180812 Of First Importance

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then 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.

As the Apostle began to move towards the end of his letter to the church at Corinth he wants to remind them (and us) of the gospel. The gospel that he preached to them. He felt so interrelated with the gospel that he sometimes called it “my gospel”! The church at Corinth had many problems. Rather than review them all again Paul reminded them of what they had received in the beginning. He reminded them of the very basis of their salvation. Now, we come to his statement of purpose that he called “of first importance”. These few verses can be a creed to live by.

Let’s look at what he has to say about these truths…

Christ died for our sins. We remember the words of John the Baptist found in John 1:29. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Note that John did not compare him to the shepherd. Instead, Jesus is identified as the “Lamb”! The Lamb has no say about what is happening to him or her. The shepherd can guide the process of sacrifice the Lamb of God must simply die in payment for the sin of the world. It was very clear to John that Jesus would be the atoning sacrifice that would turn aside the wrath of God.

Many years later, the apostle Peter stated it this way…

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Jesus bore the curse held against us by taking our sin into his own body on the tree. In their magnificent hymn of hope and confidence, Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend wrote, “In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless Babe; this gift of love and righteousness scorned by the ones he came to save. ‘Tll on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid; here in the death of Christ I live.” The good news — of first importance — is, “Christ died for our sins”. The debt we owed we could not pay! He took away the sins of the world.

This event, his crucifixion, was not a surprise to the Father or to Jesus himself! His arrest, his beating, crucifixion and death came about…

As promised. Of all the many promises let’s look at Isaiah 53:4-6. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah, the Prince of prophets, spelled out, for our examination, the death he would die.

Hundreds of years before Isaiah lived, King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, recorded specific details in Psalm 22:16-18 “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— ¹⁷  I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; ¹⁸ they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. ^“

King David wrote these words hundreds of years before anyone was ever crucified. He had no example of it to draw from. Instead, he saw a vision from God concerning the future King — King Jesus!

Hundreds of years later, Zachariah wrote in chapter 12 verse 10, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”

There are many other references in the Old Testament that would lead us to recognize the death of Jesus as being essential to our salvation. The Bible is very specific, the soul that sins shall die! Jesus had no sin of his own therefore he could not die until he accepted the sin of the world. Throughout history there have been those who have taught that he did not die he simply swooned on the cross. The biblical evidence is dead set against such a possibility. What can we offer is…

Proof of his death. Let’s look to Mark 15:42-45 as proof. “And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.”

The eyewitnesses to Jesus’ death include all classes of people. There was the common people who followed him in the thousands during his ministry on earth. There was the faithful disciples, both men and women, who stayed with him during the glory years of his ministry. There were also leading members of the Sanhedrin. Some were there to scorn him. Some of the council members were observing the death of their Lord. Some who stood at the foot of the cross were Roman soldiers!

All of these people had often looked death in the face. One thing they knew for certain was how to determine that a person was dead! They knew what death was. Pilate was surprised that he had died so quickly. So he sent for the centurion for proof.

Jesus himself had said that he would lay down his life. No one would take it from him but he would give it up at the right time. When he had paid the full price for the sin of the world he said, “It is finished”, and laid down his life for our sin. (John 19:30)

The Romans — experts in death — determined that he had died by pushing a spear into his side and the fluid that came out was not just blood instead it was blood and water. We have that on good report! John the apostle was there and was an eyewitness. (John 19:35)

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both high-ranking council members, took his body from the cross into a nearby garden where a new tomb was waiting. Jesus only needed to borrow it for a short time. We must remember that he died and…

He came back. He had promised he would in John 10:17-18. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Jesus knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would die on the cross. He also knew that he would carry to the cross — and condemn — the sin of the world. On that cross Jesus defeated death and destroyed the power of Satan (Hebrews 2:14). As a result of Jesus’ death all those who live in fear of death may be freed. Jesus had promised he would return…

On the third day. Early in his ministry the Pharisees had asked him to show them a sign authorizing him to clear the temple. We find his reply in John 2:19-22. Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

King Herod is usually presented in a very bad light! And he deserves it! In order to try to win the hearts of the people Herod went on many building binges. One of those binges was restoring the temple to its former glory. He dedicated the greatest part of his life to these magnificent projects. The temple court was expanded to about 35 acres. The temple itself was white stone and gold. It was described as glorious in the sunlight. It could be seen from any direction but it was more pronounced when viewed from the west. This temple was glorious! But it was more glorious because it was the temple that Jesus walked through.

I recall the first time we came to the temple precincts back in 1985. It was a very emotional experience when I thought of this fact: Jesus himself walked on these steps and streets. No matter how glorious the building was the most important temple was the temple of flesh that the living Lord Jesus occupied. He promised that he would return and he did on the third day. Let me explain: day one) he was taken from the cross and laid in the tomb; day two) he lay in the tomb while the living people observed the Passover. Day three) as the sun set on the Sabbath he was in the tomb and it was the third day. When the sun rose he had long since risen! Then, in order to establish his victory over death and hell…

He appeared to individuals. Let’s look at John 20:11-15a But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

Jesus took the time to show himself to those who had been closest to him. Mary Magdalene had been described as having had seven demons cast out of her. Jesus was very precious to her. Later, we know that he spent time on the Emmaus Road with two disciples. These individual appearances were laying the groundwork for him to present himself to groups.

He appeared to large groups. John had been one of the first to go to the tomb but he did not see the risen Lord there let’s look at John 20:19. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

The disciples had gathered in a locked room questioning each other as to what they should do. Suddenly, he appeared in the room with them! The Bible doesn’t tell us how he got in but it does note the fact that the doors were locked. Well I can tell you for certain locked doors never bothered our God! However, when he entered the room one important person was missing — Thomas! It was Thomas who told his fellow disciples that they should go with Jesus to Jerusalem in order to die with him (John 11:16). It was also Thomas who doubted and for that we usually remember him. However…

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ;

Jesus would not leave Thomas out. So he gave him the opportunity to return to the upper room and be identified as one of the living apostles.

The next appearance is found only in 1 Corinthians 15:6. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Obviously, there were many appearances of Jesus that are not recorded in the written word. This mass gathering could have happened anytime before the day of Pentecost. And then…

Last of all, he appeared to Paul. Let’s look back to Paul’s words 1 Corinthians 9:1. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? Paul qualified as an apostle by having seen the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. There we have this account found in Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶ But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

For Paul, this was the final proof that Jesus was really the Messiah who conquered death and hell. I praise God that we are able to benefit from Jesus work on the cross, in the tomb and his ascension into heaven.

The most important truth about Jesus, so far as mankind is concerned, is that he was crucified, buried, and raised again on the third day. All of which was promised throughout the Old Testament. Paul considered himself the least of all the apostles because he had persecuted the church of God. He knew that he did not deserve this high honor yet he had been chosen before he was born. The same grace of God that gives us salvation worked in Paul.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.