Bible Study Summary - Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures

Upcoming April 8 Sunday Sermon – “Nikos!”

I Corinthians 15:1-11, 56-57

-         This is probably my favorite chapter of the bible because it explains the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection and the future resurrection of God’s people.

-         Verse 3 – Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are part of the larger Jewish story of God’s desire to redeem the world.

-         Verse 8 – The risen Jesus even appeared to Paul himself!

-         What did the word, “resurrection” mean in the 1^st century?  That people already dead will be given “new” bodies, not completely unlike our present bodies!  This was the understanding for up to two centuries before Jesus & Paul.  If resurrection only meant going to heaven after you die, why does it say that Jesus was raised on the third day (V. 4)

-         Verse 57 – “Victory” In Greek, this word is “Nikos.”  If we have the promise of resurrection and God has won the victory through his death and resurrection, how does this impact our daily lives? 

John 20:1-18

-         John begins by describing Easter morning as dark.  He is echoing the creation story in the Book of Genesis.  John has a fascination with this first book of the Bible in telling the story of Jesus. *

-         Mary and the disciples try to figure out why the tomb is empty.  There is a lot of running in this telling of the Easter story, more than anywhere else in the four gospels!

-         The linen clothes – A mystery. Why would someone take the body, but go to the trouble of unwrapping the body?  It looks like the body has just disappeared. 

-         Mary thinks Jesus is the gardener, another reference to Genesis and the creation story – the Garden of Eden.  The point is that Jesus is the new Adam, emerging from the garden.  My Easter sermon, “The Story of Three Gardens” goes more in depth with this. 

-         Verse 17 – Jesus says to Mary, “Don’t cling to me.”  Why?  Now that Jesus was resurrected, he would soon (in 40 days) be going to his heavenly Father.  This constitutes a new relationship between Mary and Jesus.  I also think it’s because Mary wasn’t to waste time but to go and share this good news with others.

-         Mary becomes the first apostle by being the first one to announce the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.  This is an example of the authenticity of the gospel story.  Mary, a woman is the primary witness of the resurrection.  Women were not seen as credible witnesses in 1^st century Judaism.

-         Easter is the most important day of the church year, even bigger than Christmas because the resurrection of Jesus is the sign of God’s victory over sin and death.

* In John chapter 3, when Nicodemus visited Jesus, John tells us that this conversation took place at night, symbolizing the darkness that we can so often feel in our search for meaning and purpose.

   In chapter 9, we read about the man who had been born blind.  His whole life was one of darkness.  And after Jesus healed this man and restored his sight, John shows how the religious leaders were the ones who were truly blind since they were more concerned about Sabbath laws than they were about a person being healed.

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