HEBREWS 11:21-39
FORMER FAILURES FORTIFIES
FUTURE FAITH
I. FORERUNNERS:
A. Frailty.
B. Foretelling.
C. Future.
II. FREEDOM:
A. Feebleness.
B. Failure.
C. Fear.
III. FACT:
A. Fellowship.
B. Fulfilling.
C. Fragrant.
A Better Resurrection is the promise given here by the writer to the Hebrews. He has given nine “betters” so far in his writing. Now, he gives his tenth one for his readers to ponder. He lists three of the nine “betters” here in this eleventh chapter and he builds this one on the previous one found in verse sixteen when he wrote that the patriarchs sought a better country. Here, he continues with this theme of seeking something better, but broadens it to include a “better resurrection.”
Leading up to his thesis of a “better resurrection” he picks up where he left the saints of old in the first part of this chapter and then adds more saints to this Heroes of
Faith Chapter. Along the way he digresses a bit and touches on some of the ones who were looking for a better land but who died before they found that for which they were seeking. Along with stating the obvious fact that all of the saints he mentions had already died, seeking for that better land, some of them were brought back to life to continue their struggle in living out their faith. However, he promises that even those who were favored by God for what ever reason to be resurrected, that resurrection was only temporary and he promises that God has in store for all of His saints a better Resurrection-one that will be final in Him.
He reminds his readers and those who were undergoing suffering that by holding on to their faith just a bit longer, God was going to raise them to a new and a better life. When one compared the former resurrection of some who were thus favored, to the one Resurrection coming-there just was no comparison. The future resurrection would be so much better than the one that certain saints enjoyed while living out their faith for God. That future resurrection would be the final and the glorious one bestowed by God on all of His saints-not just a few.
In studying this Better Resurrection which is to come there are some things to keep in mind for a clearer perspective of just what the writer was trying to convey to his readers. To do this I first look at the FORERUNNERS of just what the writer was trying to convey when he said that some were resurrected and now serve as types of what is in store for all believers. I next look at the FREEDOM that this new and “Better Resurrection” holds for all saints. Then, lastly, I look at the FACT of that future resurrection.
I. FORERUNNERS: Just who were the ones who were resurrected according to the Scriptures? The writer does not give the names here but they are listed in other places within the Sacred Word. The readers of this letter would no doubt remember these people from their close reading and careful observation of the Scriptures. These are included here:
A. The Woman of Zarapath’s Son by Elijah,
I Kings 1:17;
B. The great Shunamite Woman’s Son by Elisha, II Kings 4;
C. The Resurrection at Elisha’s Tomb,
(his bones) II Kings 13;
D. The Raising of the Widow’s Son of Nain by Jesus, Luke 7:11-17
E. The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter by Jesus, Luke 8:41-56;
F. The Raising of Lazarus by Jesus,
John 11:1-46;
G. The Raising of Dorcas by Simon Peter,
Acts 9: 39-43;
H. The Raising of Eutychus by Paul,
Acts 20:7-13.
These were the ones to which the writer to the Hebrews was referring when he wrote in verse 34 that some were resurrected by the power of God. They were the FORERUNNERS of that which was to come. However, their resurrection is not like the First Resurrected One. These listed were restored to life to die again, but Jesus was resurrected never to see death again and this was the point the writer is trying to convey when he wrote about a “Better Resurrection.”
First of all as we study these who were stricken and then restored to life we are reminded of the Frailty of this life. As the readers of this epistle read these words of the writer, they were reminded just as we should be reminded that this earthen body of ours will not last forever. These listed all died just as we shall if the good Lord tarries. The bodies of every one of these who were resurrected, lived in a body that was doomed to die. No matter how much we pamper this body of ours, it is of the earth and it will return to the earth some day. Some of these ones who were resurrected were sick and regardless of all of the attempts of medical help in the days in which they lived, they all succumb sooner or later. Yet, for some reason or other, these ones listed were resurrected for the glorification of God and the reasons for their restoration to life are known only to God.
