How Jesus Conquered Death
1 Corinthians 15:22-26
Today is Easter Sunday, the day on which followers of Jesus all around the globe celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Jesus was crucified, He died, and He was buried. But then He rose from the dead – not spiritually, not metaphorically, but literally, physically, bodily. He rose from the dead, with a new resurrection body, never to die again.
One reason that’s so important is because we will all die, but we aren’t sure what that will mean. We all know it will profoundly change our existence, but we don’t know how. And as a result, when it comes to thinking about death, we all have some level of fear.
So philosophers and religious leaders try to help. The Buddha said that after many reincarnations you would be swallowed up into impersonal being. The atheist Bertrand Russell said death is simply the end of your existence. Confucius said just focus on living a wise, harmonious life now, and don’t worry about death. Mohammed said it would mean Paradise for faithful Muslims and Hell for those who were not.
But did any of them know for sure? For one thing -- their answers contradict each other. For another -- how did they know what death is all about? They taught these things before they died; then they all died, and their bodies are still buried in the tomb.
But this morning I want to tell you about a man who like all these others taught about death. And like all these others he himself died. And like all these others He was buried in a tomb. But unlike all these others -- He conquered death. He physically and bodily rose from the dead – never to die again. And He said He would do the same thing for you – if you would surrender your life in trust to Him.
To see this, let’s turn to I Corinthians 15. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you. I Corinthians 15 is on page 961 in the Bibles we are passing out.
I Corinthians is a letter written by Paul to followers of Jesus Christ living in the town of Corinth. Paul was an apostle, which means that He was specially called and gifted by Jesus Christ to speak and write truth directly from God. And in I Corinthians 15:22-26 Paul tells us about death and resurrection. Look at what he says --
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
In v.22 Paul helps us understand why we die: why does everyone die? Paul’s answer is that death is part of God’s punishment for our sin. That’s what he means when he says in the beginning of v.22; “for as in Adam all die.”
We are all in Adam, which means that by nature and by choice we have all sinned against God like Adam did. So what does it mean to sin against God?
Here’s how the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah describes sin, in Jeremiah 2:11-13. He says God is like a fountain of crisp, cold, refreshing, living water. And all of us are created thirsty for God. We are created to have our hearts satisfied in knowing God, worshiping God, trusting God.
But even though we are thirsty, and God is a fountain of living water, we refuse to drink from him, because that would require humbling ourselves before Him. And because we don’t want to humble ourselves before Him, we have all turned away from Him, and tried to create our own water sources – money and power and sex and food and fame. But none of those satisfy, because we are created to be satisfied only in God Himself.
That’s how Adam sinned, and that’s how we all have sinned. And because God is also perfectly just, He must punish. And part of God’s punishment is death. Physical death. Physical death was not part of God’s original creation. God originally created us to trust Him, enjoy Him, worship Him, and be with Him forever. But because we have all turned away from God, we now all face physical death.
So that’s why everyone dies. But does death mean the end? No. Look again vv.22-23 --
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
Death is not the end, because in Christ all shall be made alive. So who is the “all” that are made alive? V.23 shows it does not mean all people on earth. It means all those who belong to Christ. So death is not the end, because after death you will be made alive if you belong to Christ.
So what does it take to belong to Him? Now please listen very carefully. Because all of us have been influenced by man-made religions to think that the way we belong to God is by trying to be good. Not so.
The bad news is that we are all so sinful that we can’t make ourselves good enough to belong to Jesus Christ. But the good news is that even though we have sinned against Him again and again, God loves us and longs to have mercy on us. And so he sent His own Son Jesus Christ into the world – fully man, and fully God. And Jesus came to die on the Cross and be punished in our place for the guilt of sin.
So how can you belong to Jesus? Admit that you have sinned against God and that you rightly deserve eternal punishment. Then, turn to Jesus Christ, and trust Him to forgive you through His death on the Cross, and change you by His resurrection power, and satisfy you by His experienced presence. When you do that -- three amazing things will happen.
First, you will instantly be completely forgiven for all of your sin, past, present, and future. Second, you will start to be changed by His resurrection power – you will become more peaceful, more loving, more patient, more generous. And third, you will receive the gift of His Spirit, by whom you feel His very love for you and be filled to overflowing.
And even though you will die, you can be absolutely confident that death is not the end. Because Jesus will make you alive.
And when does this happen? Paul tells us in vv.23-26 –
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
So when will you be made alive? Notice in v.23 Paul says it’s “at his coming” – at the end of history when Jesus comes back. But now let’s step back and get the big picture of what’s going on.
Jesus’ purpose was to form a kingdom of saved men and women. So Jesus died on the Cross, paying for their sins, and then He rose from the dead, conquering death and guaranteeing their future resurrection. Then He gave them the great commission, ascended to heaven, and then poured out His Spirit.
And the church goes to work, advancing the kingdom, adding men and women to God’s Kingdom. And when men and women have been added from every nation, tongue, and tribe, then Jesus will come back.
