Good morning, church.
In other words, I want to know that I've done something meaningful with my life, that I haven't lived it in vain.
This Easter morning, we're looking at one of the most famous and classic New Testament texts on the resurrection.
And what we find is that the resurrection of Jesus has everything to do with that deep human longing not to live our lives in vain.
So turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
It's page 961 in the Pew Bible.
1 Corinthians 15.
961.
We're not going to read all of 1 Corinthians 15 this morning, but we're going to read selections of it.
Let me pray for us before we turn to the Word.
God, thank you so much for this Sunday when we can focus with laser-like intensity on the resurrection of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, we ask that you would open our hearts to see Christ afresh to your glory, Father.
In his name we pray.
Amen.
Paul writes this,
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received,
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
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.
Whether then it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.
Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,
how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain.
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.
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order, Christ the first fruits.
Then at his coming, those who belong to Christ.
Skip ahead down to verse 55.
Oh death, where is your victory?
Oh death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
It's easy, isn't it, to get distracted from what truly matters.
So Paul begins this chapter by reminding us of the gospel.
The good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried,
was raised bodily on the third day, and was seen by many witnesses.
And isn't that what Easter Sunday is really all about?
In the midst of everything else that fights for our attention,
to remind ourselves again of the good news of Jesus' death,
and above all, his resurrection.
And Paul says this is of first importance.
In other words, this gospel is not something that we kind of master,
and then move beyond.
Rather, it's the center that holds it all together.
It's the life-giving well that we come back to again and again,
and continually, continually draw water that satisfies.
And you know, it's worth pointing out that 1 Corinthians 15,
this chapter we just read from,
is the climax of a letter to a very troubled church.
If you were to read the rest of the book,
you'd find that the church in Corinth was wrestling with issues of unity.
There were factions all over tearing it apart.
They were struggling with holiness,
wondering what kind of ethics they should live their lives by.
They were struggling most of all with love,
as they tore one another apart,
even in their very worship services.
And now Paul brings it all to a head by saying,
let me remind you of what's of first importance.
Friends, could it be that each of these problems,
in their life and in ours,
come from a failure to understand and apply the gospel.
So we need to get the gospel straight, don't we?
And in particular, on Easter,
we need to get our thinking about the resurrection straight.
Because in Corinth, and for us,
I don't think we really grasp the significance
of what we mean when we say,
Christ is risen.
And we can begin by considering the very word gospel itself.
Which if you've hung around Trinity long enough,
you know that the word gospel means good news.
And that means this, you see,
Easter, the resurrection,
all of what we're doing this morning,
isn't just a really helpful metaphor
about how there can be light after darkness,
or hope from despair.
It's not a figurative way of saying
that there can be new beginnings after loss.
No.
What the first Christians were spreading
wasn't a metaphor,
but news.
They were making a historical claim
about something that happened
in space and time.
Easter wasn't a nice way of dressing up the belief
that there's sunshine after the rain.
It's a concrete, flesh and blood,
historical claim that something happened
in and through Jesus of Nazareth.
It's news.
It's a claim.
And the first part of this claim,
as we see here,
is that Christ died.
Now it's hard for us to imagine
how paradoxical,
even offensive,
that would have sounded
to a first century Jew.
that God's long-promised king and liberator,
the Christ,
the Messiah,
died.
And died by Roman crucifixion
like a common criminal.
It's about as absurd as saying
that the Canadian military forces
have successfully staged a takeover
of the United States government.
That doesn't make sense
in anybody's universe, right?
There's no such thing
as a three-sided square
and the Messiah wasn't supposed to die.
The Christ was supposed to conquer,
to get victory,
to elevate Israel above her enemies,
not be executed
by the very oppressors
he was meant to overthrow.
And so you see,
from the moment
of Jesus' crucifixion,
around 30 AD,
which no historian doubts,
there was no reason,
absolutely none,
why the little movement
from Galilee
that had started to gather around him
should have gone on existing at all.
There was no reason
that it should have spread
like wildfire,
such that within the lifetime
of those first disciples,
there were followers of Jesus
in nearly every corner
of the Roman Empire.
You see,
there had been plenty,
plenty of messianic
or quasi-messianic movements
in the first century.
And most of those leaders
end up being squashed.
And the reason why
you've never heard
of any of those people
is because they amounted to nothing.
Every single one
of those movements collapsed
practically right away.
except for one.
Except Jesus.
And why?
What made Jesus
any different
from all those other
failed messiahs?
