1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Resurrection Sunday, Year C
🌱 The End is the Beginning
When Paul speaks of resurrection, he’s not offering comfort. He’s proclaiming a cosmic revolution.
This passage isn’t about escaping death—it’s about undoing it. Not just someday, but starting now.
Let’s step into the holy disruption of resurrection together…
🕰️ Context: Setting the Scene
🧾 Literary Context:
This section is part of Paul’s long argument in 1 Corinthians 15, the most sustained theological reflection on resurrection in the New Testament.
The Corinthian church was struggling with disbelief—not in Jesus’ resurrection, but in their own future hope. Paul responds by tying their story directly to Christ’s.
Paul uses a Jewish apocalyptic framework here—talking about “all things being made subject,” “the end,” and “the last enemy.”
🌍 Historical Context:
First-century Corinth was shaped by Roman culture and Greek philosophy, both of which found the idea of bodily resurrection strange—if not offensive. The physical world was seen as something to escape.
Paul flips this. Resurrection, for Paul, is not an escape from the body—it is the transformation and healing of creation itself.
The phrase “first fruits” (v.20) references the Jewish festival of Firstfruits—the offering of the first of the harvest, signaling that more is coming. Jesus’ resurrection is the first harvest of what God will do for all creation.
📖 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 (NLT)
19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Listen to 1 Corinthians 15 in the NLT
Read 1 Cor. 15:19-26 in the Message
Listen to 1 Corinthians 15 in the Message
💡 Key Insights
“First fruits” is not symbolic—it’s prophetic. Jesus is not a one-off miracle. His resurrection is the first of many. Paul declares that what happened to Jesus is what God intends for all of us—for the world, the body, and creation.
Resurrection is resistance. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” That means death still operates—but not forever. Resurrection says: injustice will not win, violence will not win, death will not win.
God’s victory unfolds in stages. Paul sees resurrection as a divine order: first Christ, then those who belong to Christ, then the end—when God will be all in all. This is not just a theology of hope—it’s a theology of participation.
🔁 Sacred Practice
Sit with this story using the ancient rhythm of Lectio Divina:
Read – Slowly read 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Reflect – What word or image stands out?
Respond – What is God inviting you to feel or do?
Rest – Be still. Let Love speak your name.
❓ Jesus-Centered Questions
What parts of resurrection still feel like “nonsense” to me?
Where might I be looking for life among the dead?
What grief am I carrying that resurrection might transform?
Who are the unexpected witnesses of resurrection in my own life?
📚 Reflections & Resources
Commentary: Working Preacher Commentary - 1 Cor. 15:19-26
🧵 Connect the Threads
Other Easter readings:
How do these passages intersect to reveal the Good News?
💬 Want to Reflect Together?
What image or phrase stayed with you?
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