RESURRECTION REVELATIONS
I read an article by Victor Knowles titled, Why the Resurrection Matters. It touched on many key factors, describing the importance of Jesus' resurrection. While it was necessary that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, without the resurrection his death would've been in vain.
Without the resurrection Christianity falls apart. That's why the soldiers were paid off to spread a rumor that his disciples came and stole the body. People have set out to prove Jesus never rose from the dead and ended up becoming Christians because the evidence proves that it did. The resurrection of Jesus is the most crucial event in Christian history. It not only matters, it also reveals some things. What does the resurrection of Jesus reveal?
1) That Jesus is the life.
There are seven "I Am" statements made by Jesus in John's gospel. Three of them contain the word life. I am the bread of life, I am the resurrection and the life and I am the way, the truth and the life. What do they all mean? First let's look at the phrase, 'I am'.
When Jesus was speaking with the Jews in John 8, he said, "before Abraham was born, I am". Either Jesus used poor grammar or he's saying something significant. Jesus is connecting himself with God. The Jews knew what he meant, that's why they picked up stones to kill him. They felt Jesus had just committed blasphemy.
When Moses asked God, "who shall I say is sending me", God answered, "tell them I AM is sending you". I Am is the name of God. This came to be pronounced, Yahweh. The Jews would not even say it for fear of mispronouncing it. So when Jesus used this term for himself he was saying, 'I am God'. Therefore, since God created everything and since he breathed life into every creature, Jesus is saying he is the author of life.
Peter understood this, that's why when he was speaking to the Jews, he told them in Acts 3:15, "You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this."
John attested to all this too, as the beginning of his gospel states. John 1:1-4, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men." Jesus is God, he is the I Am; he is the author of life.
Let's take a look at the three life statements. First, Jesus is the bread of life.
John 6:31-35, "Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
When the Israelites escaped from Egypt to the desert, they didn't have any food. God gave them manna, bread from heaven. This bread was all they had, until they complained they didn't have any meat. God gave them so much quail it was coming out of their noses.
But the manna sustained them; it gave them all the nourishment they needed to survive. The literal bread from heaven was a foreshadow of the true bread from heaven, Jesus. He sustains people too. What Jesus offers will keep us alive and nourish us spiritually. Jesus is the bread of life.
Next, Jesus is the resurrection and the life. John 11:25-26, "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
When Martha was upset that Jesus hadn't healed her brother, Jesus explained to her about the resurrection from the dead. Coming back from the dead isn't just something that happens, the power to do that came from him; he is the resurrection; he is life itself. The power of the resurrection and the power of life exists in Jesus. Life wasn't something Jesus was given, it was something he always had. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead it showed that the power of life was within him.
But Jesus himself died? Yes, but not at anyone else's hands. Jesus said in John 10:18 that no one takes his life from him. He had the authority to lay his life down and the authority to take it back up again. God had to turn his back on his son when he took on our sins but that wasn't the end of the story. Acts 2:24 says it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus. When Jesus rose from the dead it showed that he had the power over death. He is the resurrection and the life.
And the third statement was Jesus telling his disciples that he is the way, the truth and the life.
John 14:1-6, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
When Jesus points to the pathway to heaven he points to himself. To get to heaven you must follow Jesus; he is the roadmap. If we know him then we know the way. He doesn't just have the truth; he is the truth. Everything about him is 100% truth. There is nothing false about him. Do we want to know the truth about who God is and what he has said? Look at Jesus. Do we want to have eternal life? Jesus is the only way. He is the one who gave us life and he is the only one who can give us eternal life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
Sarah Ziegler tells the story that she and her kids were watching a series on the history channel called, "Jesus: His Life". The current segment came to an end and before the commercial break the narrator said, "stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion to Jesus' life!" Then Caleb, her 11 year old, chimed back, "ha, there is no conclusion to Jesus' life!"
How true. Rev. 1:18, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and Hades." Death could have no real hold on Jesus. He allowed it to happen to complete the payment for our sin. It was inevitable for Jesus to come back to life because he is the life. Jesus' resurrection verifies he is the author of life.
2) That we can have new life.
Rom. 4:25, "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." His death paid the penalty for our sins. His resurrection paved the way for our salvation. To be justified means to be declared not guilty; vindicated. Through Christ's resurrection we can become blameless. When we trust in Christ for salvation, our sins are washed away and we are clothed with the purity of Jesus. God looks at us through the lens of his son. Jesus' perfection is transferred to us.
Paul talks about this transition taking place in connection with our baptism. Rom. 6:4-5, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection."
