If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits 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 turn: Christ, the firstfruits; 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. (1 Corinthians 15:19-26 NIV)
“If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end.” Have you ever heard that phrase before? I read it for the first time in a children’s book. A mother says to her child: “If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end.” That stuck in my mind. Who came up with that? I looked it up. Do you know who is credited with that statement? One of the great theologians of last century… John Lennon. The Beatles guy. I guess he liked to say, “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” Could you hear John Lennon saying that? “If it’s not a happy ending, then it’s not the end.”
Don’t you want that to be true? People don’t seem to have a lot in common these days, but I think we all have this in common: The hope that someday things will be better. Don’t we all hope that? You watch the news, and there’s this longing inside you, “There’s got to be something better.” You watch your parents grow old, and you hope, “There’s got to be something more.” You see your kids get their hearts broken, and you wish, “There’s got to be a silver lining somewhere.” You can’t shake the depression, and your heart aches. “This can’t be the whole story.” Don’t we all have this thought, this hope? There’s got to be something better, right?
Why? Why should there be something better? Why should we get a happy ending? Why should we expect good things? Have you ever thought about that? Why do we think everything should be going well? Why do we think we deserve the best? “Well, because I’m such a wonderful person…” Most of us wouldn’t say that out-loud, but we sure think it, right? But is that really true? “Because I’ve done everything the right way!” Is that really true? “Because I’m good, and I deserve the best!” Is that really true? Do we really deserve all the wonderful things we hope for?
If you and I were to look up to heaven and say to God, “God, we deserve a happy ending,” do you know what God would say? “No, you don’t!” We’re not as wonderful or good as we like to think. Why? We’re sinful. So there is something we really deserve. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). We hear that twice in our lesson today: “Death came through a man…. In Adam all die.” What do we really deserve? Death. Why? Are you sick of that question yet? Why do all people die? What did Adam do? Sin. What do we do? Sin. We say, “I deserve a happy ending!” The Bible says, “No, you don’t. You’ve sinned, so you deserve death.”
Huh. So I guess we better try to enjoy life on earth as much as possible. Isn’t that our back-up option? Let’s just forget about the ending and live it up right now! I bet you’ve tried that too. Does that work? Does forgetting about the future and forgetting about God and living however you want bring happiness? No. The Bible puts it like this, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” To live life with hope only for here is pitiful. To face death thinking it’s the end is pitiful. All the working, all the striving, for what? So that we can get old and die? Pitiful. Do you see what sin does to us? The Bible tells us the truth. Because we’ve sinned, we don’t deserve a happy ending, and life on earth will never fully satisfy us.
Karl Marx—the father of Communism—is famous for saying that “religion is the opium of the people.” To him, religion is a made-up thing—like a drug—that helps people through life. He’s wrong! The Bible says the complete opposite. If my faith in Jesus is only for this life, I am to be pitied more than all people! If there’s no resurrection, if there’s no happy ending, what a waste! If religion is only for this life, then we better cry at funerals like those who have no hope. Then we better eat and drink and be merry because tomorrow we die. Then we better smile and lie about how good of people we are, because that’s all we’ve got going in this life. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” What hope is there?
Jesus. Our hope is Jesus. Today we’re celebrating how Jesus rose, but for Jesus to rise, something had to happen first. What? Death. Jesus had to die. Why? “The wages of sin is death.” But hold on. Did Jesus sin? No, Jesus is the perfect Son of God. He never, ever sinned. So why did Jesus die? For you. For me. When Jesus died on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Jesus received the judgment that we deserved. That’s why his cross is so vital for our salvation. The sad ending that we all deserve is what Jesus already suffered for us. Jesus died our death.
But that wasn’t really the end. Death isn’t the end. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! “For Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Death isn’t the end. Our hope isn’t only for this life. Because Jesus rose! I love how matter-of-factly Paul puts it. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.” How did he know? Paul saw him. Paul saw Jesus alive. It really happened! Jesus’ resurrection is the heart of Christianity. This is the Gospel. “That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).
