THE RESURRECTION
by
Rev. Suzanne L. Taylor
Today is the culmination of the Passion Week of Jesus the Christ. Twice Jesus was hailed as a king; once when He was born, and then when He died. And for those thirty-three or so years, He spent His time reading the Old Testament, praying, preaching, teaching, and training up a band of followers who would disciple the nations. Now He sits on His throne at the right hand of God, and He reigns! Hallelujah!
Jesus was raised up from the grave free from all earthly encumbrances, including blood. And we will be this same kind of spiritual body when we die and go to heaven. Job 19:25,26 "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God..." Job knew that "in his flesh" he would see God. He would be raised up a body with skin and bones like Jesus. It was Job's great hope that in his new resurrection body, he would see God, face-to-face (I Corinthians 13:12).
Isn't it funny that, although Jesus had made it clear to His disciples, and the apostles that He would be raised from the dead, not one of them stood wake over Him? Jesus prayed alone in Gethsemane, He died alone on the cross, and He was raised alone from the grave.
The women who went to the grave that Resurrection Morning went to finish the job of spicing and wrapping Jesus' body in the custom of a proper Jewish burial. It never occurred to them that they might not find the Lord's dead body there. Their main concern that morning was how they would get inside the tomb to complete the ritual of burial.
When they arrived at the tomb, a hole cut into the hillside they found out that Jesus was no longer there. Yet, instead of reflecting on His words in Matthew 17:22,23, "And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry..." they went about wondering where the Romans could have taken Him! Even though they had heard the prophecies regarding His resurrection from Jesus Himself with their own ears, and saw all the miracles Jesus had performed in His ministry, which included raising several people from the dead, they still could not believe that One who had died such a horrible death could ever be brought back to life. They were wrong! Hallelujah, praise the Lamb!
Now watch this. Luke recorded in Acts 1:1-3 that Jesus proved Himself the risen Savior by many "infallible proofs". Some of those proofs were, He appeared to Mary, the apostles, and the five hundred: He made breakfast on the shore for the apostles: He had the doubting apostle, Thomas, place his finger in the nail holes in His hands and feet, and his hand into the sword slash in His side, and He had everyone touch Him. Even Thomas who doubted Jesus' physical ressurection could not deny the reality of touch.
Jesus opened the eyes of His apostles so they could comprehend how important His death, burial, and resurrection were to the salvation of mankind. In Luke 24:44-49 we read, Now He said to them, "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."
I believe that much of what was happening here was the love of Jesus comforting the apostles. Imagine how shamed and guilt ridden the apostles must have been for running away when Jesus needed them most! First, they could not stay awake in the garden to watch while He prayed for strength to do what He came for. Then Peter denied Him three times, and most of the apostles hid while Jesus was crucified. John, the disciple Jesus loved was there holding up Mary, but the others were gone! Now Jesus was assuring them they were fine. He had to suffer as He did in His loneliness in order to accomplish this great thing. His non-judgmental acceptance of their weakness made all the difference to them. They now had a desire to serve that was so strong they could now face their own martyrdom with no fear.
The same is true for us. Resurrection for those in Christ does not come with a harsh judgment of our weaknesses. Unlike the world, those of us who heard the Deep calling to us and followed the Shepherd will receive the judgment that leads to eternal life (John 5:24-30).
We Christians feel hurt when Jesus calls a sin a sin, and we are the sinner. And because of that, we try to hide from Him so we won't have to face the truth in our hearts. But Jesus will not sit idly by and let us go through life separated from Him, alone, ashamed. His Spirit will continue to pursue us, and He will complete the work of salvation that He has begun in us. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 1:6).
Jesus will continue to work in our hearts to teach, reprove, correct, and grow us up until we have achieved His likeness. This verse does not imply that the perfection will only be accomplished in heaven. He is working every day, as we allow Him, to bring this perfection in us right here on earth. It's hard to understand, but the verse says that Jesus will perfect our good works in us "until" not "at" the day of Christ Jesus.
Jesus came for the benefit of the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:6). The sinners, the demon possessed, the lepers, the blind, the enslaved were all the sheep Jesus sought to save. Did that originally include the Gentiles? Yes! It's recorded in the Old Testament that Jesus would be the Savior of all (Isaiah 42:1-4). Just remember that the Lord wanted to save God's elect first, not only. It was always God's intent to make salvation available to all who "call upon the name of the Lord" (Romans 10:13).
During Old Testament times, many people were turned from their gods and became Jews as they saw the blessings of the Lord on Israel. They practiced Judaism as a means of salvation by animal sacrifice, and by following the Law of Moses. People born after Jesus' resurrection no longer have to become Jewish in order to enjoy the benefit of salvation. They now have direct access to that blessing from God through Jesus by the power of His Spirit to simply speak out the words that lead to salvation, and claim it in Jesus' name.
Now look at what Galatians 3:26-29 promises. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." There is no Jew or Greek (Gentile). We who know the Lord are one in Him and one of Abraham's seed. Don't ever believe that the Old Testament pertains only to Israel. It is for YOU too. Every promise that God made from the Garden of Eden throughout history is for you. There is not one jot or tittle in His Word that is not yours to claim.
Please read II Corinthians 5:1-8 until it takes hold of you, and you believe every word of it. This fleshly body that we live in, love in, fill with too much of the good life, and abuse terribly is temporary. But regardless, we should still take great care of it. Wash it, oil it, nourish it with good things, and protect it the best we can. I don't mean the washing of ritual, but of cleanliness which is our reasonable service to it. Our bodies go before us in every eye that sees us, and every nose that smells us. The impression we make can turn aside those who are seeking. We need to go out into the world with a smile on our faces, clean clothes on our clean bodies, and a joy in our hearts that is a shining light in this otherwise dark world. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. " (Matthew 5:1
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish..." (II Corinthians 2:14,15).
