EasterSunday April 1, 2018
Don’t Be An April Fool
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
You are probably expecting some cutesy April Fool’s joke at the beginning of my sermon today. After all, it’s April Fool’s Day. Last time Easter fell on April First was 1956 when I was 2 years old. I’m sure I was much more interested in finding an Easter basket with peeps and chocolate bunnies in it, than anything else. But you’re not going to get a joke today, because first of all, I’m not very good at telling jokes and secondly, since you saw my theme, you’re expecting an April Fool’s joke and since you are expecting it, it’s just not going to happen. April Fool!
Seriously, the question about whether Jesus rose again from the dead is not a joking matter. St. Paul, the man who wrote our Scripture passage for today, knows what he is talking about. At one time he was part of the crowd that just could not believe that Jesus had risen from the grave and was alive. You could say he was an April fool. He thought it was a ridiculous story, a joke. He was trying to exterminate everyone who would believe that Jesus was a Risen Savior. But the living Savior came to him and changed his mind.
So what about you? There are a lot of people who feel a need to come to an Easter service, but are just not sure what’s so important about that. It’s a family thing, you consider yourself a Christian, but what’s that got to do with your daily life? So Jesus rose – what’s the big deal? How is that going to help me with work tomorrow, or school, or getting a job, or solving my family problems.
Let’s witness a few people like that. VIDEO So Jesus rose from the dead. So what? What’s that got to do with my life? What’s the big deal? Those are legitimate questions. You notice that that the people pictured are not Bible critics or scoffers. They’re not trying to be mean to anyone. Some even attend church on Easter. But it’s just hard for them to comprehend what the big deal is all about, that Jesus rose from the dead. Perhaps that’s true for some of you too, and so today let’s find out what Paul has to say.
Let’s find some answers so that you don’t have to be an April fool. First of all, Paul shows uswhat life would be like if there were no Easter. He explains what it means if Jesus’ rising from the dead were just an April Fool’s joke
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. If Christ has not been raised, then I am a fool for preaching it and so are you for believing it. The word “useless” there means empty, in vain, to no purpose. Normally if something is empty, it is worthless or useless. An empty gas tank won’t get you anywhere. An empty stomach means you’ll be useless all day. An empty chair means someone is missing. The only thing worthwhile that’s empty is an empty tomb! Alleluia! The Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed, Alleluia!)
But if the tomb is still occupied, then preaching is empty, useless. Without Jesus as a risen Savior, preaching becomes a motivational speech with a feel-good message. It becomes something that makes you feel good, but has no value. Your faith becomes a joke. Even worse it becomes a lie.
That’s what St. Paul says in v. 17: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; Futile is worse than empty. It means that your faith is a lie, it’s devoid of the truth. So what about those who actually said they saw Jesus alive and risen from the dead? Paul says in v. 15: More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. A false witness is a liar, like a false witness in court. Paul is saying that he and the other apostles are all liars if Jesus is not raised. Think about it, if Jesus’ resurrection were not true, why would those men go all over the Roman empire preaching that Jesus is risen and the Savior of the world? They were persecuted, and beaten and run out of town, and everyone one except John died for their faith. If you knew that Jesus never rose, would you be willing to die for a lie? That would really make them an April fool!
For us right now, if Jesus is not raised, why do we do anything? Coming to church every week, going to Sunday School, singing hymns, volunteering at church, telling a neighbor about Jesus, having home devotions, praying, and giving a good chunk of your hard-earned cash, building buildings, calling pastors, starting a Christian school, why just throw it all out the window. Why would you do all that for a lie.
And what’s worst of all: If Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. Jesus’ death on the cross was pointless if he had not risen from the grave in three days like he said. Then Jesus was just one more innocent man who got executed, and so all the crosses on Christian churches around the world are meaningless
And here is gets down to where you and I live every day. Paul is saying that if there were no Easter, there is no victory over sin – you are caught in greed and depressions and anger over how you’ve been hurt. And then there’s all the addictions: drugs, booze, gambling, sex, you name it. Life is going to be one bad mess after another, and there’s no way out. Your life is pointless and futile too, unless you think that gathering of things and buying expensive stuff is really life. That’s what Paul also means when he says we would be lost in sin. But……
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. That makes all the difference in the world! The sins of your past have been wiped out, because a living Savior says – your sins are forgiven. But there’s more. Your sinful self was crucified and put to death when Jesus died, and your spirit is now risen from the dead, just as Christ rose from the dead. When you have faith in Jesus, you have power from God that gives you the strength to change your life and live in a better way. It’s the Lord working in you who helps you to see that each tragedy and difficulty along life’s path can be handled, it’s never hopeless, because when you have a risen Savior, you have the hope and confidence that he is alive to make it all work out. And what’s more you know where you are headed when this life is over.
But if Jesus did not rise, our future is pretty bleak. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If Jesus did not rise, when you are dead, you’re dead, that’s it, the game is over. It’s totally worse than your favorite team losing a close one in the NCAA tournament. March madness can make you mad. But you get over it. If Jesus did not rise, you have lost the game of life forever.
And the next verse expands on that: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. What Paul is saying is that if you have a hope in Jesus and it’s only for this present life, to somehow get you through, like a magic pill to pep you up, but Jesus didn’t rise and there’s nothing more to come, why pity you and pity me. We’re April Fools. But….
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Because Jesus did rise, we have victory over death itself. Notice the second half of the verse. Paul writes that Christ is the firstfruits of those who’ve fallen asleep. Just as the first part of the harvest was proof that more would be coming, so Christ’s resurrection on Easter is proof that all others who die in faith will also rise from the dead too. Here’s another way of saying it: Easter is the preview of coming attractions. Jesus rose and we will too!!
A risen Savior means everything for now and forever! I’d like to share with you something personal. Bonnie and I received an Easter card from my brother-in-law the other day, and he shared with us a poem that my sister Sherry had written before she died last September. He had just found it in their house, she had it hidden away, apparently knowing that she might be going home to heaven.
The Slip
I came a slip of a thing, will ‘o the wisp, barely a breath.
I lived and the times Slipped through my fingers.
I slipped too and fell in love,
Not only with my husband but several others we shared.
I slipped into bad times, And didn’t feel so well.
But I didn’t slip through His hands. He holds me strong and I sing.
I slipped away from you, till you slip my way,
And we never slip again.
Randy said that discoveries like this make him feel much better and keeps him going. Life right now is worthwhile, because we know what’s coming.
Have you ever seen an empty house that has been trashed? If someone knows that they are going to lose their house, they don’t care. They wreck it, strip it, leave it a mess. Without hope, who cares? Without hope in Jesus, who cares how badly you mess up the house of your life? Might as well ruin it!
BUT CHRIST HAS INDEED BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD!
That’s not only for the future, but right now. You have life in a living Savior, Right now. You can rise up from the grave of disaster and hopelessness and despair. Right now. He has given you a life worth living. Right now! So we can say with confidence and joy: Alleluia, the Christ is Risen. (He is risen Indeed Alleluia!) And that’s no joke! Amen.