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Vicar Todd Liefer
March 24, 2010
From death unto life. That's the journey that we've been on this Lenten season. Five weeks ago, our journey began in the Garden of Eden, where we met Adam and Eve; we saw their fall into sin; and because of that, God's creation experienced death: the first curse. Then, our journey took us to Romans 6, which tells us how baptism is a spiritual death; it drowns the sinner in us. We've been in Luke chapter 9, where Christ asks his disciples—and all believers—to come and die. Christians are willing to die for their faith. We've also encountered tough topics, like the death of loved ones, how they're waiting to be raised from the dead. Last week, we even talked about our own death—how we don't ignore death, but we don't fear it either.
Well, tonight, our journey concludes. Tonight, our journey takes us to 1 Corinthians 15, where we encounter death for the last time.
But to start with, let me ask this question. What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? A promotion? A vacation? Seeing family at Easter? Maybe those are a little too short-term for what I'm talking about today. Think long-term. What are you waiting for? To be content? To be happy? Maybe some of you would even say, dying and going to heaven. What are you waiting for?
Well, in 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul gives us something worth waiting for. Something better than all those things I just mentioned. Let's go ahead and get into this text right now. If you brought your Bibles along, go ahead and open those now to 1 Corinthians 15. You can also take out one of those sermon outlines that's stuffed in your bulletin.
Let's go ahead and start at verse 12. Paul writes, 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Apparently, there's a big problem in Corinth! The people are starting to say that there's no such thing as the resurrection from the dead. Now, we don't know a lot of context here. We don't know how this teaching started, or how it spread, but we do get to read Paul's reaction: Basically, he says, "WHAT!" This doesn't make sense! That's why Paul writes,
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Apparently, the resurrection from the dead wasn't a big deal to the Corinthians. But it was clearly a big deal to Paul! Here in this section, Paul gives us at least five reasons why the resurrection from the dead is a big deal:
Now, maybe nobody came here tonight thinking, "There's no such thing as that resurrection stuff." But, I think Paul's words are still helpful for us. Because sometimes we don't give the Last Day the attention it deserves. You see, the whole New Testament aims to tell you two things: Christ died and rose for your sins, and because of that he will raise you from the dead on the Last Day. So when we answer a question like, "What are you waiting for?" the Bible gives us the answer. What are you waiting for? Well Paul, Peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the early Christian church, even the Old Testament ALL tell us that you, as Christians, waiting for one big thing, hands down: the Last Day because that is the day that death will be no more.
So are we waiting to die and go to heaven? Sure. As we deal with pain and suffering in this life, with bodies that incur diseases and cancers of all kinds, we may sometimes think of death as a release from this pain. But never forget ... this is a short-term goal – dying and going to heaven. Because remember, just a few weeks ago, we talked about how even those who have died and are in the arms of Christ, even THEY are waiting. Waiting for their bodies to be reunited to their souls. They're waiting for the Last Day, too. The day of resurrection.
Even take our creeds as an example. We just said the Nicene Creed, which the Church has been saying since the 300s. When we say the creed, we talk about God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. We tell the story of salvation. And then we proclaim what we're waiting for: "I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come."
This is going to be a great day.
So in the verses we just read, Paul has just told us why resurrection is important. And, then, he shows why this something worth waiting for. Let's walk through verses 20-26 together:
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. When Paul uses the word "firstfruits" here, he's using language of "offerings" from the Old Testament. When the harvest came in, people offered the Lord their "firstfruits"—not the leftovers, but the first and best part of the crop. So Paul, here, is saying that Christ's resurrection is a firstfruit. His resurrection came first; the resurrection of the sleeping ones—the ones who have already died in the faith—their resurrection is coming. But as they wait, they have something pretty incredible. They can look to Christ's resurrection as a guarantee... kind of like a down payment ... guaranteeing that they, too, will rise from the dead one day. That's why Paul calls Christ's resurrection a firstfruit for the ones who have already died.
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. That's a beautiful verse. Paul takes us back to the first curse. Death came to the world through a man. Through a man, everything fell apart. But now through another man—a better man—everything is getting put back together.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Just like we said before ... Christ was raised on Easter Sunday, but when he comes back ALL those who belong to him are going to be raised, too.
