1st Corinthians 15:1-15:11
Today is Easter Sunday &, as Christians, we
have gathered to celebrate the resurrection of
our Savior & Lord. But even as we celebrate,
our hearts are heavy with the realization that
much is wrong with our world. Unrelenting
hatred seems to rule supreme in the hearts &
lives of so many & the fruits of terror are
all too evident.
It was a little over 14 years ago, on Feb. 27,
1991, at the height of Desert Storm, that Ruth
Dillow received a very sad message from the
Pentagon. It stated that her son, Clayton
Carpenter, Private 1st Class, had stepped on a
mine in Kuwait & was dead.
Ruth Dillow later wrote, "I can’t begin to
describe my grief & shock. It was almost more
than I could bear. For 3 days I wept. For 3
days I expressed anger & loss. For 3 days
people tried to comfort me, to no avail
because the loss was too great."
But 3 days after she received that message,
the telephone rang. The voice on the other end
said, "Mom, it’s me. I’m alive." Ruth Dillow
said, "I couldn’t believe it at first. But
then I recognized his voice, & he really was
alive." The message was all a mistake!
She said, "I laughed, I cried, I felt like
turning cartwheels, because my son whom I had
thought was dead, was really alive. I’m sure
none of you can even begin to understand how I
felt."
Perhaps not, but some who walked the pages of
the New Testament would have understood how
she felt because they experienced the same
emotions themselves. One day they watched
their best friend & teacher being nailed to a
cross. They witnessed His pain as He cried
out, "I thirst!" & "My God, my God, why have
You forsaken me?"
They listened as finally He bowed His head &
said, "It is finished!" & "Father, into thy
hands I commit my spirit." They watched as His
body was taken from the cross & buried. All
their hopes & dreams were buried with Him.
Friday & all day Saturday they mourned, until
finally, on "the first day of the week, early
in the morning," the scripture says, some
women made their way along the path that led
to His tomb, wondering who would roll away the
stone for them. But when they arrived, they
found that the stone had already been rolled
away.
An angel there told them, "You’re looking in
the wrong place. You’re looking for Jesus
among the dead. He is not dead. He is alive.
He is risen, even as He said!"
"He is risen!" That is what we celebrate this
morning. When all the evidence is in we’re
convinced that Jesus is alive. He is risen
from the dead, & what a difference His
resurrection has made!
The 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians is the
great resurrection chapter of the Bible. In
verse's 1-11 Paul writes, "“Now, brothers, I
want to remind you of the gospel I preached to
you, which you received and on which you have
taken your stand. By this gospel you are
saved, if you hold firmly to the word I
preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed
in vain. For what I received I passed on to
you as of first importance: that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, that
He was buried, that He was raised on the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that He
appeared to Peter, and then to the 12. After
that, He appeared to more than 500 of the
brothers at the same time, most of whom are
still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Then He appeared to James, then to all the
apostles, & last of all He appeared to me
also."
With that introduction, Paul goes on to
present a tremendous testimony to the
resurrection of Jesus. Then he turns his
attention to us, "Listen, I tell you a
mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed"
[15:51-52].
With those words ringing in our ears, let us
consider some of the changes, some of the
transformations, that the resurrection of
Jesus has already made.
I. THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE CROSS & THE TOMB
To illustrate the transformations that His
resurrection has already made, think about the
cross and the tomb.
Before His resurrection, the cross was known
only as an instrument of horrible death, rough
wood soaked with human blood. So terrible was
this form of execution that the Roman Empire
prohibited the crucifixion of Roman citizens.
Crucifixion was only for the worst of slaves &
enemies of the empire. But today, because of
His resurrection, we wear a replica of the
cross as a piece of jewelry, a thing of
beauty, for all around the world the cross is
seen as a symbol of hope, & a reminder of
God’s love for us.
And what about His tomb? Before the
resurrection, for most of the world, the grave
was looked upon as the final chapter, the
closing of a great door, the end of
everything. But because of His resurrection,
we can rejoice today that beyond death is
where life really begins, and it will never
end. That makes you wonder, doesn’t it, why we
spend so much time worrying and fretting about
material things?
Dale Evans once said, "I spent most of my life
searching for the pot of gold at the end of
the rainbow. Then I finally found it at the
foot of the cross."
All our lives, it seems, we work and struggle
to accumulate things that we think are
important. But when we’re dealing with death
and what happens after death, then all these
things seem so unimportant, so
inconsequential. What difference does it
really make what kind of car we drive? Or what
kind of house we live in? Or what clothes we
wear? If we’re talking about eternity, then
what difference do things really make?
On one side of the resurrection, everything we
see is temporary. Only the things we cannot
see are eternal. What a difference the
resurrection makes!
II. THE TRANSFORMATION OF TIME
Then there is the transformation of time.
