All the Proof You Need

Easter Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. Opening Prayer: Father in Heaven, we praise you, and life you up. We thank you for your power, for your mercy, for your love, and for your Son. We ask Father as we begin the message today that you would speak through Your Word. Father I ask that the words I speak be Yours and not my own. May we hear the Scripture today, and let it change our hearts. Father I pray that you use today to give us the boldness, courage, and wisdom needed to go from here, and change our homes, our places of employment, and our community. We pray all these things in your Son’s name. In Jesus name. Amen. Introduction: Today is a different kind of Sunday. For many of us, it is also a Sunday unlike any we have ever encountered. We are living in a time, where we are told to stay in our homes, told to social distance from each other, where many were told they no longer had sports to watch, that they no longer had restaurants to go to, some were even told that they no longer have jobs. Yes, today is a very different day indeed. But, oh there is still something that is the same. There is still a constant in our lives, the Rock the foundation of our faith, the never changing, all powerful, and Risen Lord Jesus Christ! For today we celebrate His resurrection from the dead. We celebrate a Savior that could not be defeated not by the cross, not by sin, not by death. No we have a Savior that fought death and won. And brothers and sisters, that makes this Sunday a day that we can face with joy, and praise. Today I want to take a look at a different passage than what we would normally look at for Easter. Rather than go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, we are going to be diving into 1 Corinthians and hearing from the Apostle Paul today. The reason is not to have some awesome different message than normal, but because this particular passage, gives us the whole story. It takes us through the entire Gospel in four verses, and then in the next four verses gives us all the supporting evidence that is needed to prove that the Gospel is the Truth. The church at Corinth was full of people that didn’t believe in the resurrection. It was full of so-called intellects, and people who looked at the concept of someone raising from the dead as foolish, and impossible. So Paul here gives them the information that they need to be convinced, and if it can convince them, then this should surely reassure us! So, let’s dive in. 1. Verses 1-2: Introduction and Preface A. Paul starts by telling them he is about to reveal to them the Gospel (This is the attention getter for Paul. He is saying here, listen up, I am about to tell you again the Gospel that I have already told you!) B. Two things have to happen before the Gospel is a benefit to anyone: a. It must be received: It must be heard, it must be believed, it must be considered as true. b. It must be stood in: No matter the circumstance it has to be the platform that a person stands firm in. Against all the temptations of the world it must be stood in. (These two steps are important. We must as Christians choose to not only have a good past, and a good present, but also a great future with the Lord.) Illustration: This is no different than when it comes to riding a bike. I can give you a helmet to wear so that you are protected. You can actually take it from me and receive it, but if you don’t grasp its reason, and use it for its purpose, it isn’t going to make a bit of difference when you fall off the bike and hit your head. The helmet protects your head, the Gospel protects your soul. C. Paul goes on to talk about the result of believing and standing in the Gospel a. This Gospel is how they were saved i. As long as they held fast to it, and did not let it go (This is important. It is not just a matter of standing strong in it, but on holding it tight as if someone wanted to take it from you. The world, the devil, false teachers, all wanting to try and convince them it was false, so they needed to hold it tight) ii. Unless they believed in vain (This is not saying one can believe and then lose salvation. But instead what he is saying is unless you believed rashly without evidence. This would be a description of seeds of the gospel falling onto rocky ground that Jesus talked about in his parables) 2. Verses 3-4: Content of the Gospel that is Preached A. Paul stated that he delivered to them a message, and this message was: a. Was the most important message in the world b. A message that he himself had believed in also i. What was this message? 1. Paul was given this message (by Jesus Himself), he did not make it up i. As a Christian, we do not make the Gospel. There is no original interpretation of the Gospel. Instead we repeat it, and tell the message we have received. Illustration: There are a lot of great authors out there that come up with some amazing stories. From Fiction, to Romance, and Comedy. Some of the best stories get made into movies, but these are all ideas that come from a mind that was created, they are based of experiences with other created things. The Gospel comes from The Author, the author of life, of creation, of the universe, of all things. He didn’t get the idea from someone or something else, no He is the idea, He is the story, He is Words. If anyone ever stands at a pulpit and tells you something that doesn’t match up with what the Author of life has already written, don’t believe it, challenge it with truth instead. 2. That Jesus died for their sins i. Let’s grasp this. Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, He died. He didn’t sleep, He didn’t pass out. He died. ii. Because of this God is glorified. Seems like foolishness to the world, but it is salvation to those who believe. iii. He died for us. Our sins were responsible for putting him there. He had all the guilt and wrath of God that we deserved placed upon him by God. And in doing so as the perfect sacrifice, it satisfied God’s wrath. iv. He suffered physically, but more so spiritually in being for that moment, an enemy of God as you would, drinking the entire cup of God’s wrath and fury. (Important fact, he drank the whole cup, just one drop of this cup would take our entire soul to the very deepest parts of hell and ruin. They would completely destroy the entire universe. He had no help, He did this alone) 3. That He was buried i. This is important. If he hadn’t been buried people could have said he didn’t really die. This was proof that he had actually died. His death was also verified at the cross before he was taken down. Jesus being buried also fulfilled Scripture. 