These all lived and they all died. Every part of their system had ceased to function properly. Their heart died which meant that the rest of their body would soon follow. They were declared dead by various witnesses to their demise. The resulting facts of each one of these who died filled the family members and friends with great grief. They were dead and lifeless. Death had robed the very essence of them as they lay still and silent. There is that mystery of death-one moment life-the next moment death. We see the evidence of life in their bodies, as they breathe, they talk, they move. Then all is over and we see not death come to take them, all we see are the results that death has indeed paid a final visit to that one that we cherish. Such was every single person mentioned in the Bible who had died and who was resurrected. For all, no doubt, there was that fleeting moment that this was final-they were dead. Yet there was also, for some, the hope that their loved one would live again. The ones mentioned in the Sacred Word as being dead and then being resurrected serve as types, as Forerunners, of our own resurrected bodies and spirits some day. Each one of these is given in the Bible to remind us that God has the power to restore the life He once gave to that one who has just given it back to Him. Each one of these who was resurrected serve to remind us that they are examples to all of us that indeed, there is coming a Better Resurrection to God’s saints.
Not only were these who died and were restored to life alive once more, but each one of them was restored to life for a short time because death lay in the Future for those very ones who were resurrected. They would have to walk death’s dark corridor one more time before they were to be finally resurrected to a Resurrection which would never be repeated.
One has to wonder what each one of these thought upon his/her return to this earth one more time. Just what would be one’s priorities knowing that one were to die again? What did these people see on the other side of this life which is hidden from us? Would they be afraid to face death one more final time? These things we do not know now-we will have to wait until we get to Heaven and ask those who were once dead but resurrected just what were their thoughts and their ideas knowing they would die one more time. However, the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that there is coming a “Better Resurrection” for all of God’s saints where we will be raised to die no more.
II. FREEDOM: Just as the examples of those who died reveal God’s power by being raised from the grave, these also show us that there is coming to all of us a release from this earthly life when our final death comes to claim our souls. This coming FREEDOM is something that we Christians can cherish as we look forward to the day when we are set free from these earthen chains and go to live with Jesus.
The first thing I note that this coming death will liberate we who serve God, has to do with the cessation of our Feebleness.
When the former examples of God’s Resurrection power was demonstrated to the one’s listed in the Scriptures, I note how they were resurrected back to this life of pain and weakness. Everyone who was raised from the dead, came back not to a Better Resurrection, but to the life they left. As they were resurrected, they resumed this life where they laid it down. Regardless of how long they continued to live after being resurrected, they were still entomb in a body that was decaying and losing its natural abilities due to the ever creeping advancement of age. If they lived a long time or a short time after they were resurrected, they were held in a body that was slowly growing weaker and more feeble every year they continued to live.
However, the writer to the Hebrews stated that there awaits for we Christians, a Better Resurrection where our new bodies will not be ravaged by age, infirmities, or the cessation of natural strength. With the Better Resurrection which awaits we who serve the Lord, there is the promise that all tears will be wiped from our eyes. We will live in a Land that has no need for the sun because Jesus will light the sacred avenues of yonder city. We will have a new body that will break free from the Feebleness of this earthly realm. Our food will be from the Tree of Life that grows its fruit to heal the nations. We will not have need to sleep because there will be no night there for us to rest and recuperate our weak and worn bodies.
The writer to the Hebrews was correct when he drew the comparison to those who were dead but who were raised to life and to our coming Better Resurrection. We will be resurrected in God’s time-not to that from which we died to escape-but we will be resurrected to something far better than what we can ever imagine now with our limited facilities.
Besides being raised anew to complete FREEDOM from this feeble body, we will be raised to a Better Resurrection to never face or to endure emotional, physical and/or spiritual Failures. The ones who were resurrected lived and later died, we hope they died in the faith of God. We have no way of knowing the answer to this query until we get to meet them in Heaven-if they made it there. However, regardless of their outcome after being resurrected, they could have failed in many different ways. We have the same dilemma about us-the possibility of failure on so many counts. Yet, with the Better Resurrection, we will not have the opportunity or risk of failing in anything once we are safe with God.
