4/8/07 - Easter Sunday - 1 Cor. 15:51-57

THE VICTORY IS OURS
- Death no longer stings
- Life no longer ends

Christ is arisen! He is arisen indeed! Christ is arisen! He is arisen indeed! That, my friends, is the sound of victory! It is over! We have won! Today is the day! Christ has been raised from the dead! He is no longer on the cross. He is no longer in the tomb. He is alive! Exalted and glorified and reigning at his Father’s right hand! And because he conquered death we, too, share in that victory! Because he rose from the dead we, too, will break the seal of the grave. Because he lives we, too, will live eternally with him. The victory is ours. Death no longer stings. And life no longer ends. The words of the Lord we will consider today are from 1 Corinthians 15:51-57.
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What a great portion of Scripture! In particular the quote from the prophet Hosea as he confronts death face to face: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” So, you thought you had won, didn’t you, death? You thought you had captured the Lord God himself and locked him forever in your grasp, didn’t you? Well, the stone is already rolled away, why don’t you peak inside the tomb? There’s no one inside, is there? I see some burial clothes folded up but no body. Jesus rose from the dead. That’s right, death - Jesus rose from the dead! You aren’t as strong as you thought you were! You aren’t as powerful as you pretended to be! Death, you just aren’t as deadly anymore. Jesus has risen from the dead. The victory is his. The victory is ours.
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Do you want to say that with me? “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Isn’t that a relief to say? Isn’t that a weight off your shoulders? You don’t have to be afraid of death any longer. Because death no longer is victorious. Death no longer stings. And as Paul explains for us, the sting that death no longer has is sin. What does Paul mean by that? Well, if death no longer has its sting, it no longer has its power. If you take the stinger away from a bee, it becomes a colorful fly. A little annoying, but no longer dangerous. If you take the stinger away from a scorpion it’s just another cockroach. Disgusting but again no longer dangerous. If you take the stinger away from death, which is sin, what power does it have left? It’s unavoidable, it’s not necessarily pleasant, but it’s no longer dangerous. It is simply an annoyance that we have to put up with for a time. Death can do us no harm because its power, the sting of sin, has been destroyed.
“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead… death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all” (Romans 6:9-10). Jesus’ death and resurrection destroyed sin. And so without sin, death has nothing to support it. It has nothing to back it up any longer. Remember what Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The gift of God trumps sin and death every time. And the gift of God is eternal life because Jesus our Lord now lives. Death no longer reigns. Death no longer stings. The victory is with Christ. The victory is ours.
I wonder why we find it so hard sometimes to act victorious. Jesus conquered sin. Death no longer has any lasting effect. We will live forever with our Lord and Savior who also lives forever and that prize can never be taken away from us. We are the victors. Victors are happy. Victors are proud. And victors don’t mind when other people know. Does that summarize the way you live your life? Do you act like the victory is yours? Would Jesus, who gained the victory for you, be satisfied with the way you go about life?
I can’t claim that I am always as happy as the victor that I am. I can’t claim that I am always as proud as the victor that I am. I can’t claim that I always want everyone to know this like the victor that I am. Isn’t that sad? Isn’t that pitiful? Why wouldn’t I be happy and proud and eager to share that news every day of my life? Why wouldn’t you? Why are we embarrassed to be Christians? And how sad it is when we are. Don’t hesitate to show your happiness in your words and actions. Don’t hesitate to show how proud you are of what Christ has done. Don’t hesitate to share with others the victory the Lord has gained for them! It’s a crime to keep this victory to yourself! Because it’s not just for you! It’s for all people! Jesus rose from the dead and lives eternally so that everyone may believe in him, rise from dead, and live eternally as well. The victory is yours. Act like it. And repent of that wicked sin when don’t.
I guess the fact that we don’t always act like victors just goes to show us once again why Jesus had to gain the victory for us. If we were able to live acceptable lives, if were able to do what God wants us to do, we wouldn’t need Jesus. Thank the Lord that you need him. Thank the Lord that understood that. And thank the Lord that he did something about it. So that now, although we will physically die because we are sinful human beings, our lives will really never end.
“Listen, I tell you a mystery,” Paul says. “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” When our risen Savior comes again on Judgment Day, life will continue forever. And not only that, but we will be changed. Our bodies will no longer by infected or affected by sin. They will be sinless and holy and immortal. What does that mean? I don’t know exactly. I have a large scar on my left arm from an operation. The doctor had to screw a titanium plate to hold my shattered radius bone together. Will that scar still be there? I don’t know. But I can be sure of this: I won’t receive any more scars once my body is changed. Some of you have a wrinkle or two on your faces. Others of you have cuts, scrapes, achy joints, blotches, imperfections. How much will your body change when the Lord comes again? It’s hard to say. And we shouldn’t even guess. All we know is: we will be clothed with the imperishable and with immortality. We will not die and our bodies will not deteriorate over time. No more aches or pains or tears or hurt or sickness or exhaustion or sin. We will not have to drink water to remain hydrated. We will not have to go on a diet to lose pounds. We will not even have to sleep to regain strength. Once our bodies are changed to be like Christ’s glorious body, they will never change back! They will never change at all! We will be living in a place where death and sin do not exist. We will be living in a place full of life and happiness and perfection forever.
And that’s what thousands, perhaps millions of believers are experiencing right now. Those Christians who have gone before us, your loved ones who believed in Jesus as their Savior, the great men and women of faith found in the Bible, they are all experiencing life and happiness and perfection right now with their Savior. And they are waiting for the same day we are waiting for - the Last Day on which they will be reunited with their bodies. And so no matter how those past believers died, no matter what they had to experience in life or no matter how gruesome the last years of their lives were, their eternity is still the same. They are praising and thanking God as we speak - and especially on a day like today, don’t you think! As we celebrate Easter Sunday and Jesus rising from the dead here on earth, I’m sure that the heavenly celebration with the explosion of countless Christian voices is deafening! Because today is the reason they are up there! Today is the reason they are alive! Today is the reason the victory over sin and death is theirs. Today is the reason the victory is ours. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thanks be to God! Today Jesus has risen from the dead! He has risen indeed!
Amen.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” - 1 Peter 1:3