in vs. 3 he starts giving them a reminder of what the gospel actually is. It’s one of clearest explanations of the gospel in the bible.
Vs. 3 states, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins...” Okay there’s one aspect of the gospel, it’s that “Christ died for our sins,” it’s that Jesus literally, physically, historically lived and died for our sins. Now historians don’t debate over whether Jesus lived and died, because there’s numerous historical records to prove it including records from Greco-Roman, Jewish, non-Christian historians. So Jesus living and dying isn’t historically up for debate, but what historians do debate is whether or not Jesus actually rose form the dead. In fact some people wrestle with the empty tomb so much, that they try to explain it away by saying Jesus didn’t actually die. But any true historian knows it’d take a miracle just as big as the resurrection to assume Jesus didn’t die, to assume the Romans didn’t do their job when executing him. Any true historian knows the Romans were expert executioners, they had multiple PHD’s in executionary methods, so they would’ve made sure Jesus died. In fact we know historically that Jesus was flogged which left him already close to death before he was even crucified. Roman floggings were so brutal that many people died from the floggings alone. But Jesus didn’t die, he was close to death, and then a professional Roman executioner outstretched his arms on the cross, drove nails through his wrists and feet, and hung him on the cross. He hung on the cross for several hours bleeding profusely from the floggings and nails, he was in tremendous pain, until he took his last breath and died on the cross. But the executioner’s job isn’t done yet, he has to make sure Jesus is really dead, otherwise he’ll have to pay with his own life. So historically we know the executioner took a spear, drove it into Jesus’ heart, making it certain that Jesus literally, physically, historically died. Jesus died, and to debate that is to believe in a miracle just as big as the resurrection. But Jesus didn’t just die, he died for our sins.
Again vs. 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...” There’s a 2nd part of the gospel, it’s that Jesus “was buried.” Paul says Jesus lived, he died, and now he says he was buried which is another historical fact. Historically we know when Jesus’s body was taken off the cross a wealthy man named Joseph of Arimathea purchased a tomb and allowed Jesus to be buried in it. Once Jesus was placed in the tomb, a large stone was rolled against the tomb, the government put their seal on it to warn people not to tamper with it, and a guard of soldiers were placed at the tomb to further secure it. The Romans and Jews knew Jesus said he’d rise again on the 3rd day, so they did everything they could to try and secure his body so nobody could steal the body and claim he had risen. Paul’s reminding the Corinthians of this part of the gospel, he’s reminding them that Jesus literally, physically, historically lived, died, and was buried.
Again vs. 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...” There’s a 3rd part of the gospel, it’s that Jesus “was raised on the third day,” he conquered death on the 3rd day. Now what’s very interesting about this 3rd claim from a historical perspective, is that nobody in history’s ever been able to show us the body of Jesus...Nobody in history’s ever been able to show us the body, show us the bones of Jesus, which is where it gets awkwardly silent for a skeptic from a historical perspective. They’re like “I believe Jesus historically lived, historically died, historically was buried, but I don’t believe he historically rose from the dead.” Okay then show us the body, show us a credible historical document telling us where the body of Jesus is. “Uuuh. No no capisce... Parli Italiano?..” It’s just awkwardly silent for a skeptic from a historical perspective. I mean we’re talking about the most famous public figure in human history, the most famous event in human history, an event that was so widely publicized that the Romans and Jews had to send guards to watch over his body, and yet nobody knows what happened to his body? Doesn’t that seem odd to you?..Doesn’t it seem odd that history would be so silent on such a public event, on such a public issue, on where the body of Jesus is, especially considering how careful the Romans and Jews were in trying to keep rumors from spreading about Jesus rising? In fact they were so paranoid about it that they tried to spin the news. Just like people try to spin the news today, they tried to spin the news back then. Matthew 28:11-15 states, “Some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, ‘Tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” They tried to spin the news. They were so paranoid about rumors spreading that Jesus had risen that they tried to spin the news. But here’s the problem...you can’t spin the news when hundreds of people have seen the truth...You can’t spin the news when hundreds of people have seen the truth, have seen Jesus resurrect from the dead with their very own eyes. Listen to vs. 5.
