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(Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday, September 23rd , 2012)
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| Rev. George Sinclair |
Broadcast Notes:
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(Abridged notes covering discussion on 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1 – 11)
‘1 Corinthians 15’
The theme for today is 1 Corinthians 15, and the
message behind The
Resurrection of Christ.
The Christian hope is based on the real defeat of death by
the person of Jesus, just over 2,000 years ago.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers,[a] of the
gospel (A)I
preached to you, which you received, (B)in
which you stand, 2 and by which (C)you
are being saved, if you (D)hold
fast to the word I preached to you—(E)unless
you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I
delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died (G)for
our sins (H)in
accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he
was raised (I)on
the third day (J)in
accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that (K)he
appeared to Cephas, then (L)to
the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred
brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen
asleep. 7 Then he appeared to (M)James,
then (N)to
all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, (O)he
appeared also to me. 9 For (P)I
am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because (Q)I
persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am
what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain. On the contrary, (R)I
worked harder than any of them, (S)though
it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether
then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 15:1
Or brothers and sisters; also verses 6, 31, 50, 58
Cross references:
Paul’s actual letter to the Corinthians was sent about 20 to
25 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. That’s why Paul refers to
the witnesses as “most of whom are still alive”.
Paul writes to a church in Greece to remind them what the good news is that changed their lives. He wants to assure them that Jesus really did die. Jesus really did rise from the dead on the third day. Paul provides a partial list of eyewitnesses. He is saying to his readers that they can track these people down and ask them questions.
Jesus did not
enter death and then return from the dead. He did not have what we now call a
'near-death experience'. Lazarus, by contrast, was dead 4 days and came back to life. But
that is precisely the point. We do not follow Lazarus even though he was dead
longer than Jesus. Lazarus died and returned to this side of death. He would
still die because death was stronger than Him.
There is no comparison between the death of Lazarus (John 11:1-44) and the miracle of his resuscitation four days later. Lazarus, in fact, was resuscitated from death, by Jesus, and went on living until his natural death, like every other person.
Jesus died, on the other hand, tasted all there
is to taste of death. He resurrected from the
dead after three days. Then he rose alive on the far side of death. He triumphed
over death.
When Jesus appeared before multiple witnesses, as described in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, it was entirely different from the situation with Lazarus.
When Jesus appeared before multiple witnesses, as described in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, it was entirely different from the situation with Lazarus.
The Christian claim is that Jesus appeared on the far side
of death -- immune to all causes of death
-- having defeated death, so that death no longer had a hold of Him.
The heart of the matter is that when Jesus died and rose
again, it was to atone for our sins; so that we, too,
might experience the same triumph of Jesus.
He died and was resurrected so that those who repent and
follow Him might also have victory over death, like Jesus.
There is no better time, than today, to give your life to
Jesus and to trust in Him.
Let’s pray:
Father, we thank you so much that you love us; that you desire
us to be yours; that you desire us to be reconciled to you. We thank you for
Jesus. We thank you that He was willing to die for us, knowing everything there
is to know about us and still loving us and dying for us. We thank and praise
you that He rose from the dead; that He triumphed over sin and death and Hell
and all hostile spiritual powers in His resurrection.
We give you thanks and praise that His resurrection is not just
His private victory, but that it’s a victory that He can share with us, and
wants to share with us.
We ask, Father, that you help us to put our faith and trust in
Jesus; that you help us to repent and turn to your son, Jesus Christ, and put
our faith and trust in Him; and we thank and praise you, Father, that when Jesus
comes into our life, He will never let us go.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/8556/good_news_019_sept23.mp3
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