No More Sting 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father, and our risen Lord, Jesus Christ!

 

On this Easter Sunrise our message is No More Sting. It’s taken from our Epistle, ⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

 

Ouch! Have you ever said that? Many times?

 

Maybe when you stub your toe, or hit your finger, or bang your knee, or whack your elbow, your funny bone? That stings.

 

There are other kinds of stings that can hurt us too; like the sting of a wasp, or a hornet, or bumble bee. Anybody ever been stung by a bug? 

 

These are stings we typically recover from, although they can be deadly for those allergic to them. Still there are deadlier, more poisonous stings than these.

 

Take jellyfish, for example. Most jellyfish stings just hurt, but some are downright deadly. If you’re stung by a Sea Wasp Jellyfish, you’re not likely to survive, maybe not even make it out of the water.

 

Or take spiders. Probably the best known poisonous spider is the infamous, Black Widow. The deadliest, however, is the Brazilian Wandering Spider. So if you’re ever wandering through the Amazon, be careful. Not sure if anyone has a vacation planned for there this summer, but just in case.

 

The sting that our text alludes to is probably the sting of a scorpion.

 

The most deadly scorpion in the world is found in Biblical lands, the Mid East. It’s called the Androctonus Crassicauda, which translates as, Man Killer Scorpion.

 

This is probably the scorpion that our text is comparing death to: ⁵⁵ “O death, where is your sting?”

 

Paul is paraphrasing Hosea 13:14, O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting?

 

It’s interesting that Hosea and Paul use the royal narrative, “O” death, referring to death as if it thinks it’s the king over all.

 

Death, you think you are so great, so powerful, so invincible. Well where is your power now that Jesus has risen?

 

Jesus has de-stung death, de-poisoned it, if you will; and has healed our souls from death, and won resurrected life for our bodies.

 

Although we have that eternal victory, we still have to deal with sin in this life. But it’s more of an ouch; more an irritating sting, than a killing one.

 

In our weakness we sin, but Christ has won the forgiveness of all our sins. And in doing so, has overcome the toxic sting of sin and death. Ironically, He did it by His death, and His resurrection.

 

In our Gospel, we have John’s account of Easter Morning, Resurrection Dawn.

 

Very early, Mary went to the tomb, and found it open. She went back and told Peter and John about it. They ran to the tomb to see for themselves, and found that it was indeed, empty.

 

Then they went back home, but Mary stayed behind, weeping at the tomb.

 

After awhile she looked inside, and there she saw two angels. They asked her why she was crying. The implication was that there was no reason for her to cry.

 

Then from outside the tomb, came another voice, asking her the same thing, “Woman, why are you crying?”

 

She just assumed it was the cemetery keeper. Perhaps she didn’t see His face. But then he called her by name, “Mary”, and she knew it was Jesus.

 

What an amazing story; what an amazing experience for Mary, and for the women at the tomb, and for the disciples, and for us, as we relive it every Easter.

 

And what an amazing experience it will be when the final Easter happens to us, the day of our resurrection; when we feel our bodies coming back alive, rising up from our graves. Can you imagine what that will be like?

 

Then, as Paul says, the saying that is written will be proven true. ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

From that time on there’ll be no more deadly sting for us to fear! No more power of sin to ruin us; no death and dying for us to have to go through; no power of the devil to mislead or take advantage of us.

 

No longer will the law condemn us: it’ll only vindicate us; because in heaven we’ll be holy; there’ll be nothing about us to condemn, only love and joy and peace for us to live in.

 

And lovely voices to praise God with forever. As our Old Testament says, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.” But that’s also our song here on earth.

 

Because Jesus rose, we have a victory to live by. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

Because He lives, we don’t have to live as if death rules our life and our being; or as if sin rules our relationships; or as if the power of the devil controls our thoughts, and dominates our deeds.

 

We don’t have to live as if the Law rules over the Gospel, eternally condemning us, and leaving us with no hope of forgiveness.

 

But thanks be to God, we have the victory of the Gospel to live by; God’s grace covering all our deeds; God’s unconditional love, ruling our hearts; His peace ruling our minds.

We have His forgiveness ruling over our guilt; His comfort ruling over our grief; His salvation ruling over death. 

 

As the victory has been won, and deadly sting of sin and death tamed for us by our Redeemer, so let us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, live in a such a way that we try to refrain from stinging others with sinful, selfish ways.

 

Let us not sting one another with cruel, careless words, meant only to hurt or insult or embarrass. Let us not sting one another with cold disregard or heartless neglect of our neighbors in need.

 

Let us not sting one another with acts of revenge; instead let us heal our relationships with forgiveness, just as Christ has healed our relationship with God by winning our forgiveness.

 

Let us not sting our dear Savior who died for us by choosing to live in a worldly way, rather than Christ-like way; or by neglecting to give Him the worship and praise that He’s due; or by failing to share the good news of His salvation with a world that’s being stung by deadly sin; or sting Him by trying to live according to our own righteousness, or our own worldly achievements, rather than living by His amazing grace.

 

Thanks be to God, Christ has given us the victory over all theses worldly things.

 

Now, O death, where is your toxic sting? Where is your power to take forgiveness and salvation from me? It’s gone from me forever.

 

Death, you destroy my life no more. Sin, you poison my mind no more. Satan, you steal my soul no more. Not when I have Christ as my Savior, risen in me by Baptism, and living in me by faith.

 

Not when I know that my Redeemer lives, triumphant from the grave, eternally to save, all glorious in the sky, exalted there on high. To silence all my fears; to wipe away my tears; to calm my troubled heart; all blessings to impart.

 

May the victory He has won be yours forever. And may His peace, which passes understanding, guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, our risen Lord. Amen.