Before the resurrection, time was a limited
thing. The Bible talks about the breath of
life that we have in our nostrils, and then it
is gone. And there is no promise that when we
exhale that we will inhale again. Life is
brief indeed. Sometimes when I’m shaving in
the morning, I look in the mirror & think, "My
goodness, I look old, but with a good night’s
sleep tonight, maybe I’ll look better
tomorrow." Then I hear a still, small voice
saying, "Don’t count on it. This is the best
it’s ever going to be!"
That’s rather discouraging, isn’t it? You see,
time is slipping by. It’s going so fast that
it’s hard to hold on to anything, isn’t it? On
one side of the resurrection, time is brief.
But on the other side there is Jesus and
eternity, and that changes the whole purpose
and meaning and scope of our life.
III. THE TRANSFORMATION OF LIFE
Then there is the transformation of life,
itself. Have you been listening to the
messages of the world lately? Have you been
hearing the voices of hopelessness and despair
that seem to be so pervasive today? Suddenly
we have become so painfully and personally
aware of the presence of terrorism on our
planet. The men and women of our armed forces
are spread across the globe engaged in what
will undoubtedly be a prolonged battle against
the forces of hatred and evil. And the
conflict between Israelis and Palestinians
continues on and on.
There are diseases for which we have no cures.
There are problems in the home. Children are
being abused. People are sleeping on the
streets. If you watch and listen very long,
you can be filled with despair. And if the
only hope that we have is the hope that this
world offers, we have no hope because the
message of this world is despair.
In contrast, Jesus said, "I have come to bring
you life, and that more abundantly, to show
you how to live, to bring you hope and joy and
peace and love, to give you a reason for
living."
Even if life is wracked with pain, even if
there is loneliness and sorrow, you’ll be able
to go on, you’ll find the strength that comes
through Jesus and the power of His
resurrection.
IV. THE TRANSFORMATION OF DEATH
Finally, there is the transformation of death.
Before the resurrection, death was the end.
Before the resurrection, death was the final
curtain call. Before the resurrection, all we
could do is mourn as those who have no hope.
But after the resurrection, when someone dies,
we mourn because we have lost a loved one. But
we mourn as people who have great hope because
Jesus Christ is alive, and the promise of
Scripture is that if He is alive, then we,
too, can live forever. Our sins are forgiven
by His shed blood, and we have the promise of
everlasting life. It changes the whole concept
of death itself.
In Henry Garrity’s book, "Portraits of
Perseverance," Carl was a very rich man who
owned a great estate. One of his favorite
pastimes was riding horseback through his
valley, looking at everything he owned &
congratulating himself on his great wealth.
One day, as Carl was riding along, he came up
over a hill and in the distance saw one of his
tenant farmers, an old man named Hans. It was
lunch time and Hans had set a little table
under a shade tree and was getting ready to
eat. But before he ate, he bowed his head and
folded his hands in prayer to thank God for
his food. Carl watched the old man as he
prayed. Then he looked at his meal. It was
only a slice of coarse bread and a piece of
cheese.
With a sneer Carl said, "If that’s all I had
to eat, I wouldn’t even bother to pray."
Hans replied humbly, "It’s enough and I’m
thankful that God has provided it."
Taken aback by the old man’s answer, Carl
turned his horse and prepared to ride away.
But before he could leave, old Hans said,
"Wait a minute. I need to tell you something.
I had a dream last night. In my dream I saw a
beautiful scene and then I heard a voice
saying, `Tonight the richest man in the valley
will die. Tonight the richest man in the
valley will die."
"Poppycock!" said Carl as he rode off toward
home. But as he was riding, the words of old
Hans haunted him, "Tonight the richest man in
the valley will die." Up to then he had felt
quite well, but now he was beginning to
experience pains in his chest. He wondered,
"Could it possibly be true? Am I going to die
tonight?"
When he reached home he called his doctor and
told him of old Han’s dream and of the pains
that he had been feeling. The doctor said,
"Well, it doesn’t sound like anything you
ought to be concerned about, but just to put
your mind at ease, I’ll come over and examine
you."
So the doctor did. After the examination was
over he said, "Carl, you’re as strong as a
horse. There’s no way you’re going to die
tonight." Carl said, "Well, I feel mighty
foolish that I paid any attention to the old
man’s dream about the richest man in the
valley dying tonight. But I just wanted to be
certain."
So, reassured, Carl went to bed. The next
morning there was a knock on his door and the
messenger said, "Carl, old Hans died last
night." Truly, the richest man in the valley
died last night.
Paul wrote, "O death, where is thy sting? O
grave, where is thy victory?" "Thanks be to
God! He gives us the victory through Jesus
Christ, our Lord." You see, the resurrection
makes the difference.
Before, things seemed so important. But now
they have become pretty insignificant. Before,
time was so limited. But now there is all
eternity. Before, life was filled with
despair. But now it has purpose, direction and
meaning. Before, death was the end. But now it
is the beginning.
So whatever your decision may be this morning,
we offer His invitation, and we pray that you
will respond to it as we stand and as we sing
together.
Melvin M. Newland
Minister, Central Christian Church
http://www.ccbrownsville.com/
All
rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of
author
