According to the Scriptures

1Corinthians  15:3,4

Luke 16:24-26 -  The lost and the saved are separated forever.

Matthew 7:21-23 – Difference in me knowing who Christ is and Jesus knowing who I am.

I Cor. 15:1 – “moreover” refers to a continuing from chapters 12-14.  The greatest spiritual gift is salvation.  If a person doesn’t know Christ in everlasting life, all the gifts in the world won’t do him any good.

Verse 3, For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

It is very important to note that there are plenty of scriptures that teach how Christ was to come into the world.  The Jews knew all those scriptures, and believed them.  They expected Christ to come, whom they called Messiah, who is the anointed one, the Messianic prince, king, and high priest of Israel.  They expected Him to destroy all rule except His own, and establish Himself as king, not only over Israel, but over all the world.  They readily accepted this rule, and desired Christ to come and establish Himself as supreme ruler.  The scriptures they missed was that Christ would die for our sins.  This is the subject of this discourse.  Where are those Old Testament scriptures Israel missed that talked about their king dying for their sinfulness?

Genesis 3:15 is the very first prophecy concerning the redeemer.  The word enmity means a hatred, or very intense dislike.  This is the scope of the feelings between the seed of the woman a

nd the seed of the serpent, which is the seed of Satan.  The seed of the woman (Jesus Christ) shall bruise the head of the seed of Satan, while the seed of Satan shall bruise the heel of Christ.  (It is very important to notice that the seed of Satan will not bruise the seed of the man.  This is because man wasn't involved in the birth of Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary, causing her to conceive a child which is the embodiment of God to fallen sinners.)  This speaks about the warfare between God and Satan.  Satan will be allowed to bruise the heel of Christ at the cross.  But the war doesn't end there.  Revelation 20:10 states that the Devil will be finally cast into the lake of fire.  This is when Satan's seed is bruised in the head, or finally destroyed.

Isaiah 53 speaks of the many sufferings of Jesus Christ.

Psalms 22 speaks of the suffering Saviour.  Some of the Israelites of that time read these scriptures as coming from David and David alone, while others believed in a suffering Messiah.  This is why some Jews believed in Christ while others rejected the idea.  Modern Jews totally reject the idea of a suffering Messiah.  Some of the modern Jews believe this passage refers to David and David alone, while other Israelites believed these passages spoke of the suffering of the Jews as they were cast out among the nations.  Still other Jews believed these passages spoke about the suffering of Israel in Babylon.  There are many passages that directly relate to the suffering and death of Christ.

1.   Ps. 22:1 directly refers to Matt. 27:46. (Why have you forsaken me?)

2.   Ps. 22:2 - Christ crying in the daytime refers to His shout at the 9th hour when the darkness left and light once again appeared.  See Matt. 27:45,46 and Mark 15:33,34.

3.   Ps. 22:7 refers to Mark 15:29-32 and Matt. 27:39-44. (They laughed at Christ.)

4.   Ps. 22:14 refers to Ex. 12:46, Num. 9:12, and Ps. 34:20. (A bone shall not be broken.)

Verse 4, And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Notice there is a difference between the death of Christ and his burial.  Often times we put the two together, but here they are noted separately.  First of all, the death of Christ was not like any other death.  It was a supernatural death because this is when God Himself separated Himself from Himself and partook of death as a human being, even to the point of suffering our eternal condemnation on the cross.

      Christ being buried refers to a complete different set of prophecies.  By this, I mean that Christ would have had complete control of the fulfilling of prophecies concerning His death, but He would have no control at all over prophecies concerning His burial.  The fact is that Christ is God, and even after His death, (when a normal human would lose control of their body) He retained control of his fleshly body, and the circumstances surrounding its burial so that all the scriptures about His burial would be fulfilled.

Isaiah 53:9 – Jesus was buried in a rich mans tomb.  Fulfilled in John 19:41,42.

Resurrection.  Rose again.

Christ literally rose from the dead.  He was dead already John 19:33 – The soldiers did not break the legs of Christ because he was already dead.

John 20 reveals many details about the resurrection of Christ.

Matthew 27:57-66 – The chief priests and the Pharisees persuaded Pilate to put his seal on the tomb, making it an offense against the state if anybody rolled the stone away.