Vs. 5, “And that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time...” Paul says Jesus in his resurrected body “appeared to Cephas” which is his friend Peter, “he appeared to the twelve” which are more of his friends, and “he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time!” He appeared to more than 500 people at the same time, and anybody who’s ever smoked some stuff in their life knows you can’t share hallucinations. Hallucinations aren’t a public event, they’re a private event, you can’t share them. So when you have over 500 people seeing the resurrected Jesus at the same time, it’s not a hallucination, it’s historical...It’s historical...It’s a historical event where over 500 people verified that Jesus in fact did rise from the dead. You can’t put a spin on that news, not when hundreds of people have seen the truth. The Romans and Jews tried, they tried spinning that news, they even tried censoring it by persecuting and killing Christians who were spreading it, but they couldn’t stop it. They couldn’t stop the news about Jesus’ resurrection from spreading, and so back to my last point. Why didn’t the Romans and Jews show the public his body? I mean if they would’ve shown the public his body it would’ve killed the rumors, killed the Jesus movement, and put Christianity in a tomb along with a dead savior which is exactly what they wanted. But the reason they didn’t do it, the reason they didn’t show the public his body is because Jesus isn’t a dead savior he’s a living savior who conquered death, who conquered the tomb, who busted open the tomb on the 3rd day and rose again! The reason the Romans and Jews didn’t put Christianity in a tomb is because Jesus conquered the tomb! The reason Christianity still isn’t in a tomb is because the Romans, Jews, skeptics, and history are still silent on the location of Jesus’ body and they’ll always be silent because Jesus isn’t dead, he’s alive, he’s well, his body’s literally, physically, historically resurrected from the dead! City Awakening Jesus is alive...He’s alive... and Paul’s says we have numerous testimonies to prove it. History’s silent on what happened to the body, but it’s not silent on people who saw Jesus resurrect from the dead. It was a public event, so there were public witnesses. But not one of them points to where his body is, instead hundreds of them point to having seen him in his resurrected body.
Again vs. 6, “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” I love this, I love how Paul describes Christian death. He’s like we get a blankie. We go in the ground, snuggle up in our blankie, and take a nap, we fall asleep. It’s not our soul that falls asleep, it’s our body. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul says “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” meaning when a Christian dies their body falls asleep, but their soul goes to be with Jesus. Now when Jesus finally returns, he’ll restore all things including our souls with our body, and we’ll get to experience physical bodily resurrection like Jesus. We’ll have eternal, glorified, sinless bodies that won’t ever decay again. I’m hoping mine comes with a few upgrades like a 6 pack...But I’ll be happy with whatever I get, because when Jesus returns he’ll restore all things to the way it was supposed to be before sin entered the world. Part of that restoration includes the restoration of our decaying bodies. Paul talks a lot about this in ch. 15 and even states in vs. 20 that Jesus is the “first fruits” of all this, meaning one day Christians will enjoy it too. Until then our bodies will sleep, but our souls will live on. Peter, the twelve, the 500 are all witnesses to this truth, and so is Jesus’ little brother.
Vs. 7, “Then he appeared to James...” That’s Jesus’ little brother. Jesus appeared to his little brother after he rose from the dead, and what’s interesting about James’ story is at one point he didn’t believe in Jesus. John 7:5 states, “Not even his brothers believed in him.” But after Jesus rose from the dead, after Jesus “appeared” to him, James becomes a believer and starts worshiping Jesus, starts worshiping his older brother. It’s such a strong historical testimony for the resurrection of Jesus, because younger brothers don’t worship their older brothers who gave them swrilys growing up...unless their older brother resurrects from the dead!..Unless their older brother is the first and only person in HISTORY, to ever resurrect from the dead which is what happened to James. Once James saw Jesus resurrect from the dead, he started worshiping his brother, he became a pastor and prominent leader in the church, and even wrote a book in the bible called James. In fact next week we’re starting a new series on the entire book of James. So if you come back next week, you’ll get to hear the teachings of Jesus’ little brother.
