Sunday's Sermon - Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Important? (The Resurrection Offers Hope)

Although we all know that Easter is about Jesus Christ being raised from the dead, we may not be quite as clear about the  meaning and significance of this pivotal event in human history. For that reason, for five Sundays in the months of April and May, we’ll consider this question: Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Important? During this series, we’ll consider the following topic: 

• April 7 - The Resurrection Provides Validation
• April 21 - The Resurrection Was Physical
• April 28 - The Resurrection Offers Hope
• May 5 - The Resurrection Is Good News
• May 12 - The Resurrection Anticipated the Holy Spirit

We continued this series on Sunday when we looked at 1 Corinthians 15 and considered how the resurrection of Jesus Christ offers us hope. A recording and the text of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDST)

Well, I’ll tell you, yesterday we just might have turned the corner, and I’m not talking about how much better the Steelers are going to be next year because they drafted Zach Frazier, the WVU center, on Friday. No, instead, I want you to notice how pleasant the temperature was yesterday afternoon and is supposed to be today. Good night nurse, for the last month, it seems as though we’ve been bouncing between the 70s and the 30s. But now, well, maybe we’ve turned the corner, and we can look forward, with all kinds of hope, to warmer weather. Which, of course, means that, Amy, Ron and all the other golfers, soon y’all won’t need a parka to play. And Dan, Jerry, Barb and all the other bikers, soon you’ll be hitting the trails without having to worry about patches of ice. And for me, well, my life isn’t going to change all that much except for having to cut the stupid grass at least once a week for the next five months or so. But be that as it may, given what we experienced yesterday, I think we all have good reason to hope that change is a-coming. 

And I’ll tell you, that’s what we’re going to be talking about this morning. Of course, this is part of a series we started about a month ago. You see, in several of the Sundays since Easter, we’ve been asking the question: Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Important? And over that time we’ve looked at a couple of different reasons. I mean, we talked about how it provided validation for the life Jesus lived and the work he came to do and the mission he’s given to us. And then last week, we looked at how the resurrection also was physical; demonstrating that the real world must be important. And as we saw, that just makes sense, because it’s in the physical world where we can see God’s nature, both his authority and love, and where we can understand our responsibilities both to the creation itself and the people around us. Now that’s where we’ve been.

And like I said, this morning we’re going to move forward by talking about how, if we choose to understand it, the resurrection offers hope, something that sure seems in short supply now-a-days, what with the Russians still in Ukraine and the Israelis still in Gaza and the coming election in which a majority of Americans don’t particularly like either Biden or Trump. Of course, that’s not going to stop it from being really nasty. But you know, even though reasons for hope seem in short supply now-a-days, I believe we have something powerful and persuasive when we think about how God raised Jesus from death. And that’s going to be our focus this morning. You see, we’re going to read a passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in which he talked about why the resurrection of Jesus is so very important. And then we’re going to take what Paul said and consider three points I believe he made that, when taken together, offer a genuine reason for us to feel hope despite what might be happening around us. 

And like I said, we’re going to start by looking at a part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in which he deals almost exclusively with the resurrection. Now this was what he wrote:

If we preach that Christ was raised from death, how can some of you say the dead will not be raised to life? If they won’t be raised to life, Christ himself wasn’t raised to life. And if Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won’t be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying he raised Christ to life, when he really did not.

So if the dead won’t be raised to life, Christ wasn’t raised to life. Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.

But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father. [1 Corinthians 15:12-20, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote. And in these words, I think he makes three points that can move us from distress and even despair to hope.

For example, according to the Apostle Paul, we will die. I believe that’s his first point, and even though I understand that’s a real downer, remember we’re moving toward the reason the resurrection can give us hope. But, you know, whether it’s a downer or not, we all know it’s true. My goodness, let’s get real, we all know that we’re going to die, right? In fact, this is the one thing on which we can count. I mean, there was a time when I agreed with Benjamin Franklin when he said, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” But having seen how much some of the richest people in our country actually pay, well, I think Ben may have been only half right. No, as Paul said, “we will die because of Adam” [1 Corinthians 15:21a, CEV] and “Adam brought death to all of us.” [1 Corinthians 15:22a, CEV]. Man, that’s just the way it is, something that the writer of Ecclesiastes also recognized with he wrote this:

The silver cord snaps,

    the golden bowl breaks;

the water pitcher is smashed,

and the pulley at the well

    is shattered.

So our bodies return

    to the earth,

and the life-giving breath 

    returns to God.

Nothing makes sense.

I have seen it all—

    nothing makes sense. [Ecclesiastes 12:6-8, CEV]

You see, for Paul, death is unavoidable. 

But in writing about how we all die, he didn’t stop there, because he also suggested that, if there’s nothing after death, we actually have no reason to feel positive about the future. In other words, we have no reason to move forward with confidence. Man, we have absolutely no reason to hope. And for Paul that was true whether you’re a Christian or not. Remember, he wrote, “If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.” [1 Corinthians 15:19, CEV] Now that’s what he said. And I’ll tell you, it’s really not all that different from what we find, again in Ecclesiastes:

It’s terribly unfair for the same thing to happen to each of us. We are mean and foolish while we live, and then we die. As long as we are alive, we still have hope, just as a live dog is better off than a dead lion. We know we will die, but the dead don’t know a thing. Nothing good will happen to them—they are gone and forgotten. Their loves, their hates, and their jealous feelings have all disappeared with them. They will never again take part in anything that happens on this earth. [Ecclesiastes 9:3-6, CEV]

Wow, it just gets better and better doesn’t it? I’ll tell you, that’s why you don’t find Ecclesiastes quoted on many birthday cards. But you know, that doesn’t mean it’s not true. You see, not only is death unavoidable, if this is all we’ve got, we really don’t have a good reason to hope. Like it or not, we will die. And I think that’s the first point Paul made in this passage to the Corinthians. 