While we live here below, we are beset by the possibilities of making wrong judgments; of doing wrong deeds; of being a complete failure. This same possibility clung to those who were dead and were raised to life by the gracious power of God. They still faced the agony of possible Failure. But to we who await the Better Resurrection, the possibility of falling away from God, the onerous load of making mistakes-of failing to finish the course with God-all will be removed when we pass through the Better Resurrection. This will be FREEDOM of the first class. Just think, in the Better Resurrection, we will be given a new body, a new mind, a new spirit where we cannot be a failure to ourselves nor to God, ever again. No wonder the writer spoke so eloquently of a Better Resurrection.
Besides enjoying a new found FREEDOM from Feebleness and Failure, the Better Resurrection will give us a freedom from Fear. We will pass through this terrible plague of mankind; we will be free, free at last. Those who were resurrected came back into the same bodies, the same minds and the same condition-being human- that they temporarily set aside. When they came back, they were plagued like we are of the fright of the unknown. Even though they tasted of death once, they still were griped by its fear as it grips all humans. They experienced it once and then twice-there had to be some trepidation on their part. However, to those who will be taking part in the Better Resurrection, will have nothing of which to be afraid for time and eternity.
Our lives are ruled by fear. We live behind locked house and car doors. We are afraid to be alone in many of our city streets. Fear grips us as soon as we realize that we have made the wrong turn in our car in a bad part of any town and when we park in a dimly lit part of any parking lot. We are afraid to stop and help someone who may truly be in need of help. We refuse to broaden our circle of friends and acquaintances because we might get involved with someone who is evil. We have our phones fixed so we can hear and see the names of the ones calling us before we pick up the phone-we live in fear.
We also live in fear when something goes awry in our bodies thinking the worse. We are afraid of loosing our jobs; of loosing our life savings; of loosing our homes, our cars, our place in society and the list goes on and on. Could not those who were raised to life in the Bible faced some of these fears? The answer has to be yes. But, the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that there is coming a Better Resurrection when we will be free from all fears. Those who died and were raised to life again faced some of the fears they left even for a moment of time, but we who are faithful to God will someday participate in a Better Resurrection where there will be no more Fear. It will be forever gone.
III. FACT: As I have studied some examples of God’s power of resurrection and as I have thought about the new freedom all of us will enjoy in the Better Resurrection, I come to some very basic conclusions as to what will be involved in this Resurrection of we saints once and for all.
The first thing I note is that in the Better Resurrection, we Christians will enjoy a Fellowship that will never be interrupted. I do not know what type of a meeting the former ones had once they died, but I do know, that if they were enjoying seeing loved ones who preceded them, that time of meeting and rejoicing was cut short due to their being resurrected back to this life again.
In the Better Resurrection, we saints will meet our loved ones who have preceded us and we will never be called upon to return to this Earth to live again in our mortal bodies. There are many saints over on the Celestial Shore with whom I want to meet for the first time and spend a great deal of time talking with them. I think of the Apostle Paul, John the Beloved, Matthew the Scribe/Tax collector, plus many more New Testament as well as Old Testament saints who have inhabited the Heavenly portals for centuries. I want to talk at length with them and ask them questions about their living and dying in the faith.
I also want to have sweet and non-interrupted Fellowship with many others about whom I have read but never met. There is Charles Spurgeon, Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday, along with many of our Pilgrim forefathers of which I wish to sit for a good spell talking to them about their walk with Jesus here on this sin cursed globe we call home.
