The Gospel – Death and Burial 1 Cor 15:3-4 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

According to 1 Cor 15:3-4, the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Today we will concern ourselves with the first two parts of the gospel – death and burial.

Christ died – he didn’t swoon and he didn’t feign death – he died – his death was the result of our sins [Rom 5:12] – in other words, it wasn’t the beating and the cross that killed him, it was our sins – he died much earlier than the thieves with whom he was crucified – that’s because sin is a killer [Rom 6:23].

Christ died for our sins – Jesus was condemned, punished and killed as if he were the one who had committed the sins we committed – he died for “our” sins – as 1 Pet 3:18 says, “the just for the unjust” – 1 Pet 2:24 says, he died with “our sins in his own body on the tree” – so our sins are paid for – like the hymn says, “Jesus paid it all” – there is no more payment for sin – he died once and that is the end of it – he said, “It is finished” – so get rid of the notion that there is some kind of penance that you must do in order to absolve your sins – once they are paid for there is absolutely nothing else that can be done [Heb 10:11-14].

Christ died according to the scriptures – the Lord’s death was not some sort of fluke or accident – his death was determined by God before the foundation of the world [Acts 2:23; Rev 13:8] – he died according to the scriptures – so we can look into the Old Testament and find many things prophesied concerning his death – Ps 22 and Is 53 are two of the most thorough prophecies concerning his death.

Christ died and was buried – the full effect of the curse that resulted from sin is that we “return unto the ground,” [Gen 3:19] – when Christ died, his spirit went back to God [Lk 23:46], his soul went to hell [Acts 2:27, 31] and his body went into the ground [Lk 23:53] – that is exactly what happens to an unsaved sinner – his body returns to the ground, his soul goes to hell [Lk 16:19-31] and his spirit goes back to God who gave it [Ecc 12:7].

Conclusion: So in the death and burial of the Lord, Jesus paid for our sins, fulfilled prophecy, and completely satisfied every aspect of the curse by being made a curse for us [Gal 3:13].  Now you need to consider you own soul.  If you are not saved, you need to put your trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary.  He paid for your sins so that he and he alone could save you [1 Tim 2:3-6].  Trust him today.