Sunday's Coming (Part 4)

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. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58 NIV).

We have been looking at the power of the resurrection these past few mornings. The power of the resurrection will transform from unbelief to belief, from death to life and, third, the resurrection can also change us from fear to courage.

Sometime ago I heard an interesting bit of folk wisdom. Someone said, “Everyday this side of the dirt is a good day.” While that view does express a certain zest for life, it discounts the wonder of the promise of true life. Death has always held mankind captive in fear. Someone noted that our view of death is like a group of mourning caterpillars carrying a cocoon like a corpse. Above there is a beautiful butterfly inside the cocoon staring down in unbelief. Christians need to remember "that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). Victor Hugo once wrote: “When I go down to the grave I can say, like so many others: I have finished my work, but I cannot say I have finished my life. My day's work will begin the next morning. My tomb is not a blind alley. It is a thoroughfare. It closes in the twilight to open in the dawn.” This is what we see in the disciples after Jesus showed Himself to them in resurrection glory.

They had all run except for John. When Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified they were afraid. They had scattered throughout the streets of Jerusalem. Now they were together in one room. They were afraid of the Jews and what they might do to them. They were afraid that a scourge and a cross awaited them also. The door was locked; maybe even a chair propped up against the doorknob. The windows were probably covered. Occasionally someone would look out the peephole. There wasn’t much conversation, just a lot of despairing looks, shame and guilt as they stared down at the floor. The silence was only interrupted by the sound of knocking knees and shuffling feet! They were certainly not the most impressive group of people ever assembled. They were men who had broken under the pressure of fear. At that moment not many of us would have fared any better. And fewer people still would have put any confidence in their future. But all of that would change in an instant! When they saw the risen Christ their future which only moments ago looked dim and hopeless was now full of hope. At once a fire began to burn within them. It was a fire that they could not contain. It was a fire that burned out their fears. They no longer feared the Jewish leaders, the Romans, the threats, the persecutions, the swords. They no longer feared those who could only hurt the body. They no longer feared death! They had now seen and understood REAL life! The power of resurrection had transformed fear to courage! They began to sing, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? How we thank God; who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! How about you?