And when He comes back, His purpose is to destroy every rule and authority and power; every enemy that has resisted God’s kingdom. So He will take Satan, all the demons, and everyone who persisted in rebelling against Him, and cast them into hell to be punished forever.
But at that point there is still one enemy left: death. Because when you who belong to Jesus die, death separates your spirit from your body. So if you were to die tomorrow, and you belong to Jesus, your body would go into the grave, and your spirit would go to heaven to be with Jesus.
And that will be a joy like no joy you have ever experienced -- face to face with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But as amazing as that will be – that’s less than God has for you; because you are a disembodied spirit. You are a spirit without a body. But God created you to be a spirit with a body.
So at the end of history, at the Second Coming, when Jesus returns, He will make you alive, which means He will raise your body from the grave, transforming it into a brand new resurrected body, even more physical, even more amazing than your body is now – and he will join that body with your spirit. And then you will enter the new heavens and new earth to be with Him and all the redeemed forever.
So let this sink in. If you belong to Christ – that will happen to you at the Second Coming.
But maybe at this point some of you are wondering – how can I be sure about this? How can I be sure this will happen? So how can we be sure that Christ will raise his people from the dead? The answer is not – “just believe it.” God never calls us to exercise blind faith. God always gives us evidence, demonstrations, reasons – and then on the basis of those reasons calls us to have faith.
And we can see that right here in this passage – read vv.22 and 23 together --
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
Here Paul says there’s an order to the resurrection: the resurrection starts with Christ as the firstfruits. What does that mean?The word “firstfruits” is a word taken from farming. Imagine that you were a farmer whose survival depended on each year’s harvest of corn and wheat and potatoes. There’s always the chance that there would not be enough water or there could be some disease or there was a lousy batch of seeds.And that’s why the first of the crops came to be called “firstfruits” – because the first ears of corn or sheaves of wheat or batch of potatoes shows that the rest of the harvest will come. The firstfruits is a guarantee that there will be a harvest.
So here we are on Easter Sunday, 2011. We are all going to die one day – and we are wondering how we can be sure there will be a harvest of resurrections. How can we be sure? It’s because Jesus is the firstfruits – he has risen from the dead.
Imagine a farmer who is longing for, waiting for, hoping for the potato-harvest. And then one day he harvests his first potato – Yes! Now he can know there will be a harvest of potatoes.
That’s what God does for us. We are longing for, waiting for, and hoping for the resurrection. And 2000 years ago God harvested the first resurrection – the resurrection of Jesus – so we can know that there will be a harvest of resurrections,
Jesus’ resurrection is the firstfruits showing that there will certainly be a future harvest of resurrection for all who belong to Christ.
So how can you be sure Jesus rose from the dead?
First, Jesus repeatedly said he would die and rise from the dead. That doesn’t prove it, but think of all the reasons we say that Jesus was a great teacher. He was – and this great teacher said He would rise from the dead.
Second, everyone knew that Jesus had died, and where Jesus was buried, and Roman soldiers were posted around his tomb to make sure his disciples didn’t steal the body; but on Sunday morning Jesus’ tomb was empty.
Third, after Jesus’ death the disciples were full of fear and talked about going back into fishing. But a few days later they were risking their lives to proclaim that Jesus had risen. What produced the change? They said it’s that Jesus had risen and appeared to them.
Fourth, earlier in this chapter Paul tells skeptics that over 500 people had personally seen Jesus alive from the dead – people the skeptics could still meet and talk with.
Fifth, we have four eye-witness-based historical documents which all independently confirm that Jesus rose from the dead – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
So you can be absolutely certain that Jesus rose from the dead, because there is massive historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. And therefore, because Jesus rose from the dead, we know that there has been the firstfruits of a harvest of resurrections. Which is why, if you belong to Christ, you can be certain that you will be resurrected.
So what does this mean for us? There are three types of people here this morning.
Some of you do not yet belong to Jesus Christ. But because of God’s love and mercy, you can belong to Jesus Christ, be forgiven for all your sins, be changed by His power, satisfied in His love, and know that you will be raised from the dead to be with Him forever. So bend the knee before Him and trust Him – to forgive you, change you, and satisfy you in Himself.
Others of you are not sure if you belong to Jesus Christ. Maybe you are not sure because you are trying to serve two masters; Jesus said you can’t serve two masters – you must choose one or the other. Or maybe you are not sure because you think you aren’t good enough; it’s not about you being good enough – if you will trust Jesus, He will be good enough for you. Or maybe you are not sure because you think you’ve sinned too much; but if you repent, every sin will be forgiven.
So if you are not sure you belong to Jesus Christ – turn to Him right now. Bend the knee in completely surrender to Him right now. Trust Him to forgive you, to change you, to satisfy you. He will – and you will know you belong to Jesus Christ.
Others of you do belong to Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you.
The tomb was empty.
The first fruits of the resurrection harvest has taken place.
Your resurrection is guaranteed.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain in following Christ.
So follow Him. Love Him. Serve Him. Obey Him.