Paul uses Jesus' death and resurrection to explain what happens to us. Symbolically, when we are baptized we are going through a death, burial and resurrection. We are lowered into the water, symbolizing the death of our old life. We are submerged; we are buried. Then, we come up out of the water as a new creation. Our resurrection has taken place! From there, we walk in newness of life; we live our lives in accordance with our new nature-the spiritual nature. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
That's what Peter was talking about when the people asked what they needed to do to be saved. Acts 2:38, "Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
The resurrection of Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and to have the holy Spirit come and take up residence in us. Now we have the power over sin's power. Now we have the ability to overcome temptation. Now we have the capability to do the things of God.
Now we can grow in our walk with Christ to become more like him. Our old behaviors are replaced with Christlike characteristics. Our old way of thinking is replaced with a renewal of our minds. But without the resurrection our new life isn't possible. Jesus' resurrection reveals we can have new life through him.
3) That our faith is valid.
1st Cor. 15:12-20, "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
The religious groups in Jesus' day were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead. They were the ones who came to Jesus about marriage in heaven. They thought they had trapped Jesus but Jesus was never trapped by anyone's questions. So it's possible the people Paul is dealing with were influenced by the doctrines of the Sadducees.
Paul corrects that erroneous thinking and provides hope for the believer. He points to the many witness testimonies of having seen the resurrected Jesus, including he himself. He started this chapter by talking about the witnesses, including more than 500 people at one time; most of whom were still alive if the doubters wanted to seek them out to get verification. Could that many people have been delusional?
Paul reasoned that if Jesus had not raised from the dead then there is no hope of salvation; we are still in our sins, destined for eternity in hell. In that case there's no reason to preach; no reason to have faith. Faith in what? Faith in who? Faith in the one who said he was going to come back to life but failed to do so? Faith in the God who said of Jesus, 'this is my son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him'?
Without the resurrection there is no reason to have faith in God-period. Therefore, if there is no resurrection from the dead and here we are having faith and preaching Jesus then we are to be pitied more than those who don't have faith because we are fools who are wasting our lives going around preaching this Jesus who wasn't who he said he was and didn't do what he said he would.
Paul could say, "I must be the biggest fool of them all because of all the risks I've taken. Being beaten and thrown in prison, being shipwrecked, being pelted with stones and left for dead; all for something that isn't even true."
Not that the virtues of Christianity are not worthwhile to follow; not that we're worse off to abstain from things that are harmful to us. Not that it doesn't do us any good to operate in goodness and love. But if at the end of it all it doesn't result in spending eternity in the presence of God then we are without hope and will be sorely disappointed.
But, Paul ends by making the point that none of these negative scenarios are true because Jesus did in fact raise from the dead. I could hear Paul say, "and if for some reason you don't believe it, go and find his body? Go and dig up his bones. Here, I'll even give you a shovel; have at it. And when you come back empty-handed, hopefully you'll be convinced".
The evidence and eye-witness testimonies of the resurrected Jesus reveals our faith is valid.
4) That we will resurrect also.
1st Thess. 4:13-18, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
In our last passage and this one, Paul uses the term, 'those who have fallen asleep'. This refers to Christians who have died. But Paul uses the term, fallen asleep, because they will be woken, raised back to life. Their death is temporary but their life is eternal.
Jesus was the firstfruits, he is the first to be raised from the dead to be alive forever more. Other people, like Lazarus, were raised from the dead before Jesus was, but Lazarus would die again where Jesus would not. However, though Christians die physically, we have the sure hope of being raised back to life like Jesus was-never to die again.
This is our hope; this is what we have to look forward to. In this world we will have troubles and heartache. We will have persecutions and sorrows. This is the curse of living in the world. Obviously being a Christian has numerous blessings and joys, but the reality that we live in a fallen world is all around us and we are subject to the perils therein.
But to have eternal pleasures to look forward to, to have the blessed hope of someday being with Jesus, to have the thrill of seeing our loved ones who have gone before us is an unparalleled joy.
Earlier I talked about Jesus telling his disciples that he is the way, the truth and the life. He also said he was going to heaven to prepare a place for them and that he would return to take them back to be with him. That message wasn't just for them, but for all who would believe.
The fact that Jesus is in heaven preparing a place for us is exciting. If you were going to visit someone and they told you, 'I've got the guest room all set up for you. It has all the things you like', that would make you feel special, wouldn't it? That's what Jesus is doing. He may be preparing your custom place right now! We have waiting for us an eternal inheritance.
1st Pet. 1:3-4, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you."
This is what we have waiting for us; isn't that wonderful! Since Jesus rose from the dead, we too will rise from the dead. Jesus is coming back to take us to heaven to be with him forever. Jesus' resurrection reveals that we will be raised to life also.
