Jesus the Grave Robber

Years ago, a young man had just gotten out of Bible College where he’d spent several years learning all the theological terminology that he thought would make him a successful preacher. He’d just been hired at a country church and he was determined to begin bringing new people to Christ. So he set out to win his first soul for the Lord in the community.

He came upon a farmer busily working in his field and, not sure the man was a Christian, he asked “Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord, my good man?"

The farmer didn’t even look up "Naw, these are soybeans, not grapes."

Realizing he’d asked the question wrong he said, "You don’t understand what I’m asking. Are you a Christian?"

With the same amount of disinterest as his previous answer the farmer said, "Nope my name is Jones. You must be looking for Jim Christian. He lives a mile south of here."

Undaunted, the determined young preacher tried again asking the farmer, "Are you lost?"

"Nope! I’ve lived here all my life," answered the farmer.

"Are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated preacher asked.

This caught the farmer’s attention and he asked, "When’s it gonna be?"

The young Preacher smiled and replied, "It could be today, tomorrow, or the next day!"

Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer remarked in a monotone voice, "Well, I’m terribly busy with harvest right now, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention it to my wife. She don’t get out much. If she hears about it she’ll want us to go all three days!"

Context

In 1 Cor 15 Paul is instructing the church on the Resurrection body that we are promised to receive as believers. It in interesting in this passage that Paul is not arguing for or against bodily Resurrection- he is stating at as a fact that we hang our hope on. For the Scriptures- and for Paul the hope of a physical resurrected body for those who are in Christ is as real as the hope we have in our bodies at this moment on Earth.

Life after death was not and still not an idea that is unique to Christian Doctrine. Almost every religion or Spiritual ideal has something to say about life after death- whether it be reincarnation, or Nirvana, or something of the like. Even the Greek mythological world that surrounded Paul believed in an everlasting soul- but most of the Greeks of his day were quite skeptical of any kind of Physical Resurrection.

You see, the common belief in those days was that there is no way a body could be resurrected- the body was buried and subject to decay and that these bodies of our are in no way shape or form fitting for eternal life.

And Paul says---you are exactly right.

1 Corinthians 15:50 “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

We need to shift our focus, friends. For our entire existence we are in these flesh and bone bodies. Bodies with aches and pains, desires and needs; for our entire existence on Earth we are somewhat tied to the wants, needs, and desires of this flesh. But Paul asks us to look past this into what he calls a mystery in v51.

It’s About Transformation

You see, Paul tells us that these bodies of ours will not just be thrown away, no they will be transformed.

In Philippians Paul puts it this way:

Philippians 3:20–21“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Now, keep your finger in that passage because it is going to be important here in a few… But let’s keep going in 1 Cor 15 first.

Paul tells us that when we trumpet call of God is sounded 2 things are going to happen-

First, the dead in Christ shall rise. So, anyone who is dead now, or will die between now and the Trumpet Call of God- who was in Christ- or confessed Jesus as their Savior- their Spirit is in Heaven in the presence of God- that is the abundant life we talked about this morning- but there is no physical body around their Spirit. When the Trumpet calls they will be physically Resurrected with new bodies.

Then, those who are still here, those who are still alive- we will be transformed- Paul says we will put on the imperishable. These bodies will be swallowed up by perfection.

Chart in EVS pg2419

And Paul then quotes from Hosea 13:14 “I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.”

And I love how one commentator I read this week put it- like a child playing a game of tag on the playground 1 Cor 15:54-55 read as Jesus’ Nanny-Nanny- Boo-Boo you can’t catch me- there is nothing you can do death- your time is OVER!

Now, let’s look at some of the truths revealed in these passages for us

This hope reminds us our true citizenship- Perhaps no other message should resonate in our hearts given the political climate in our country right now as this one- our home is not here, and our citizenship- our place is in heaven.

Ethan or Haylee’s Birth Certificate- this declares that they are ours. The original info has been replaced and now declares their new role. Feelings do not matter; the past does not matter; this declares fact.

Transformation is Christ’s to do- There is nothing that we can do to recreate ourselves, friends. It is only the work and will of Christ that can transform us.

Jesus is over everything- absolutely everything.

Now, when I took preaching class many many years ago my professor left us with one thing that has stuck with me for my entire ministry- he said that every sermon should end with a question- either stated or answered- how then shall we live? And the amazing part of 1 Cor 15:50-58 is that Paul answers that very question for us.

Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord

This as how we should live.

Or as the Christian misssionary Jim Elliot once simply prayed “Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, and love without weakness.”

When I was a teenager I used to work part time at a rental company and my main job was to put up the big canopy tents for weddings and events. I used to work side by side with a man named Tom a- man of few words but one of the hardest workers I ever was around. And without fail when we drove the steaks of thee tent- the big heavy metal stakes into the ground at least once every job he would slam one with the giant sledge hammer, then pull it with all his might and say “thats not going anywhere until we tell it different”

That is exactly how I feel a Christian who is steadfast, immovable, and abounding in the work of God should be.

John Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life “God created me—and you—to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion—namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.”