Jump Start # 3549

1 Corinthians 15:4 “and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

I have to admit there are things about the resurrected Jesus that I don’t understand. He seems very human and physical. He’s talking. He’s walking seven miles to Emmaus. But, there are other times, He seems very different.

When talking with the two at Emmaus, Luke says, “He vanished.” John’s Gospel leaves the impression that Jesus walked through a locked door and appeared to the disciples. He’s breaking bread in Emmaus and frying fish with the disciples along the sea side. Yet, his hands and side still showed the signs of a crucifixion. I assume that the hands were not oozing blood out of them. When Lazarus was raised, whatever led to his death was miraculously healed. The same for the twelve year old daughter of Jairus. It did little good to raise them if they still had a fatal disease that was going to kill them. They were raised cured. They were healthy. Yet, our Lord kept the signs of crucifixion. When Jesus spoke to Mary, she recognized His voice. Some things were the same. Some things were very different.

There are many things about all of this that is just hard to understand. And, that leads us to some things we need to realize:

First, there are aspects of God that we will never fully understand. That can bother us. We want to be able to explain everything. We are extremely limited in our knowledge and it is puzzling for the finite to grasp the infinite. It’s not from a lack of study that we declare, “We do not know.” That’s just the truth. It is much better to be honest and say that than to take a guess which could be way off.

What did Jesus do for those forty days between the resurrection and the ascension? Where all did He go? The post resurrection appearances in our Bibles are sketchy and few. They do not cover forty days. Speculation and guesses can lead to ideas that are simply in our minds and no where else.

It makes sense to show the nail prints to give proof that it was Jesus and that He was alive. But how did those open places not bleed out? Or, did He have blood any more? How was His life different now that He was raised? Did He sleep? Did He need to sleep?

Second, when John wrote in His first letter, “…we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (3:2). And, just what will that be like? Paul’s description of the resurrection body leads to the concept of a better and glorified state. Perishable and imperishable. Dishonor and glorified. Natural and spiritual. Those are the contrasts Paul makes between how we are now and our resurrected state. And, since Christ is the first fruits of that resurrection, we conclude that His resurrected body was spiritual, glorified and imperishable. Had the Romans caught up with the resurrected Jesus, they would not have been able to put Him to death a second time. He was unable to perish. He was imperishable.

That is one of the great differences between the resurrection of Jesus and Lazarus. Lazarus was raised only to die again. Jesus was raised to never die again. Jesus resurrection proved who He was. His resurrection was the death blow to Satan.

Third, the fact that we will be raised one day only makes the future brighter and better for us. It doesn’t matter how dark the days are here, the sun will soon shine. It doesn’t matter the problem, because those problems stay on this side of life. One day we won’t be earth bound with all the limitations that come with that. One day we will be glorified, imperishable and with the Lord.

Because He lives, the hymn reminds us, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives, I know I will be ok. I may not fully understand. I may not get all that comes with that. I may not be able to explain it well. But, I know, because He promised, it will be great.

Roger

Jump Start # 3069

1 Corinthians 15:4 “and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

  Every spring there is Easter. That is the time when the world tips it’s hat to an empty tomb in Jerusalem long ago. For a brief moment, people think about the resurrected Jesus. Easter passes and life goes on and Jesus is forgotten. For the N.T. Christian, resurrection Sunday is not a time called “Easter.” It’s every Sunday. Every Sunday that death is remembered. Every Sunday that horrific scene is revisited. Every Sunday thoughts are taken to the perfect sacrifice and pure blood that paid the price for our freedom from Satan. Not at Easter, but every Sunday. It never gets old. It never becomes a tradition. It is never routine.

Have you considered how Jesus died? Not medically, but practically.

Jesus died openly. We sing the hymn, “On a hill far away…” And “far away,” can seem so far that it is out of sight and out of mind. But a crowd was gathered when Jesus died. People looked. Some mocked. There were enough there to know that indeed Jesus died. His death wasn’t behind closed doors. It was witnessed by a special handpicked audience.

Jesus died painfully. Jesus was young and strong. But the blood loss, the scourging, the nails brought such intense trauma that within a few hours Jesus was dead. He died without someone holding His hand. He died without someone putting a cool washcloth to his forehead. He died without someone speaking kind words to Him. Romans didn’t use the cross for Romans. They had swifter and more humane ways of putting Romans to death. The cross was a statement. It was intended to be gruesome to look at and a form of slow torture. Kindness wasn’t found at crosses. Painful. Slow. Harsh. It was Rome’s way of saying, “Don’t mess with us.” Historians say that major roads leading into Rome were often lined with crosses. It was a sign for visitors. There were living billboards that no one wanted to look at. “You better behave, or ELSE.” Screaming, cursing, pitiful pleas were common from those hanging on crosses. Ears were silent. No hope, nor help was coming. People watched as time ticked on and the soul departed from the lifeless execution.

Jesus died Scripturally. That’s the point of our passage today. The O.T. pointed to that death. The writings of the apostles looked back to that death. And, the Gospels show us the full extent of that death. Major sections of the Gospels are devoted to that final week leading to the cross. Jesus knew He would die that way. Jesus knew what the prophets had said. God’s eternal plan pivoted upon the cross of Jesus. Satan was told this in the garden. The prophets anticipated it. Jesus knew the hour was coming. He died according to the Scriptures.

Jesus died for you. That is the most remarkable thing. God’s love is illustrated with a cross. It was the cross that extends God’s open arms to you. The cross did what you could not. The cross made everything right. The cross was for everyone. It is for those we like and those we don’t like. It is for those who we want in Heaven and those we hope may not make it to Heaven. It is not based upon wealth, education, nationality, status, or accomplishments. It’s for the good people as well as the bad people. It’s for those who have little to forgive and those who have much to be forgiven.

This is why the direction of the great commission is into all the world and to every person. That means every nation, including Russia. That means every city. That means every street. That means every house. That means every person in that house. No one is left out. No one is excluded. No one is too good nor too bad for the redeeming blood of Jesus.

The grand multitude surrounding the throne in Revelation 7 are those who have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Every nation. Every language. Jesus died for all. Jesus died for you.

Do I preach about the resurrection at Easter time? I do. People are thinking about it. I want to emphasize Biblically what happened. I hope that people will think about it not just in the Spring, but every day, all the time.

Up from the grave He arose…

Roger