The Impact of the Resurrection

Pastor: 
Rev. Marcus Birkholz
Date: 
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sermon Text: 
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
 
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
 9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

 

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Dear worshipers of the resurrected and living Lord Jesus,
I wish each one of us could capture the joy and excitement that struck those early followers of Jesus when they saw him alive. What kind of emotions must have been running through their hearts and minds? There is a mother who has captured what it must have been like. She is Ruth Dillow. On Feb. 27, 1991, at the height of Desert Storm, 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. She would write about her thoughts and feelings, "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."
Then her phone rang. "Mom, it’s me. I’m alive." Ruth said, "I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I recognized his voice, & he really was alive." The message was all a mistake!  "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."
            The women on the way to the tomb would have been able to identify with Ruth’s story. But there was one big difference, Jesus had died. He had been buried, and he was alive and living. Jesus’ resurrection had a huge impact of all of his followers. We might ask, of all people why did that young man call his mother? Did he know what she needed to hear? Of course! In the same way, Jesus hand picked those whom he would appear alive and show himself the conqueror over death. As we consider the Impact of the Resurrection, we will look at those whom the Apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Corinthians. 
I.              Peter
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, {4} that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, {5} and that he appeared to Peter. How much did the disciple Peter need to see Jesus? Just a few days earlier he had proclaimed (Mat 26:35 NIV) "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you."  The crowing of the rooster would still be fresh in his mind after he had for the third time denied knowing Jesus. Then it happened, Jesus’ eye caught Peter’s eye. That’s all it took. He went out and cried his heart out. He had failed the man who had saved him from drowning in the Sea of Galilee, his lord and teacher. Then came the crucifixion and it was too late. He didn’t have another chance to talk to his Lord. What were those days like, living with the guilt and shame of his sins, his failure and utter humiliation? What were his nights like, tossing and turning as he reflected on his actions, even after he had been warned of his denial? Guilt ridden Peter needed to see his Savior alive. In the days to follow he would find out that Jesus could still use him as a disciple.
            Have you come this morning like the disciple Peter? Has your life been a Christian failure? Are you living with guilt and shame of past sins? Do you toss and turn at night over the actions you purposely chose to do? Even after you promised the Lord you would never do them again?   Do you need this morning to see a living and forgiving Lord and Savior? Do you need to know that in Christ there is no condemnation for you? Jesus calls the repentant sinner to himself and promises,” my blood has washed away all your sins, those sins you did on purpose, those sins you know and those you don’t know.” Is this why the resurrected, risen and living Lord Jesus has appeared to you this morning?
II.            The 12
The Second Group Paul mention is “and then to the Twelve.” This was the name of the group, even though there were only eleven left at the time. Here were those who had fled and left him alone in Gethsemane. We know of one who was given the name, doubting Thomas. But the truth is that they all were filled with doubts and unbelief. The Gospel writer Mark explained: (Mark 16:14 NIV) Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. See the word was out, the women had brought the message but the disciples still did not believe. Remember Thomas words, “Unless I see and touch…I will not believe.” When he touched the hands and put his hand to the side, he proclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”   Then Jesus said: (John 20:29 NIV) "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
            Have you come this morning wondering about the truth of the story of Easter? Have you just thought it was about having hope, but not based on facts, on a real event? Do Christians just believe a lie? The History Channel has suggested, the women went to the wrong grave, that the women were hallucinating or that the gardener moved the body so the curious onlookers wouldn’t step on his lettuce patch or that Jesus had just fainted on the cross forgetting about the spear in the side? Yet none of these answer the question for the Roman soldiers who were charged with guarding the body, where was the body? In a world of scientific knowledge, internet, and computers is there no room for faith? The eye witnesses, who later were willing to die for their faith, are a testimony for generations to come “Jesus lives.”
III.           Five Hundred
In fact it was not just a few women or a couple of the disciples. {6} After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Asleep is Paul’s word for death. He had raised a question, If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men. Is Jesus only for this life, or is there more? Every generation has to struggle either with the death of a loved one or the reality of facing one’s own mortality. 
            Is this why you are here this morning? Jesus knew you needed to have hope in what you are facing. Is it a doctor’s report, your own, your loved one? Was there an accident? Too young to die? Too soon to die? I’m not ready? Are those thoughts running through one’s mind?   I heard of one pastor who put a casket in front of church. When the people walked up to view, they were shocked to see a mirror in the casket.   Are we putting off facing our own death? Have we made earthly plans, having a will, a health care declaration, but made no thought about standing before the Judge of the living and the dead? What does Jesus’ resurrection really mean? He said, I go to prepare a place for you, Because I live you will live also, I am the resurrection and the life.  
IV.          Paul
{8} …last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. {9} For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. {10} But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.   Paul was the one person who did not want to see the living Lord Jesus. He did not believe in him. In fact he found pleasure in persecuting and killing those who were followers of Jesus. What an impact on the day when Jesus appeared to him and said, “Why are you persecuting me?” Jesus had plans for that man. Paul found out what grace, underserved love was all about. He went to work, even dying for the cause that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinner of whom he was the chief. 
            Why do you know about the resurrection of Jesus? You have not killed Christians, but have you kept people away from Christ because of your indifference, you apathy towards the lost, because you have only cared about yourself and nobody else? The Devil does not need persecutors; he needs careless Christians, Christians who care less about others and only about themselves. Don’t we all need a reminder of the grace of God in our own lives? Don’t we all need to recognize like Peter our own sins, like the 12 have our doubts quieted, like the 500 be ready for death, and Paul be ready to live for Jesus? This is what we believe, this is what we preach, and this is where we stand and Jesus is the reason we will be saved. He lives. Amen.
Sermon Audio: 
20100404 Sermon.mp3