Sermon -- Easter Festival (April 5, 2026)

JESUS IS RISEN.  THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT.

1 CORINTHAINS 15:1-11

In the name + of Jesus.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:        He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

     Not long ago, there was a Christian theologian who spoke these words from his death bed: “If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters.  If Jesus is not risen, nothing else matters.”  St. Paul said it differently: “I am going to call your attention to the gospel that I preached to you.  … For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1,3-4).  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.

     St. Paul had a lot of issues to address in his letters to the Corinthian congregation.  Among them were divisions in the church and church discipline, sexual ethics and marriage, the office of the holy ministry, and proper decorum in worship.  Much of what Paul had to say are still issues within Christendom; the problems never really go away.  In fact, time seems to add new problems.  How much should the church preach about politicians, immigration, the war in Iran, LGBTQ+ matters, protests, free speech, and the like?  

     First, it should be noted that the Church is not a political action group.  When election season rolls around, we don’t hand out pins or invite candidates to speak (although some have asked).  If the Church is to influence society, it is by changing hearts one person at a time.  That happens through preaching God’s word, not by protests or activism.  It should also be noted that while contemporary issues are not the main thing, they are not meaningless, either.  God’s word has a lot to say about them.  But the Church is not founded upon contemporary issues.  If we devote our time and attention to contemporary issues, we will lose focus on the eternal issue.  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.

     St. Paul told the Corinthians what truly matters.  “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  There is nothing more important.  This is not to minimize your trials and your tears.  It is a broken world, and bad things happen.  You can argue that they are not supposed to happen.  You can work hard to improve your little corner of the world.  But nothing you say or do is going to change the fact that this world is flawed and produces frustration. 

     The flaws and frustrations of this broken world have their finality in death.  That is what produces fear in everyone.  Even if you are going through a trial, there is always hope that things are going to get better.  But death puts an end all hope.  If you have a sick child, you hope things will get better.  You hope to avoid the worst-case scenario, that the child dies.  Just the thought of that would make any mother cry.  Death brings finality.  It puts an end to hope.  Many of our fears arise from the threat of death.  When the news reports war or terrorism, the fear is that it will bring death to your home.  If your trials are financial, it is frustrating, but people have survived through greater hardships than that.  But if your life has been reduced to just surviving, the fear is that you may not.  When COVID first hit, we were told that 1/3 of the population would die.  That terrified almost everybody.  People think that the worst thing that can happen to them is death.  But every life ends in death.  There is no escape from it.  We don’t know the “how” or the “when,” but we all know that it is not “if.” 

     You may wring your hands over politics, pandemics, and the price of gas and eggs, but in the hour of death, you won’t care about any of that.  You need something certain which brings comfort and peace.  St. Paul proclaimed it to the Corinthians, and it has been recorded for you: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). 

     Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.  Of course, if we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, that means he died.  St. Paul told us what Jesus’ death was for: “for our sins.”  Jesus absorbed all transgressions into himself.  This man is the substitute for all mankind, absorbing the blows and suffering the hell all mankind deserves.  He was buried, and on the third day, this man rose from the dead, just as the Scriptures foretold.  Psalm 16 states, “My heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.  Even my flesh will dwell securely because you will not abandon my life to the grave.  You will not let your favored one see decay” (Psalm 16:9-10).  Jesus did not come back as a zombie with a grotesque appearance.  Jesus arose with a glorious body.  Jesus lives and will never die again.  This man rules over death and now can release all mankind from the grave.  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important. 

     That resurrection assures us that the Father has accepted Jesus’ payment for all your sins.  It also shows us that the grave has lost its power to Jesus.  The Lord Jesus will come again to raise up all the dead.  In the end, the grave gets nothing.  All will be gathered before Jesus.  There will be a division among the people, however.  Those who believe in Jesus will receive the benefits of his life, death, and resurrection.  Those to whom Jesus was most important are covered in Jesus’ innocence.  They will receive life everlasting.  This is why there is nothing more important. 

     But there will be many others for whom Jesus was never important.  They were devoted to other matters—perhaps social causes or political activism.  Perhaps their Sundays were devoted to sports or sleep.  Perhaps they cared only about partying or porn.  Most do not think that they are bad people.  Granted, most people are not criminals, but all people are sinners.  All need God’s forgiveness.  To despise Jesus is to forsake the only source of forgiveness there is.  Many will be raised from their graves only to be cast into hellfire.  So, there are things worse than death.

     That’s why there is nothing more important than Jesus.  He proclaimed, “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  Repent, and recognize that you have not lived the holy life God demands.  You don’t have to sell yourself to God.  He wouldn’t buy it anyway.  And if you are honest with yourself, neither would you.  But here is the good news: Jesus Christ has redeemed you from your sin.  The proof is that he has conquered death.  Eternal life is God’s gift, won by Jesus, delivered to you.  Jesus is risen.  He delivers the goods to you in word and sacraments.  “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).  There is nothing more important.

     “If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters.  If Jesus is not risen, nothing else matters.”  If Jesus is risen, it will not matter if you die rich or poor; young or old; married, single, or divorced; beloved or despised; healthy of sick.  It will not matter if you die peacefully or tragically.  If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters.  Your place in heaven is secure, and you can live your life in godliness and in joyful anticipation of a glorious resurrection. 

     But the other end of that statement is, “If Jesus is not risen, nothing else matters.”  If Jesus is not risen, you are still in our sins.  The world remains broken.  Life goes on with trials and tears.  In fact, life is just a march of failings and frustrations to the finality of death.  Even St. Paul observed, “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all.  If the dead are not raised, then ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (1 Corinthians 15:19,32). 

     But St. Paul removes the “If” from these things.  Jesus is risen!  There is nothing more important.  In fact, St. Paul says there is nothing more certain!  Listen to the evidence St. Paul presents: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to  Cephas, then to the Twelve.  After that he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.  Last of all, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). 

     Jesus is risen!  It is not a metaphor or a myth, a fable or a fairy tale.  It is a historical fact attested by multiple witnesses who saw him, spoke with him, touched him, inspected his wounds, and feasted with him.  As St. Paul noted, the claims of Jesus’ resurrection are not private encounters that cannot be investigated.  In one case, he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time.  St. Paul practically dared the Corinthians to verify it since most of them were still alive and could testify what they saw and heard.

     Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.  You and I are not able to interview those who saw Jesus’ risen body.  We have only their eyewitness accounts recorded for us.  But we also have their testimony confirmed by their blood.  They chose to rather die rather than deny what they had seen.  Compare that to the men who were involved in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal.  Chuck Colson served as White House special counsel.  He was involved in the cover-up and spoke about the failure to keep the lie going.  He said, “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me.  How?  Because 12 men testified that they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it.  Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison.  They would not have endured that if it weren’t true.  Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world—and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks.  You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep lie for 40 years?  Absolutely impossible.” 

     Dear Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins.  He was buried.  He is risen.  The Scriptures prophesied about it.  Jesus himself foretold it.  The apostles witnessed it, proclaimed it, and died for it.  It is the message on which the Church is built.  It is the message on which your life rests and in which you will find comfort in the hour of death.  As sure and certain as death is, just as sure and certain is that Jesus rose from the dead.  Therefore, you can be sure and certain of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.

     You may die having accomplished much, or you may wish you could have done more.  You may die having accumulated much, or you may leave behind precious little.  You may die surrounded by friends and family, or you may die alone.  In the eternal picture, none of that matters.  No matter what, you will die.  But no matter what, Jesus lives.  Jesus will come again and raise you up to a life that will never end, will never know tears, and will never disappoint you.  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.