Well, the reason
all the earliest followers gave
for why they worshipped
and followed
a crucified messiah,
following him
even to the point
of giving up their own lives,
the reason why
they went from a frightened
and dejected band
of nobodies
who bet on a losing
messiah
and were transformed
into a community
of such joy
and resilience
that they laid down
their life
for their faith in Jesus,
the reason that they gave
was that three days
after his burial,
Christ
was raised.
Now, understand
what is
and is not
being said here
in verse 4.
When the earliest
followers of Jesus
said that God
had raised him
from the dead,
it was not
a nice way
of saying
that Jesus
simply went to heaven.
And it wasn't
a nice way
of saying
that he was
spiritually present
to his followers.
They had lots
of words
to describe
that sort of thing.
But that is not
what the words
raised
and resurrection
meant.
Now, if I told you
that my family
was having an Easter egg hunt
with our neighbors
this afternoon,
which we are,
you wouldn't think
that that was
just a nice way
of saying
that I'm headed home
to take a nap.
Though I might
take a nap
after the Easter egg hunt.
No, you see,
we have words
for taking a nap
and we have words
for hunting for eggs.
And though they may
be related
in my little world,
they mean different things.
And when the followers
of Jesus
said
that he had been
raised,
they were saying
something very specific
and very concrete.
Resurrection
for first century Jews
meant that Jesus
was bodily
alive again.
That he had broken
the bars of death,
come out
through the other side
into a fully
embodied life,
never to die
again.
That was the claim
they all made.
That the tomb
was empty,
that he had defeated
death,
and he was gloriously
alive again,
body and all.
And that meant
that this one
who claimed
to be Messiah,
that this one
was the one
who claimed,
not just to point
to the truth
like other religious
leaders,
but claimed himself
to be
the way
and the truth
and the life.
The resurrection
means
that he was
and is
who he says
he is,
the Lord.
Of course,
Jesus'
bodily resurrection
is a hard claim
to wrap our minds
around.
I fully get that.
Maybe you're here
this morning
and that just seems
completely implausible.
How can we
in the 21st century
believe such a thing?
Well, you know,
it would have been
just as implausible
in the first century,
too.
After all,
the idea that
dead people
stay dead
wasn't something
we just all of a sudden
discovered in the
Enlightenment.
Everybody kind of
knew that in the
first century,
too.
And what's more,
nobody in the
first century
was even expecting
something like this.
Your typical
first century pagan
may have believed
in some sort of
afterlife and souls
and spirits
and the underworld
and such,
but they knew
that you didn't
come back,
not in a body.
Nobody beat death.
And besides,
many Greeks and Romans
wouldn't have thought
that coming back
in a body
was such a good
thing anyway.
Soma,
Sema,
they used to say.
The body
is a tomb.
The quicker
we're released
from our fickle,
corrupt bodies,
the better.
So a bodily
risen Christ
certainly isn't
something that the
Greeks would have
made up.
They would have
had a hard time
wrapping their minds
around it,
too, you see.
But you know,
the same is true
for first century
Jewish culture as well.
You see,
all the earliest
followers of Jesus
were good,
monotheistic Jews,
which meant
that they
most certainly
believed
in a great
final resurrection
of all God's
people at the
end of the day
when God would
come to put an
end to evil
and injustice
and to heal
his creation.
So yes,
they were looking
forward to a
resurrection of
all God's people
at the end of
history,
but what they
weren't expecting
was the
resurrection of
one person
in the middle
of history.
That was off
the grid.
Think of
baseball.
We fully expect
one team
at the end of
the season
to win the
whole thing,
to be the
victor.
But what we
don't expect
is a single
player in the
middle of the
season to be
crowned the
World Series
MVP.
It just doesn't
work that way.
So you see,
Jesus'
resurrection in
the middle of
history was
something that
no Jewish
person would
have made
up.
So for Jew
and Gentile
alike, the
resurrection of
Jesus was
unexpected,
surprising,
shocking,
even hard to
believe.
Just like it
is for us
today.
So given
all that,
how did
they come
to believe
it?
our text
tells us
in verse
5,
he
appeared.
He came
to them
and they
saw him
with their
own eyes.
The account
from John's
gospel that
we read
earlier tells
us that
Mary even
embraced him.
And the
gospel of
Luke tells
us that
they ate
with him.
And in
Matthew's
account of
all this,
we're even
told that on
those first
occasions,
seeing the
risen Jesus,
some of
them still
doubted.
which shows
how great
of a
worldview
shift was
happening
for even
the followers
of Jesus.
Also tells
us some of
the honesty
of the
gospel writers,
doesn't it?