Again vs. 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. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 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. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” Paul says “he appeared also to me.” He appeared also to me, meaning Paul saw Jesus resurrect from the dead too. It’s one of the strongest points he makes for the resurrection, because at one point Paul persecuted the church. He even says “I persecuted the church,” meaning he played a part in trying to censor Christians. In fact he was literally assigned the task of persecuting and killing Christians, and was responsible for the death of Stephen who was the very first Christian in history to die for his faith. Paul wasn’t a friend of Jesus, he wasn’t a family member to Jesus, he was an enemy of Jesus. He was a real life assassin who sought Christians out to either persecute or kill them, but after facing the irrefutable fact that Jesus had risen from the dead, he goes from being an assassin of Christians, to becoming a Christian. He goes from putting Christians to death, to preaching the hope of the resurrection at their death. He goes from being a man who tried to stop Christianity from spreading, to being a man who gave up his very own life to help Christianity spread. Paul’s reminding the Corinthians that the only thing that could’ve changed his life was if he truly saw the resurrected Jesus, which he did. Paul along with hundreds of others all say it’s true. Jesus literally, physically, historically lived, died, was buried, and rose again on the 3rd day. If you believe in that same gospel message today, the implications for your life are incredible. The implications of the gospel, the implications of the resurrection are incredible. Let me read a few of the implications, then I’ll close.
If the resurrection’s true, it means Jesus is who he says he is, he’s both Lord and Savior.
If the resurrection’s true, it means Jesus will do what he says he will do. He said he would rise again on the 3rd day, and he did. He said he would restore this sin fallen world never to be bothered by the damaging effects of sin again, and he’ll do it.
If the resurrection’s true, it means Jesus is an all powerful God who has the power to change your life, because if he can change Paul’s life, he can change yours too. So instead of relying on your own will power to change, rely on his power to change.
If the resurrection’s true, it means Jesus has the power to conquer any struggles you face in life. If he can conquer the grave, he can conquer your struggles.
If the resurrection’s true, it means Jesus is an all knowing God who knows what’s best for your life. His wisdom can guide you through everyday life, so seek his wisdom on ethics, morality, relationships, dating, singleness, every aspect of your life. If he knew he’d rise again on the 3rd day, then he’ll knows what’s best for you on THIS day.
If the resurrection’s true, it means Jesus is an empathetic God who knows what it’s like to suffer, he suffered the pains of the cross. So go to him with your pain, because he can relate with your pain and give you the comfort you need to make it through your pain.
If the resurrection’s true, it means you don’t have to fear death like Epicurus said, instead you can have hope in death.
You can have hope in death. I mean could you imagine Epicurus doing a funeral? “Don’t grieve everybody, Billy Bob’s in a better place now, he was annihilated.” That’s real comforting. Epicureanism cant give you comfort and hope in death, but the resurrection of Jesus can give you hope in death because it proves you get to spend eternity with all your friends and family who’ve ever loved Jesus. You get to have a physical resurrected body where you’ll get to see them, touch them, hold them, hug them, enjoy the warmth of their embrace for all eternity never to feel the sting of death again, which is way more comforting, hopeful, and enjoyable than annihilation. Look if it’s true, if the resurrection’s true...then it means Epicurus was wrong...It means Epicurus was wrong...It means there’s life after death, the way you live your life matters, it has eternal purpose, and you’ll be held accountable for the way you’ve lived your life, you’ll be held accountable for your sins. But the good news of the gospel, the good news of Easter is that Jesus literally, physically, historically lived, died, was buried, and rose again on the 3rd day for the forgiveness of sin. The greatest implication of the resurrection is that Jesus’ death on the cross really can atone for your sins, he really did endure the pains of the cross so you don’t have to endure the pains of hell, he really can forgive you of your sins and give you an everlasting, enjoyable relationship with him. Epicurious says we can’t be sure, but history tells us we can be sure because for over 2,000 yrs the tomb’s been empty, and Paul’s big idea is that it’s not IF the resurrection’s true, but that it IS true...It’s not IF the resurrection’s true, it’s that the resurrection IS true, which means so are its implications for your life. So are its endless implications for your life.