But, of course, that wasn’t all he said, because, second, I think he also wanted them and us to know this as well, that Jesus was raised. In other words, without our permission or help, God raised Jesus from that condition which all of us are going to face and which can absolutely drain us of hope, if that’s all we can see in our future. You see, because God has both authority and love, Paul said that “Christ has been raised to life!” [1 Corinthians 15:20a, CEV] In fact, as he also wrote, resurrection was at the very core of his preaching, something we’ll talk about next week. Of course, this faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus, man, it wasn’t just Paul who believed it. For example, just listen to what Peter wrote in his first letter:

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear. [1 Peter 1:3-4, CEV]

And so, like I said, for those who wrote the New Testament, God causing Jesus to rise from the dead was a big deal.

As a matter of fact, it was probably a bigger deal for them than for most of us. I mean, for a lot of us, the resurrection is actually just this enormous miracle: important, extraordinary, incredible, but still just a miracle. You see, most of us were taught that the body is sort of like a shell; and that when a person dies, the soul is released and goes somewhere else. Good night nurse, how many times have you heard that kind of thing preached at a funeral? And so, the resurrection of Jesus is certainly spectacular, but let’s get real, it really doesn’t make a big difference to us. I mean, our soul is going to leave the shell whether Jesus was raised or not, right? Well, even though that’s what we’ve been taught, based on what they wrote, it’s really not what those Jewish writers of the New Testament believed. You see, they didn’t think that either body or soul could have any kind of real existence without the other. In other words, you couldn’t have animated bodies without souls anymore than you could have living souls without bodies. Therefore, for them, the resurrection of the dead was a huge deal. You see, according to what they believed and wrote, for people to have life after death, they needed to be raised as Jesus was raised, with both a body and a soul, something about which Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians:

With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever. Encourage each other with these words. [1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, CEV]

Now, this was how Paul envisioned the resurrection, our resurrection, something that reflected what the Father had already done for his Son. You see, Jesus was raised. And I think that’s the second point Paul made in this passage to the Corinthians. 

And of course, that leads to what I believe is Paul’s third point, that simply put, we will too. In other words, just like Jesus, we also will be raised. And I’ll tell you, when it comes to hope, man, this is where the rubber hits the road. You see, since we know that we’re going to die and since we also believe that Jesus was raised, we have good reason to trust that the time will come when we’re going to be raised too. And I’ll tell you, that’s the good news I think Paul wanted the Corinthians to claim. You see, for Paul, the resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of something new, something huge, in fact, something so big that changed the course of the universe. As he wrote in our passage:

But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. [1 Corinthians 15:20-23, CEV]

Or, as he wrote a little earlier in this same letter:

God will raise us from death by the same power he used when he raised our Lord to life. [1 Corinthians 6:14, CEV]

Now I know you’ve heard me say this before, but brace yourselves, I’m going to say it again. Because the tomb of Jesus Christ was empty, we have good reason to believe that one day, ours will be too. And that, my brothers and sisters, is hope. 

But I’ll tell you, what I’m talking about right now is a heck of a lot more than some kind of wishful thinking or grand illusion. You see, although we can’t be sure of the details because it hasn’t happened yet, I think Paul believed we could get a glimpse of our resurrection right here and right now. Just listen to what he wrote, again to the Corinthians, right after the passage on which we’ve focused: 

Some of you have asked, “How will the dead be raised to life? What kind of bodies will they have?” Don’t be foolish. A seed must die before it can sprout from the ground. Wheat seeds and all other seeds look different from the sprouts that come up.

That’s how it will be when our bodies are raised to life. These bodies will die, but the bodies that are raised will live forever. These ugly and weak bodies will become beautiful and strong. As surely as there are physical bodies, there are spiritual bodies. And our physical bodies will be changed into spiritual bodies. [1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-44, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote. And just think about how claiming this vision can change the way we view the future, particularly our life after death. I mean, instead of hanging out with disembodied souls drifting around, we can look forward to seeing those whom we love, beautiful and strong, in a recreated universe. And since they’ll be real, as real as Jesus after he was raised, we’ll be able to recognize them and to talk with them and to hold them in a new heaven and a new earth, a place where “[God] will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain[, because] these things of the past are gone forever.” [Revelation 20:4, CEV] Amen. I’m telling you, according to Paul, this is our destiny, because God has done for Jesus what he’ll do for us. You see, just like Jesus was raised, we will be too. And I think that’s the third point Paul made in this passage to the Corinthians. 

Now, do you remember how I started this little message by talking about the temperature, you know, how we may have turned the corner; therefore, we can expect only warm weather in future, at least until the end of September? Do you remember me saying something like that? Well, after I wrote most of this message, I checked my phone and saw that, according to The Weather Channel, we might be dipping into the 40s in about a week. Ooch. And even though that may not prevent Amy from hitting the links or Dan from cruising the trails or me from cutting the stupid grass, let’s get real; it still ain’t great. But let me tell you what is, you know, what is great. Thanks to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his first letter, even though we’re going to die, because Jesus was raised, we can have hope that we will too. And I’ll tell you, that’s good news, because when you get right down to it, the resurrection offers hope.