So after the
resurrection,
Jesus spent
40 days with
his disciples,
teaching them,
being with
them,
assuring them
that he was
risen,
and then he
ascended to
the Father
and sent
them out
as witnesses
of his
resurrection,
of his
lordship,
and of
his
grace.
And it
wasn't just
single
individuals who
saw the
risen Jesus,
just two
or one or
two people
here or
there,
isolated.
We're told
that the
twelve saw
him,
and the
apostles saw
him,
and even
500 at
once saw
him,
Paul says.
And Paul's
writing all
this in a
public letter
as if to
say,
look,
you can go
talk to
them,
they'll tell
you what
they saw.
And it
wasn't just
insiders that
Jesus came to
either,
right?
We know
that the
James mentioned
in verse
seven was
Jesus'
brother.
And we
know from
the gospel
accounts that
during Jesus'
ministry,
his brothers
and relatives
totally rejected
him.
They thought
he was
crazy.
Which,
by the way,
you would
have too if
your brother
was telling
you that
he was
the Christ.
And yet
we know
that historically
within a few
years,
the person
leading the
church in
Jerusalem is
none other
than James,
the half
brother and
once despiser
of the
crucified
Jesus.
What would
have changed
his life
so radically?
And then,
of course,
there's Paul
who was a
young,
zealous
Pharisee,
had persecuted
the early
church for
their blasphemy
in claiming
that the
crucified
Jesus was
Lord.
But again,
within a few
years of
Jesus'
death,
it's Paul
who's risking
his life
to start
churches
that are
proclaiming
Jesus
crucified and
risen.
as Lord.
Friends,
this is the
core of
the gospel
message.
Christ died,
was buried,
and was
bodily raised,
offering his
grace to
all who
believe.
Now,
if you're here
this morning
and you're not
a Christian,
we're really
glad you're
here.
You picked
like the
best Sunday
to come to
church,
right?
And I hope
you're starting
to see that
this claim
about Jesus'
resurrection
isn't just
kind of a
nice private
thing for
Christians to
believe.
I hope you're
starting to see
that from the
very start,
it's always
been a claim
about something
that happened
publicly in
history that
has changed
the course of
history and
will change
your life if
you believe it.
I wonder how
you make sense
of this claim.
How do you
deal with the
resurrection?
And you
know,
if we're
being honest,
there is
one thing
that we
can't say.
We can't
say that
Jesus'
resurrection
is just
a legend
that grew
up over
time.
Maybe like
a great
extravagant
game of
whisper down
the alley.
You see,
Paul wrote
this letter
that we call
1 Corinthians
in the early
50s,
just a couple
decades after
Jesus'
death.
And did
you see what
he says in
verse 3?
This gospel
that I declared
to you is
what I also
received.
In other
words,
Paul is
saying that
this is
the core
teaching that
the earliest
followers of
Jesus believed
and taught
and passed
on to
everyone else.
So what
we've been
unpacking in
verses 3
through 7
is Paul
citing for
us one
of the
earliest
Christian
summaries
of the
good news.
And this
means that
when Paul
started his
own ministry
in the
mid-30s,
just a few
years after
Jesus'
death,
this was
his message.
Christ died
for our
sins.
He was
buried.
And he
was bodily
raised on
the third
day.
And he
was seen
by many
witnesses.
You see,
as deep
as you
go in
the historical
record,
back to the
earliest years
after Jesus'
death,
this is the
claim.
He's risen.
He's Lord.
And it's
time to
decide.
God's
God.
But you
know,
1 Corinthians
15 was
originally
written for
Christians,
for believers.
So,
fellow
Christians,
I wonder
if you
have a
right sense
of how
important
this is.
Does the
resurrection
carry the
weight of
first importance
for us?
Or do we
spend more
time building
and worrying
and dreaming
and contemplating
about other
things?
Paul goes
on to say
in verses
12-19
that if
Christ hasn't
been raised,
look,
if none
of this
is true,
pack it
up and
go home.
Stop
making us
use the
balcony on
Easter.
It's not
worth it,
right?
Without
the resurrection,
it's all
in vain.
Our
preaching,
our faith,
our hope
is futile.
The whole
ship sails
on the
reality of
the resurrection.
Take it
away and
it's empty
and pointless.
Nothing
changes.
We're still
in our
sins,
Paul says,
and nothing
matters.
If Christ
hasn't been
raised,
we die,
we perish,
that's the
end.
The great
yawn of
non-existence.
There's no
halfway here.
If it's not
true,
find something
better to do
with your
time.