Then there are saints of whom I know and of whom I adore and I want to talk with them about their overcoming and making it to Heaven. There is Pastor Alverez of Mexico City who pastored Sixth Church of the Nazarene. He had a small church with a large family and his church was in the back of his house. I sat in that little church many Sundays while my wife and I were going through language study, trying to learn the beautiful Spanish tongue. This church and Pastor Alfred’s home were in a Barrio (a poor section) of that beautiful Mexican City. I could hardly grasp anything that was being said-for weeks, months-but I understood that man’s love for Jesus and his passion for lost souls. Of all of my pastors whom I have had before I entered the ministry-that man stands out the most in my mind. He walks, even now, the corridors of my memory, and his life, his love for Jesus, his determination to serve God under some very trying circumstances still influence me today. I do not know what language we will speak in Heaven, but I do know that communication will not be a problem and I want to sit with him on the Bank of the River of Life and let my toes and feet be washed by that wonderful River while I tell him how much he meant to me and still does some thirty years later. I could not tell him before, but I will someday and I do not want to be interrupted by being resurrected and sent back to this life.
I want to meet my saintly mother and have a long, long talk with her and thank her for her prayers and sacrifices for me. At her funeral, I looked down into that angelic face and knew that she made the landing and I want to sit with her and tell her, “Thanks” again and again for her prayers for me and I do not want to be interrupted by being called back to this life to pick up my mortal body as others have done. No, I want that Better Resurrection where I will be home-for good.
I have listed a few saints with whom I want to converse, but the One I desire to converse with the most is my Lord Jesus, the one they call The Christ. I know He will be busy, but I have to, I just have to sit at His feet and worship Him. I want to spend eternity telling Him how much I love Him. My limited vocabulary will not now permit me to adequately express the deep feeling of my heart to Him, but over there, over there, my tongue will be loosened, my mind will be enlightened, and I will at long last be able to convey to Him just how much He means to me. I do not want to be interrupted in my adoration of Him. I want that Better Resurrection so I will not have to return to this Earth again; no, when I make it to Heaven by the mercies of God, I want to stay there and have sweet Fellowship with Him and the saints of Heaven.
Another FACT of this Better Resurrection lies in the aspect of it being the all in all, the Fulfilling of all of my desires, to be in Heaven.
I have seen some wonderful sights on this great planet of ours. I have seen majestic mountains and lush full valleys. I have seen two of the great oceans of this world. I have traveled through deserts and swamps. I have seen beautiful flowers, majestic trees, vistas of breath taking beauty, and sweeps of panoramic sights that left me humbled by the splendor each one possessed.
I have experienced the full gamut of emotions in my sixty-three years of living. I have been privileged to feel love, warmth and comfort from my wife and my children and now my grandchildren. I have wept over blessings and cried over reverses. I have been fortunate to have worked, pastored, and served as a missionary all together for some thirty-five years. I have served as a denominational leader; a pastor of small to medium size churches in three different states and two countries. I have been privileged to make friends and acquaintances over these years that still refresh my soul when I talk to them.
I have been disappointed and pleasantly surprised by the many twists and turns of this life. I hoped-lost hope; I learned-I “un-learned;” I have been surprised-I have been disappointed; I have gained-I have done without; yet, through all of life’s living, I have had Jesus to be my Friend. I have pinned may of my dreams to the stars only to see them vanish in the light of reality; yet, Jesus has stood beside me all the time. I could not have made it in this life without His presence.
As I look at the text today and read of this Better Resurrection, I put all of my life in the context of these two words and I am assured that in that Better Resurrection, there will be a Fulfillment given to me on the other side that will make this life seem complete and well worth its living. In that Better Resurrection, Jesus will restore all things to me that I might have lacked here on this Earth but will gain in Heaven. I have a feeling that over there, in that Better Resurrection, He will supplant all of my life’s missing parts and I will be made complete and whole in His tender love. This to me is a sound FACT of that which is to come.
Finally, one more certainty of this Better Resurrection lies in the aspect that it will be a Fragrant aroma in the nostrils of our Lord and of we saints. We will, at last, be Home. There will be no need of another resurrection-it will be complete and it will ascend to the Throne of God as something sweet and fragrant-the job will be complete. Just as the Priests of old had to mix in costly perfume with the offerings so they would smell sweet to God, so will our Home going be to Him and to us. The Better Resurrection will be as perfume to Him who will call us Home to be with Him forever.
The Better Resurrection awaits all of God’s saints.