Why? For us. It was all for us! “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.” What a promise! Just as certainly as people die, that’s how certain we can be that we will rise. So how certain is it that people die? 100%. So how certain can we be of heaven? 100%. People like to say there are two things in life that are certain: Death and taxes. Have you heard that? That’s not really true. There are three things in life that are certain. Death, taxes, and eternal life. “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end!
How can we be sure? How can we be sure that Jesus’ resurrection means anything for us? Listen: “But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits, then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” Jesus is the firstfruits. Do you understand that word? Each spring, the Sunday after the Passover was a special holiday for the Jews. It was the day of “firstfruits.” On that Sunday, each family was to present to God the first crops from their spring harvest. That firstfruits offering was an act of faith. They trusted that since God had given them their first sheaves of grain, more would follow.
Now, what day did Jesus rise from the dead? The Sunday after the Passover. On the very day that the Jews were bringing their firstfruits of grain to Jerusalem, Jesus rose from the dead in Jerusalem: He is the “firstfruits.” When that first tulip pokes its head through your flower bed, you know more will follow. When that first yellow dandelion shows up in your lawn, you know more will follow. When you see Jesus rise from the dead, you can know that more will follow. Lots more. You! You will rise, like Jesus did. If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end!
But why are people still dying? Why are there still so many funerals? Where’s the happy ending? God says, “Be patient. There’s an order.” “Christ, the firstfruits; 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.” Jesus’s resurrection proved his victory over death. But death won’t be completely destroyed until the day “when he comes…”
What day is that? What day will Jesus come again? Judgment Day. Then we will see death destroyed! The Bible tells us, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Doesn’t that sound good? The Bible says, “‘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” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
There was once a Christian lady who was diagnosed with a terminal illness. She met with her pastor to discuss her funeral plans. She had one special request: “I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.” Have you heard this? The pastor didn’t know what to say. The woman explained, “At the best meals, when the main course is cleared away, someone says, ‘Keep your fork.’ That’s my favorite part because I know something better was coming. Dessert! So, when people see me there in the casket with a fork in my hand, and I want them to wonder, ‘What’s with the fork?’ And then, pastor, I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork. The best is yet to come.’”
Because Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end. When John Lennon said that, it was wishful thinking. Without Jesus, there are no happy endings at all. But when you believe in Jesus, this is his promise: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Those words are certainly true!
I bet you’re missing someone today. They’re dead, and they’ve left behind a hole. Remember: If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end! Maybe for you, the pain is a physical pain. Death is at your door. That’s hard! But you can trust: If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end! Maybe you’re in the middle of life, but it’s not what you expected. A mid-life crisis is a real thing. You feel lost. God has a promise: If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end! Maybe you’re young with your whole life in front of you, and it’s scary. What will you do? Where will you live? Whom will you marry? I don’t know! But I know this: If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end!
I read a story recently of a wedding. This wedding had a unique twist. The groom had never seen his bride. The man had been blinded at the age of ten in an accident. He’d never seen his true love. A few weeks before the wedding day, the man underwent a new experimental surgery on his eyes. No one knew if it would work. On his wedding day, that man still had bandages over his eyes. In fact, his doctor stood at the front of the church with him and carefully removed the bandages from his eyes just as his bride was walking up the aisle. Know what happened? It worked! Miraculously, he saw his bride for the first time. She said, “At last.” He said, “At last.”
One day, because of Jesus, we will see. At last! One day, because of Jesus, our dead bodies will rise. One day, because of Jesus, our heavy hearts are going to be filled with inexpressible joy. At last! Until then, we have the sure promise of God’s Word. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Jesus died for you. Jesus rose for you. Because of Jesus, your sins are forgiven. Because of Jesus, you have a home in heaven. You can trust him! In every trial, in every heartache, even in the face of death, your risen Savior smiles at you and says, “If it’s not a happy ending, it’s not the end!”
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
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