"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,"
To the one who has not embraced the truth of the gospel, it must seem a very strange thing that someone’s death and the events following his death would be the object of so many people’s delight thousands of years later. Even more confusing must be the fact that the one who died is dearly loved by those who celebrate the events following His death.
How can I celebrate the fact that Jesus died when I love him? How can I celebrate his vicious torture, his cruel pitiless death, his being forsaken by the Father, his lifeless body being placed in a tomb to rot and turn to dust? I celebrate these things because they were not what they seemed to be at the time.
I celebrate his torture not because I delight in his suffering but because he suffered in my place. I celebrate His death because of what it accomplished—victory over death. I celebrate his being forsaken because it keeps me from ever being forsaken. And I celebrate His being place in a tomb to rot because He didn’t rot. He conquered death before His physical body saw any corruption.
The gospel—Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection—were taught by Paul to the Corinthians. And he taught in a way that reflected its importance. All of these other things that Paul addresses in this book are important, but they pale before the importance of the gospel itself.
This priority must be reflected in our own work and ministry too.
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