As Easter Sunday approaches, our thoughts turn towards the resurrection of Christ. This is a central theme of the gospel. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation.
I want to explore this idea of resurrection, and why it is so important.
Job 14:7-14 7 “For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground,
9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant.
10 But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he?
11 As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.
13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes.
There is a universal appeal of the concept of life after death – all the major religions have it, to some degree. Mankind in general believes that we have a higher plane of existence than the animals – that this life is not all there is, that there awaits us a whole new world when we leave this one.
Even reincarnation promises a goal; it is the “work your way to heaven” idea. People can see that most individuals in this world are not too good (including themselves), so they extend that working process over several lifetimes. Kind of like a spiritual evolution on an individual basis.
The universal belief in life after death comes from the fact that man was created an immortal spirit – on the inside, everyone knows that there is more to their existence than this life.
Death is an Enemy
We weren’t built to die. Our whole being rebels against it. Even we as Christians, who believe in a wonderful life after death, fight to remain alive. If you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, would you think, “Oh boy, I’m going to die!” The bridge from this life to the next is a frightening one, an unknown.
But there is more to it than that – somehow we know that death is a trespasser, a usurper – it really shouldn’t happen.
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
What do you do with an enemy? You fight him. You rebel. You do whatever you can to ward off his influence.
Man has not had the power to stave off death, but has in many cases been able to prolong life through medicine.
What is a Resurrection?
It is more than life after death, it is the defeat, the undoing of death. It is receiving back a transformed body that will not wear out or grow old, and will never be subject to death again.
There are several examples of people being raised from the dead in the Bible:
In the Old Testament, Elijah raises the widow’s son. Elisha’s bones raise a dead soldier back to life.
In the New Testament, Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter, the widow from Nain’s son, and Lazarus.
But these were not full resurrections – all these people died again! All these had died before they had a chance to live a full lifetime, and this was undone so they were able to live that full life.
As a Christian, when we die we immediately go to be with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
But this is not resurrection!
As wonderful as it is, we still are not complete, we are still only two thirds of the way there.
Romans 8:18-23 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
I Am the Resurrection
There is only One who has experienced the full resurrection from the dead – Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Christ’s resurrection was prophesied. Peter preached a sermon about it on the day of Pentecost, quoting from Psalm 16:
Acts 2:22-31 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know–
23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
25 For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
Matthew 12:39-40 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus bore our sins not only to the grave, but to the deepest part of hell, suffering in our place. The cohorts of Satan had Jesus captured, surrounded, and were mocking and torturing Him. In the balances of justice were the sufferings of Jesus on one side, and the sins of every human being who has ever lived on the other.
When it was enough and the price was paid, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to quicken (make alive) Jesus, and He was transformed from a beaten, sin laden wretch to the Holy One of God in an instant. A particularly one sided battle occurred, where Jesus defeated Satan before all his minions, and stripped him of his authority over death, hell, and the grave.
Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Ephesians 1:19-21 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
HE IS RISEN!
Resurrection of the Believer
He that believes in Jesus will experience the same kind of resurrection that He did.
John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
First of all, just as He was laden with sin (although it was our sins He bore, not His), and was changed from death to life in the spirit, so we also become new creations in Christ when we are born again.
Then, ascending up from hell, he stopped by the tomb to pick up His body, which was transformed into a glorified, eternal body.
We have not experienced that yet. But we can look forward to the day when we will turn in this old, worn out flesh for a body like His that will neither grow old nor die.
1 Corinthians 15:47-55 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed–
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
Belief in the Resurrection is essential to the Christian faith
Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise.
16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
What does a person have to do to receive the resurrection from the dead, and a new body?
Nothing! Everyone will experience a resurrection, believers and unbelievers alike.
John 5:24-29 24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29 and come forth–those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Acts 24:15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.
All will be raised, all will receive new, immortal bodies, all will live eternally – but where do you want to spend that eternity?
Those that believe in Jesus, and have accepted Him as Lord, will spend it with Him. Those that don’t, will spend it with the devil.
Conclusion
We began with Job asking the question, “if a man dies, will he live again?”
And we end with Job answering his own question:
Job 19:25-27 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