But if it
is true,
well then,
Paul says,
everything
changes and
everything
matters.
And how
so?
Well,
first,
Paul says,
it changes
our future.
Look again
at verse
20.
But in
fact,
Christ has
been raised
from the
dead.
The first
fruits of
those who
have fallen
asleep.
Now,
first fruits,
as you might
have guessed,
is a metaphor
from agriculture,
from farming.
The first fruits
were the initial
part of an
incoming harvest.
it was the
initial crop
that told you
what you could
expect from
what was to
come.
It was a
taste of
what was
coming.
Think of it
this way.
Imagine standing
before a dam,
solid,
impenetrable,
stories high,
a whole lake
of water behind
it, a little
sort of small
river trickling
from it,
and suddenly,
contemplating said
dam, you see
a stream of
water come
shooting out of
a crack right
in the middle.
Now, you
don't have to
be a structural
engineer to
know that
something is
inevitably going
to happen.
That dam is
going to
break, and
nothing is going
to stop it.
And that
stream is
going to turn
into a flood.
Paul says
it's the same
with Christ.
What's true
of him will
be true of
those who
belong to him.
He has
broken the
dam of
death, and
nothing will
stop him from
one day bringing
the whole thing
down.
And those who
belong to him,
those who have
believed in him,
and taken him
as their Lord,
will be like
that flood
rolling over
the rubble
of death,
rushing into
the world to
come.
We don't
often get
amens at
Trinity.
That's
thanks.
we're a
pretty
solid,
stolid,
sort of
quiet bunch
here.
Don't you
see what
Paul's saying
in verses
20 through
23?
What's true
of the king
will one day
be true of
the kingdom.
If he has
been raised,
then so shall
we.
Next Sunday,
Worcester Square
will be having
their Cherry
Blossom Festival.
Small group
activity.
There you go.
And if you
were to go to
Worcester Square
and stand in
the park
and face
north,
you'd actually
be looking up
a little street
called Hughes
Place.
And the trees
along Hughes
Place every
year always
peak about
three to five
days before
the rest of
the square.
So you see,
when you see
them starting
to come into
bloom,
you know that
at any day
that whole
square is going
to erupt into
color and be
transformed.
For my money,
that's probably
one of the most
beautiful moments
in our city.
And it's the
perfect metaphor
for what Paul's
trying to get us
to see here.
The Christian
hope,
friends,
is determined
by Christ.
He's the first
fruits.
If he has
erupted into
life,
then so shall
we.
If he's been
raised in a
body,
then so shall
we.
If he's broken
through death
into incorruptible
physicality
and beauty,
then that is
where God
is taking us.
Now get
this.
This means
that your
future isn't
as a disembodied
spirit floating
on a cloud
in some
ethereal
afterlife.
But it's
in a renewed
body,
free of
decay and
death,
filled with
glory and
the spirit
of God.
And if
that's the
future Christ
guarantees for
us,
then don't
you see,
the pleasures
of this
life are
only a
rumor.
They are
only a
whisper of
what's to
come.
The drink
and the
laughter
and the
love now,
they're only
a dim
reflection of
what's in
store.
One of the
main metaphors
that Jesus
uses for the
new creation
is of a
wedding feast.
Friends,
what could
engage our
physical senses
more than a
feast?
Where we
eat and
drink and
dance and
laugh.
That's
what's in
store.
Not less
physical,
but more.
And that
means that
no matter
what happens
or doesn't
happen to
you in
this life,
you are
not ultimately
going to
miss out.
So if you
never take
that epic
hiking trip
through Europe,
if you
never land
that dream
job,
if you
never meet
that someone
special,
you're not
going to
miss out.
Your life
isn't ultimately
going to be
incomplete.
Christ has
something in
store for you
that's more
real than you
can imagine,
a feast.
Do you see
how liberating
that is?
Here and
now?
The world
to come is
going to be a
flood.
It's going to
be an explosion
of cherry
blossom leaves
that takes
our breath
away.
And you'll
be a part
of it.
So relax.
Give.
Make
sacrifices.
Forbear.
Forgive.
Easter's the
great promise,
friends,
that death
has been
swallowed up
in victory
and what's
in store
is unmitigated,
unashamed,
material joy.
And if that's
what the
resurrection of
Jesus means
for our
future,
then here's
what it means
for our
present.
Paul ends
this great
chapter on
the resurrection
by saying,
therefore,
my beloved
brothers,
be steadfast,
immovable,
always abounding
in the work
of the Lord,
knowing that
in the Lord
your labor
is not
in vain.
