Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Over the past many years there have been books written and movies made about the fascinating topic of ‘time travel’! If you had the chance to step OUT of your current life in October 2023 and travel to any period in time either back to the past or forward to the future, I wonder what you’d choose and why?
These days were in the thick of investigating one of the most interesting topics known to our human race… resurrection! We need to be sure this is not confused with reincarnation or some other theory. So, how would you describe “resurrection from the dead” as you understand it?
In the Bible we have several examples of the miracle of a dead person being revived and restored to life by the power of God. I wonder if you remember them. May I give you just a few of them and let’s try to understand how the resurrection of Jesus is very different from all the other resurrections recorded for us in the Bible. Why is this important?
Because over the past two days we’ve been looking at the apostle Paul’s very powerful description of both the resurrection of Jesus and the future resurrection from the dead for EVERY human being who has ever lived, including you and me! So, it seems wise to me that we try to understand what this resurrection from the dead miracle that is awaiting us!
1 Kings 17:7-24 is the account of the prophet Elijah who prayed over the dead son of the widow of Zarephath, and the boy was raised back to life. “The LORD heard Elijah’s cry and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him…and gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!”
2 Kings 4:8-37 is the account of the prophet Elisha prayed over the dead son of the Shunammite woman and the child was raised back to life.
Luke 7:11-17 is the account of Jesus who moved with compassion when seeing a widow in a funeral procession, on the way to bury her only son, stopped the procession. Then Jesus said to the grieving widow “Don’t cry”. The record says, “Jesus went up and touched the funeral bier… and Jesus said, ‘young man, I say to you get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother.”
Luke 8:49-55 is the record of Jesus approached by a desperate Synagogue leader whose daughter was dying. Jesus went with Jairus to his home, “…took the dead girl by the hand and said, ‘My child, get up!’. Her spirit returned to her and at once she stood up.”
And finally, perhaps the most famous resurrection of someone other than Jesus is probably Lazarus, who after being dead and buried for four days was raised to life when Jesus approached the tomb and said: “Lazarus, come forth!’ The dead man came out of the tomb, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of burial linen… Jesus said, ‘take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:1-44)
Of all these resurrection miracles, Lazarus is the only one for which the Bible gives us a glimpse of what life was like for the resurrected person AFTER their resurrection. John’s Gospel chapter 12 has the story of Jesus attending a dinner party at Mary, Martha and Lazarus’ home in Bethany the evening before His famous Palm Sunday ride over the Mount of Olives. John records: “…a large crowd of Jews found out Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were believing in Jesus.” (John 12:1-11)
Now my friends there is one major difference between the resurrection of Jesus and that of these other resurrections. Do you know what that is? Jesus was raised to life in His glorified, heavenly, immortal body. All the others, we presume, were resurrected to the same body they had before they died and thus, they continued to age and eventually died normal deaths. Jesus ascended to heaven in His resurrected, glorified body, in full view of many people and Jesus will return to earth again in the same heavenly, glorified body! (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:13-18)
The reason Paul declares: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20,23) is that in our resurrection we too will receive immortal bodies which will live forever, and we assume will be very similar to the resurrected body of Jesus! Now think about that for a moment my friends, what does that mean to you?
Remember yesterday we looked at Paul’s declaration that: “There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. So, it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The human, earthly body that is sown is perishable, but it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor but raised in glory; it is sown in weakness but raised in power; it is sown a natural body but raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor. 15:40-44) You see the contrast of these two bodies as Paul describes them, right? Now consider what Paul wrote next, it’s very powerful and gives us even more insight into these new, heavenly, glorified, immortal bodies God will give us when HE raises us from the dead!
“The first man, Adam, was of the dust of the earth; the second Man, Jesus, is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly Man. I tell you brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed…” (1 Cor. 15:45-52) Oh my now that is powerful, and profound, isn’t it my friends? Do you understand how this predicts what will happen to you and me and every living person?
Do you see this transformation will happen both for those already dead, in their resurrection from the dead, but it will also happen to those who are alive in this moment when the resurrected Jesus returns to earth to gather up ALL those who’ve ever believed in God from the beginning of time, both dead and alive, as Paul described in 1 Thess. 4:13-18? Now there’s so much more, but I think it’s important we pause and ponder right here, right now, and we’ll return to continue tomorrow.
For today I have one important question: Do you see yourself in what Paul has described and are you ready for this amazing, miraculous transformation, which could happen at any moment? Perhaps you’ll want to go back and re-read the Scriptures, I’ve given you today and ask God to help you understand what it means for you. And I’ll meet you back here tomorrow!
Today’s Scripture is 1 Cor.15:40-52.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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