4. That on the 3rd day he rose from the dead Illustration: Earlier this week, I had tried to start our leaf blower at home. I followed the 8 step instructions that were written on the side of it, and it wouldn’t start. Tried it three or four times, still nothing, and then realized that it didn’t have gas, that part wasn’t marked on the instructions. But in the case of the Gospel, it is laid out plain and simple, with out the Resurrection, the rest of the Gospel doesn’t matter. No matter what I did with that leaf blower, it wasn’t going to start without gas, and no matter what happened up to this point of the Gospel, even Jesus death on the cross for our sins, doesn’t matter unless the resurrection happens. i. The absolute essential aspect of the Gospel. ii. No resurrection, no truth, no salvation, we are all still lost. iii. When Jesus took on the wrath for us, He did not become a sinner. He bore the wrath for our sin, but he was not a sinner. If he had, he could not have raised from the dead. iv. Cross was the payment, the empty tomb was the receipt v. The cross was dark, but the resurrection showed that Jesus had not been overcome by the event, the cross, death, none of it. vi. Rising on the 3rd day was important, because it fulfilled what He said He was going to do. It was not some random resurrection, but a very time appointed event, that was prophesied before it happened. It 5. That it was verified by the Scriptures i. Paul repeats this twice in two verses ii. It was not a coincidence, but instead something that had been planned, that was foretold prophetically. a. Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 described his death b. Hosea 6:2, Jonah 1:17, Psalm 16:10 described His resurrection iii. This was placed here first and foremost before he went to any kind of physical proof of people seeing Jesus, because Paul understood that the Scriptures had the higher authority. 3. Verses 5-8: Proof of Jesus Resurrection A. Jesus did not just vanish from the tomb. Instead a. He appeared to Cephas (Peter) i. We don’t know much about this, but given the grief Peter was most likely feeling, He most likely needed comfort and reassurance. b. Then he appeared to the other 12 disciples i. This is talking about when Christ appeared to the disciples in the room where all doors and windows were shut. c. Then he appeared to 500 people at the same time i. We are not given great detail about this, but what it shows is that Jesus appeared to many many people during the time between His resurrection and Ascension. ii. Most of these people were still alive a. Paul is saying go ask these people. It isn’t just a few of us crazies saying this. There are many more people that saw the resurrected Christ, and many of them are still alive, go find one of them if you need more proof, ask them. b. It is important to know that when someone asks how you know Jesus is alive, that saying He is in your heart, isn’t the best way. No, it is because there is historical evidence that demands we believe that the resurrection happened. d. Then he appeared to James i. His half brother. The same half brother who was hostile to and didn’t believe in Him while He did his ministry work. e. Then to the rest of the apostles i. This was important to show continued support to them that He was in fact risen, and it was not just a one time thing, that they may have dreamt up. ii. No He ate with them, comforted them, commanded them to preach the Gospel, He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit. f. Then to Paul himself i. Untimely born a. Paul was saying here, that he was not made an apostle like the others. They had been with Christ during his full earthly ministry, He had been converted with a sudden encounter with the Lord. It is compared to that of a child. The twelve in Pauls mind had been like a child that had been in their mothers womb the full 9 months and received full nutrients, whereas he had been suddenly thrust into it, like a child born prematurely. He was essentially saying, Christ appeared to even me, the least of the Apostles. Conclusion: All of this evidence. All of these witnesses to the resurrected Christ. This is overwhelming evidence that the resurrection did in fact happen. The apostles had their heart changed in such a way that rather than run away like they did when he was arrested, they ran to Him and became so dedicated to Him that they were willing to die for this belief. This was not some fraudulent idea they dreamed up and then backed out of when times got tough, instead, they placed their head down, and ran head on into the world, to share the good news of Christ’s resurrection. Maybe you are here today, and you believe all that we have talked about. Maybe you believe Jesus was the Son of God, that He lived a perfect life, that He died a horrid death, was buried, and then rose on the 3rd day. Maybe you are here today and you have already placed your faith in Him. And if you have that’s fantastic! I implore you to make sure that you remember this sacrifice that was made, more than just today. More than just once a year. Let the death and resurrection of our Savior fill you up, and cover you every minutes of every day. Let it change your heart, like it did the apostles, let it cause you to want to do nothing but tell others about this Savior, that is Alive. Maybe you are here today and you don’t know who this Jesus person is. Maybe you think that all that we have talked about seems a bit out there, and can’t possibly be true. To you, I ask that you search your heart. You have not met many of the great leaders in our past that are no longer here, yet you trust they existed. I ask that you search the Scriptures, with an open mind. That you look at the historical events, and the truths that have been presented here today, and trust that not only did this person Jesus exist, but He is very much alive today, and you can meet Him. Don’t pass up the opportunity to get to know the greatest man to ever walk on this earth, and the one and only God that now resides in Heaven awaiting to welcome you home. Let’s pray.