This Is It

I Cor. 15:3,4 "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

This is it. This is the central message that we have that needs to be given (delivered). This is the Gospel, the evaggelion, the good news that can and will change everything in a person's life forever. Paul said that he was simply giving to others what had been given to him. The great news is this...that Jesus, not me, not you, not the Pope, not Billy Graham, not Moses, not Mohammed, not Krishna, not Oprah, not the president or any other world leader either now or throughout history, but Jesus Christ is it. He is central to the Gospel. He is the Gospel. What He did is the good news, and this is it: Jesus died for my sins. He took my sin on Himself on the cross. All the garbage, all the guilt, all the punishment, all the nasty habits, all the rotten words, all the lies and distortions, all the evil deeds, everything that I have ever done or will do that violates the character of God...He took it all on Himself on the cross.

After He died He was buried. This verifies His death. I mean you don't bury a living, breathing person. His friends thought that they were putting Him forever in a grave. They had no clue that something else was going to happen. They put Jesus in a grave to stay there. That is not very good news. The cool thing is that it doesn't end there. The amazing news is what Paul is writing about in this chapter. The amazing news is all about hope. The amazing news is all about life. The amazing news is what our faith rests upon. Jesus did not stay dead, He did not stay buried, He rose again. He got out of the grave and walked and talked and ate and showed Himself to a ton of people (v5-8) and is living now.

This is the good news. Jesus died, was buried and rose again for me...for you...for this world...and we need Him. He is our only hope. He is our only way. He is our only life. What He did no one else had ever done and lived to tell about it. (Lazarus came back, but he died again...what a bummer.) Because of Jesus death and life I can be forgiven and free and live forever too. So can anyone who believes! Amazing news. We need to share it.

The other cool thing is this - "according to the scriptures". This phrase is used twice. Why? Because this was no fluke. This was something that had been prophesied hundreds of years earlier by a variety of people. Just look at Is. 53, Ps. 16, Ps. 22, Zech. 11. This is it. Jesus is It. Share it. Share Him.