Now we get to the good stuff. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Death is your enemy. And it needs to be destroyed. But you might be wondering, didn't that already happen on Good Friday? When Christ died on the cross, and rose again on the third day, Christ defeated the power of sin, the power of Satan, and the power of death. They were defeated once for all. But there's still sin in the world. Still, Satan appears to have a lot of power. And death is still rampant. Well, this text from 1 Corinthians 15 shows us what's going on. Death may have been defeated on Easter Sunday. But it still hasn't been destroyed.
Don't miss this point tonight. Death is your enemy. Death isn't a happy thing, a joyous thing...not at all. God created you for life, not death. God created your loved ones for life, not death. So when you die, when your loved ones die, this is not how God intended his creation to be AT ALL. That is why God sent his Son into the world ...so that this enemy would be defeated and destroyed.
When Good Friday comes this year, and you see the Son of God nailed to a cross, you see the Son of God taking on your enemy. When you see the Son of God dying on the cross, you see Jesus Christ taking on everything that threatens you with death. Cancer, disease, strokes, tragic accidents, murder, war, storms, crashes, falls, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes—Jesus Christ knew that you would be dealing with these enemies one day. But when you see the Son of God on the cross, this is him saying once for all, "Death? NOT FOR MY CREATION. Not for my people." That enemy is on its way out. And as his creation, as his people crucified him on the cross, in order to rescue the world from the power of death, he let himself be defeated by death.
But only for a little while. For a short while it sure looked like the enemy had won. But then, Christ's tomb burst open. Death had been defeated.
That is what Christ came to the world to accomplish. To defeat the enemy of death, so that one day, on the Last Day it could be destroyed.
Let's talk a little bit more about this Last Day. Here's something that I really think is worth you knowing. And that is the real connection between Christ's ministry 2000 years ago—his healings, teachings, death, and resurrection—the connection between that and the Last Day. Because what we find in Scripture, is that Jesus coming and living on earth was like God's creation getting to see the Last Day ahead of time. When Christ went around and ministered to so many people, they saw like a snippet of the Last Day. And what did they see? Diseases were healed. The lame could walk. The blind could see. The deaf could hear. Even better than that people Jairus's daughter, Lazarus, and others were raised from the dead. So even Christ's empty tomb is like a picture of the Last Day.
But did you know that Christ's empty tomb isn't the only empty tomb in the Easter Story? Actually, there's many. Let's go to Matthew 27:50. This is actually just as Christ dies on the cross. 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Death had been defeated. Their tombs burst open. And that is just a snippet of what going to happen on the Last Day. Picture every graveyard you know. When Christ comes back on the Last Day, there won't be graveyards anymore. They will be full of life. The tombs will burst open. And the dead will be raised.
When Easter Sunday comes this year, and you see Christ's empty tomb, you know what you see? Your empty tomb. Your resurrection from the dead. That's what Christ's resurrection means for you. It's a firstfruit. Your resurrection is coming on the Last Day.
That's the day Paul looks forward to in the rest of our text from 1 Corinthians 15:
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Won't that be a great day? Our bodies now are perishable. One day they will be imperishable. Our bodies now are mortal. One day they will be immortal. Because then, on the last day, the last enemy will be destroyed. No more death, no more sorrow, no more pain. Death is gone. Forever.
Even St. John in the Book of Revelation describes the Last Day as a victory over death. 1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Death shall be no more. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" No where to be found. The last enemy has been destroyed. That's where our journey ends, and our life begins. We will be brought from death to life—and we will stay there forever. Immortal. Imperishable. Death can't touch us because we belong to Christ.
Some of you might be familiar with contemporary Christian music artist Chris Tomlin. On his most recent album, he released a song that I think captures all of this extremely well. It's a song called, "I Will Rise." Let me read for you a few lines from the song:
There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise...
People of St. Paul, one day death might come. But because of Christ, you wait for the day God will raise you from death unto life. Now that's something worth waiting for. Amen.
© St. Paul Lutheran Church 2009