The reality
of the
resurrection,
friends,
doesn't make
us less
engaged
in this
life,
but more.
Because the
bodily
resurrection
of Jesus
is the
great
affirmation
that God
is at
work
redeeming
this
world.
And the
work that
we do
in the
Lord
for his
kingdom,
out of
love and
gratitude
toward him,
that work
will not
be lost
or wasted
or useless.
In the
Lord,
your labor
is not
in vain.
And that
certainly
applies to
our witness
bearing,
right?
To the
work that
we do
to introduce
others to
Christ and
to help
others grow
in the
faith.
Because
there's no
doubt about
it,
that work
can be
hard,
and sometimes
it can
feel like
it's in
vain.
When the
neighbor that
you've been
praying for
doesn't seem
to show any
spiritual interest.
When the
Christian friend
that we've been
encouraging and
meeting with
doesn't seem
to be
growing.
But this is
what the
resurrection
means,
that in
Christ,
God's new
creation work
has broken
into the
world.
And that
Christ is at
work to bring
life and
renewal,
even in the
hardest and
most unlikely
of places.
Friends,
if Christ has
conquered sin
and death
and a grave,
surely he
can soften a
hard heart
and cause
us to
grow.
So our
labors of
witness-bearing
are not in
vain.
But this
also applies
not just to
our witness-bearing,
but to our
image-bearing,
to the work
that we do
as humans
in bearing
the image
of God,
in glorifying
him in our
endeavors of
work and
of artistry
and creativity
and of
justice.
when we do
these things
as part of
our loving
response to
Christ and
his grace,
they too
are not in
vain.
Christ has
assured us by
his resurrection
that this
world matters,
that God
created this
world of
matter,
that he
called it
good,
and though
it's broken
in sin,
God isn't
simply going
to replace
it,
but renew
it and heal
it.
He's going
to redeem
it.
And this
means that
the new
creation work
that broke
out of the
tomb at
Easter in
Jesus' own
resurrection and
continues now
through the
church will
all be swept
up in the
symphony that's
to come when
Christ returns
and his glory
covers the
earth like the
waters cover
the sea.
The resurrection
assures us that
nothing will be
wasted when it's
done for him.
Not in the
lab or in the
office.
or in the
classroom or
in the
studio or at
home with the
kids.
Friends, all of
that work will
find its fitting
place and
purpose and
part to play in
the new
creation.
We might not
know how it
will all fit in
in the end.
Surely there
will be surprises.
Didn't Jesus
say that the
kingdom of God
is like a
mustard seed and
sometimes the
first are last
and the last
are first.
But to be
sure, nothing
will go
unadorned.
Nothing will
be in vain.
And so
Easter, friends,
is this great
glorious
bulwark
against
cynicism
and nihilism
and burnout.
Your labor's
not in vain.
It reminds me
of a story I
once read about
Christopher Wren,
who was a
British architect
who designed
London's St.
Paul's Cathedral.
The story goes
he was once
touring the
cathedral site
during construction
to talk to the
various artisans
who were working
there about how
things were
progressing.
And he was
talking to
masons and
carpenters and
sculptors and
stained glass
artists.
And as he was
finishing his
story, he came
across this old
man whose job
was to stir
cement with his
shovel to keep
the cement from
hardening.
And when the
great architect
asked the man
what he was
doing, the
man, not
knowing it
was Christopher
Wren who
was asking,
answered him,
Why, sir, I'm
building a great
cathedral to the
glory of God.
Friends, in the
same way, those
who belong to the
risen Christ can
know that they
too, no matter
what their task,
are part of a
great project to
the glory of God.
The greatest
project that there
is.
The project of
God's new
creation.
So the great
question that
runs under the
surface for all
of us, is this
making any
difference?
Am I living my
life in vain?
Is answered in
the resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
For those who
belong to the
risen Jesus,
nothing is in
vain.
life.
You see, friends,
in his
resurrection, he
has ended our
emptiness and
filled us with
life.
And he'll do the
same for all who
believe.
Christ is risen,
we say.
Christ is risen,
indeed.
Let's pray.
Father, what a
great act of
grace it is that
you have raised
Jesus from the
dead.
God, I pray
that you would
grant clarity to
those who are
still searching.
God, that they
would see Christ's
resurrection as
meaningful and
true and real.
And God, for
those of us whom
you've brought to
faith, help us to
live lives in line
with the truth of
the gospel.
God, fill our
hearts with the
joy of the new
creation.
Give us tasks that
we might, like
Paul, run with
this grace that
you've given us.
We ask all this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
Friends, let's