THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS: THE CORNER STONES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 4^TH 2026

SERMON BY PASTOR MARC SIMEON

THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS: THE CORNER STONES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

1Corinthiens 15:12-22

12 ¶ Or, si l’on prêche que Christ est ressuscité des morts, comment quelques-uns parmi vous disent-ils qu’il n’y a point de résurrection des morts?

 13 S’il n’y a point de résurrection des morts, Christ non plus n’est pas ressuscité.

 14 Et si Christ n’est pas ressuscité, notre prédication est donc vaine, et votre foi aussi est vaine.

 15 Il se trouve même que nous sommes de faux témoins à l’égard de Dieu, puisque nous avons témoigné contre Dieu qu’il a ressuscité Christ, tandis qu’il ne l’aurait pas ressuscité, si les morts ne ressuscitent point.

 16 Car si les morts ne ressuscitent point, Christ non plus n’est pas ressuscité.

 17 Et si Christ n’est pas ressuscité, votre foi est vaine, vous êtes encore dans vos péchés,

 18 et par conséquent aussi ceux qui sont morts en Christ sont perdus.

 19 Si c’est dans cette vie seulement que nous espérons en Christ, nous sommes les plus malheureux de tous les hommes.

 20 ¶ Mais maintenant, Christ est ressuscité des morts, il est les prémices de ceux qui sont morts.

 21 Car, puisque la mort est venue par un homme, c’est aussi par un homme qu’est venue la résurrection des morts.

 22 Et comme tous meurent en Adam, de même aussi tous revivront en Christ.

<><> 

1Co 15:12 ¶ Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise.

 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

 20 ¶ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

INTRODUCTION

• Today, people from all walks of life are flooding the church to pay their yearly tribute to God.
• For some, it’s just another day in the calendar.
• For Christians, Easter is our most precious day of the year, for it reminds us of our independence from the dominion of sin.
• It reminds us of the superiority of our faith and doctrine over all others beliefs and religions.
• The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the biggest argument of the Christian faith.
•  Starting from the immaculate birth of Jesus Christ, meaning that he did not inherit the sin nature of Adam.
•  Jesus inherited the human nature from Mary his mother.
• Jesus was the only sinless man since Adam; He had his chance to mess things up during his lifetime but the Bible says he finished it all without committing any sin.
• We needed a sinless man in order to satisfy the justice of God, because as sin came to this world through one person, so must the justice of God be satisfied by the sacrifice of a sinless person.1 Co 15:21
• Heaven had to initiate the process of the salvation of mankind by sending a representative to earth.
• John 3: 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
• We needed to know the ways of God: Jesus spent 3 years teaching us the about ways of God and about the kingdom of God.
• We needed to understand the scope of God’s power: Jesus spent a lifetime displaying the omnipotence of God by operating various signs and wonders.
•  We needed to know how to relate to God: Jesus spent a lifetime displaying the love and compassion of God in all aspects.
• We needed pioneers and pillars of the Christian faith for the rest of us in future generations to pattern our lives after:
• Jesus spent his ministry time making disciples that He left us as apostles and pillars of the Christian faith.

JESUS OUR ATONEMENT

•  We needed an atonement to be made on our behalf before the courtroom of God.
• Atonement can be viewed as compensation, as an amends, a bill for punishment, as a sacrament, as an act for expiation, as an act of apology.
• Atonement is an acceptable token to express one’s sorrow and regret over wrong committed to another before the broken relationship between the two parties can be remediated.
•  We needed a substitution, because the sinful nature in the natural man makes him unacceptable to God.
• Jesus was the only acceptable sacrifice that could satisfy the justice of God.
• The justice of God would not budge unless and until mankind could present a sinless man to die in the place of the rest of the human race.
• Where would we find this sinless man, for all have sin and have come short of the glory of God?
• David said, “I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”
• « Voici, je suis né dans l’iniquité, Et ma mère m’a conçu dans le péché. »

JESUS THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB OF GOD

•  As in the Temple, we needed to witness the sacrificial Lamb of God being slain and offered to God in our presence.
• Jesus was hung on that Cross for 6 hours for all to see.
• We needed an immediate proof that the sacrifice was received by God.
• The sun went dark in the middle of the day; a violent earthquake erupted which shook the entire area violently.
•  The thick veil of the Temple that separated God from mankind was reaped from top to bottom.
• The centurion who was a passive observer had to admit that surely Jesus was the Son of God.
• Indeed, the transaction of the crucifixion of Jesus had been reckoned and accepted by God.

