Church Sermon - April 16, 2006

CHRIST HAS INDEED BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 25:6-9
Epistle Lesson; 1 Corinthians 15:19-28
Gospel Lesson; Mark 16:1-8
Sermon Text; 1 Corinthians 15:19-28

If I were to say the name Erich Weiss, would you know who I was talking about? If not, let me give you just a few hints.

Still don’t know?

Is that helping anybody out?

I am still seeing some questioning faces.

He began calling himself Harry Houdini.

Harry Houdini is known as the Great Escape Artist. It seemed like no handcuffs, no chains, no ropes, no straight jackets could corral him. Maybe the most famous act that Harry Houdini had was the Chinese Water Torture Cell, where he was suspended, chained upside down in a glass case and a steel cabinet. It was also overflowing with water. It seemed as if Harry Houdini could escape anything.

Shortly before his death, Harry Houdini made a pact with his wife. He said, "If there is a way, I will find it. If it is possible, I will do it. I will contact you on the anniversary of the date of my death." Shortly thereafter, Harry Houdini met a sudden and unexpected death.

On the first anniversary of his death, his widow waited to be contacted. But it never happened. Also on the second anniversary, and the third, all the way to the tenth anniversary, when she finally gave up hope. It seemed as if Harry Houdini could escape anything. But, he could not escape death.

Death also laid its hands on our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And for three days, Jesus’ body laid lifeless in the tomb. But then, on Easter morning, Jesus stood up! He left the grave linens behind and He walked right out of the tomb! An angel from Heaven came and rolled away the stone to the tomb, not to let Jesus out, but to let the world see in and to see that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

Let us continue our celebration on this Easter morning, by arising to sing our festival hymn, "He is Arisen! Glorious Word!"

Our Easter text for this morning is our Epistle Lesson taken from, I Corinthians 15. This is known as ‘The Great Resurrection Chapter’, in scripture, written by the Apostle Paul.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For He ‘has put everything under His feet.’ Now when it says that ‘everything’ has been put under Him, it is clear that this does not include God Himself, who put everything under Christ. When He has done this, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that God may be all in all.

There are two important truths that Paul brings out in his argument of the resurrection. One is that Christ is the "first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." In order to understand what is meant by "first fruits," here, we need to think about Israelite agricultural life. Now, with Israelite agricultural life, at the time of the harvest, the first part of the harvest was given as an offering to God. When the Israelites did this, they were first of all thanking God for the harvest. They were also acknowledging that the blessing of that harvest had come from God. But, it was also more than that. As the Israelites brought the "first fruits" to God, there was a promise and a pledge from God that more harvest would follow.

Christ is "the first fruits." He is the first to be risen from the dead. On this Easter morning, we thank God that Jesus is "the first fruits." And we acknowledge that it is God who raised Jesus from the dead. But it is far more than that, because Jesus being a "first fruit" is a pledge and a promise from God that there are souls to be harvested, which are still to come. Jesus is "the first fruits" of those who have fallen asleep. I love how Paul talks about death as being like a sleep. In another place in scripture Paul once said, "Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep."

Now, when you are sleeping, it does not mean that you do not exist. It just means that you are resting. The same it is with a believer who has died. The soul goes and lives with Jesus, and the body is resting in the grave until the day of the resurrection of all flesh, on Judgment Day, and that body is raised from the dead. Jesus glorifies those bodies and they are reunited with their souls in Heaven.

Last night we went to sleep. We put our heads down on our pillows. And what did we know was going to happen? Well, we first of all knew we had to wake up earlier this morning, to get here for sunrise service. But we also knew that we were going to ‘wake up,’ didn’t we? We knew that we were going to ‘wake up,’ and death is but a sleep, because Christ is "the first fruits" of those who have fallen asleep.

Paul continues his argument by saying, "Death came through man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive."

We still suffer with the consequences of sin, because of Adam. Those consequences of sin will be with us until the day of our death. But what Adam did by bringing sin into the world, Christ undid, through His resurrection. What is a consequence in our life, because of Adam, in that we will all die, Christ undid, in that we all will be made alive. With Jesus, then, being "the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep," we have great certainty and we have great assurance. Oh sure, our death is sure and certain. But, because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, so also our resurrection from the dead is a sure and certain thing. And we have Jesus’ own words that proclaim that.

Not only is Jesus "the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep," but also Paul goes on to say, Christ is the destroyer of dominion, authority, and power. That dominion, authority, and power that Paul is talking about is Satan, himself.

He has conquered him.

He has defeated him.

Christ’s work is complete. Jesus’ death on the cross is Jesus making full and complete payment for our sin. And, Jesus’ resurrection, then, is God accepting the payment that Jesus had made for our sin. And, because Christ rose from the dead, we also will rise from the dead. It is as if Jesus has chained up Satan.

The other day I went to someone’s house. And, a car was parked right in front of the front door. So, I parked on the street. I was walking up the sidewalk, when I was startled by a dog that was on a chain, on that front step. With where I was standing I knew I was within the chain’s length. Within a split second that dog had both of its paws right up on my suit coat. Satan is just like that chained dog. Jesus has overcome Satan. He has overcome power, and authority, and dominion. Jesus has chained up Satan. And yet, if we get too close to Satan, Satan is still able to get us and devour us.

Harry Houdini was born as Erich Weiss. He went on to be a famous escape artist. It seemed as if Harry Houdini could escape anything. He was able to escape ropes, and chains, handcuffs and straight jackets. Harry Houdini even thought that he could overcome death, telling his wife, "I will contact you on the anniversary of the date of my death." Which, he never did.

Death also laid its hands on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus’ body lay lifeless in the tomb for three days. But then, Jesus stood up. He left the grave linens behind. He walked out of the tomb. An angel from Heaven came, and rolled away the stone, not to let Jesus out, but rather to let the world look in and see that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

Jesus’ resurrection is our certainty that He made full and complete payment for our sin on the cross. And, on Easter Morning, we celebrate God accepting the payment for our sin by raising His Son from the dead, and the promise that because Jesus lives, we also will live.

Amen.

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