Mt 27:51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

•  Okay! So far so good, but we still needed a proof that Satan did not win the battle over Christ in the grave after the crucifixion.
• Three days after the crucifixion, just as predicted, Jesus came back to life and walked among us for another 40 Days before His ascension to heaven.
• The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a historical fact that was witnessed by a multitude.
• The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
• The resurrection of Christ is what set Jesus’ religion apart from all others.
• 1Co 15:3 Je vous ai enseigné avant tout, comme je l’avais aussi reçu, que Christ est mort pour nos péchés, selon les Écritures;
•  4 qu’il a été enseveli, et qu’il est ressuscité le troisième jour, selon les Écritures;

THE GLORIFIED BODY OF JESUS CHRIST AFTER THE RESURRECTION

• While we are on the subject of the resurrection of Christ, we also need to focus on the mysterious and glorious body Jesus came out of the grave with.
• Jesus was the first to try the glorified body that the saints of God will inherit in heaven.
• The resurrected body of Jesus is the Prototype, the first of this kind for all others to pattern after.
• Jesus could present himself in a physical form or without a fleshly body. He could also take the appearance of others.
• He could eat human food; gravity had no power over the new body; walls and physical obstructions were no objects to the glorified body of Jesus Christ.
• How wonderful it is to know that we the elects will inhabit the same kind of body that Jesus resurrected with.

THE ASCENSION OF JESUS

• As further proofs of the resurrection of Christ, His departure from earth was not going to be unnoticed.
• God had yet one more surprise for the disciples; they were going to witness the very ascension of Jesus Christ back to Heaven.
• The disciples were going to behold King Jesus being lifted up from among them to heaven in slow motion until He disappeared in the clouds.
• They were gazing anxiously at the sky to see if Jesus will come back to them.
• Angels were sent to them to tell them that He would not be coming back until the time is right to rapture His church out of this world.

REFLEXION ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

• As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus today, the questions I have for you are the following:
• Tell me of another religion that is more appealing then the Christian faith for all its benefits?
• Tell me of another faith that offers a superior salvation than our faith?
• Tell me of another faith leader who conquered death on behalf of his or her followers?
• Tell me of another god who loves the human race to such extremes as Jehovah?
• God did not only send his Son as the Sacrificial Lamb to redeem mankind to Himself, but He also sent us the Holy Spirit to assist us on a daily basis.
• We have God’s angels assisting us and monitoring us continuously although we do not see them.

CONCLUSION

• If you have not been redeemed from above, today I invite you to accept the free gift of eternal life that the Creator God is offering to you.
• As we celebrate Easter, remember that the plan of the salvation of humanity is only made possible because of the resurrection of Christ.
• If Christ had not risen to take the sacrifice to the heavenly Temple of God,  salvation would not have been possible for mankind.
• If Jesus had not come back from the dead, we would have nothing to celebrate today just like the other vain religions.

1Co 15:17 Et si Christ n’est pas ressuscité, votre foi est vaine, vous êtes encore dans vos péchés, 18 et par conséquent aussi ceux qui sont morts en Christ sont perdus.  19 Si c’est dans cette vie seulement que nous espérons en Christ, nous sommes les plus malheureux de tous les hommes.

 20 ¶ Mais maintenant, Christ est ressuscité des morts, il est les prémices de ceux qui sont morts.                                                                                        AMEN !