He Is Risen

Herod, king of Judea married and unceremoniously divorced the daughter of Aretus, King of Petra. Her enraged father marched his army up the region west of the Dead Sea and encountered the army of Herod which he decimated.

When the time of the Jewish Passover arrived Herod lacked sufficient forces to adequately supervise the festival. The lack of military governing forces was compounded by the furor over the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, when the Jews involved in the crucifixion came asking for a guard to be placed at the tomb Herod said, “You have a guard, go and make the tomb secured.” His reference was to the Jewish Temple Guard. The guards at the tomb were Jews not Romans.

I hasten to acknowledge this is in no way a condemnation of the Jewish race. All associated guilt was related to those involved at the time with no generational guilt.

It is the commemoration of an incomparable impossibility defied by an unsurpassable reality. As a confirmation of His divine nature and transformative role Jesus’ lifeless corps was reinvigorated with vibrant life and He arose from what His Roman executioner pronounced Him as dead.

“He is risen” reverberates through the corridors of the centuries, and rests like a memorable mantle on the celebration called Easter which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is called Easter because the Romans wanted to divert the worship of the sun god Estra into a Christian festive occasion. Estra was the goddess of light. The fact the sun appeared at a certain point on the horizon they associated it with her and called that direction east. To overshadow this fading tradition the church declared the time an occasion to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

The date of His resurrection cannot be fixed for certain but the day can. It was on the first day of the week, Sunday. For many of His followers every Sunday is a celebration of His resurrection. Thus, it is the only holiday celebrated 52 days a year.

Jews have their meaningful Passover celebration and Muslims Ramadan. These are times in which they commemorate meaningful events in their faith.

The concept of a dead man coming back to life is as radical as the sun rising in the west. When it was first preached 5,000 who had been in Jerusalem at the time professed their belief in the fact and were baptized. Within the first century history records that over 5,000,000 were martyred because of the faith in the fact.

When it was first reported in Jerusalem the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of the day, appointed a brilliant young jurist, an intellect of renown, from their ranks to investigate the rumor. He gleaned more information on the case than anyone of the time. It was by him most of the first person facts were recorded. He was Saul from the town of Tarsus. He came to be known as Paul.

At the peril of his life he reported what the investigation revealed. It was contrary to the bias with which he approached the case. He believed it so fully he died in defense of his report.

Inductive reasoning supported his conclusion. Christ was dead. The official death certificate was prepared by His executioners who knew death. His lifeless body was placed in a tomb. Three days later it was gone. If so, it had to be stolen. If stolen by His enemies all they had to do to stop the resulting revolution was present the lifeless body and make a mockery of the sham. If stolen by His friends all they had to do was present His cold dead body and relieve themselves of the resulting persecution. A wave of martyrs has followed those of the first century gaining hope of an afterlife because of their belief in the bodily resurrection. If not stolen by friends or foes there was no one who could have taken it.

The court of man condemned Jesus to death. The appellate court of heaven reversed the decision.

The best news the world ever received came from a graveyard just outside Jerusalem: “He is risen.”

The Docket of Witnesses

Let’s review the resurrection and the aftermath.

         Jesus had died a quivering corpse on a cruel cross.

The Centurion thrust his lance into His side piercing the flesh, slitting the epericordium, and puncturing the heart. 

Calloused Roman soldiers who gambled at the cross cursed and swore – – – –

                “He is dead.”

Elders, whose deception lead to His death attentively listened to the report – 

                “He is dead.”

Sadducees who shunned the supernatural rejoiced to hear – – – – 

                “He is dead.”

Caiaphas, intoxicated with envy, sighed in relief at the account – – – –

                “He is dead.”

His lifeless body was placed in the tomb. Death reached a new depth.

For three days death celebrated around the tomb.

Death’s cold hand stamped His life – – – – “Fiction.”

Death’s dirge drowned out life’s song.

There would be no appeal from His lifeless lips. Then God said – – – – SURPRISE!

Jesus had forced open the old door of death that had been locked since the death of the first person. The Easter story does not end with a funeral, but a festival.

Not a casket, but a celebration. The resurrection deserves not our applause, but our allegiance. Not our compliment, but our compliance with His will. The resurrection is heaven’s amen and earth’s hallelujah. The courts of earth had condemned Jesus to death.

The appellate court of heaven reversed death’s decision and pronounced Him as  being alive.

A variety of people walked with, talked with Him, touched Him, and dined with Him. He was seen indoors, outdoors, on a sunny beach, and on a shadowy roadway. 

Note these observances: “…He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen of James, then all the apostles, Then last of all He was seen by me…”  (I Cor. 15: 5 – 9a). He who was decidedly dead was obviously alive.

In light of these insights make certain you have asked His forgiveness of your sin and committed you life to Him for time and eternity so that you will hear from Him:  “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25: 34).

I’ll Be Back

Reflect on this summary of Jesus’ last days. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (I Corinthians 15:3-8).

A creditable, available body of eye witnesses were still available to testify of having seen the resurrected Christ.

Many of those in the first century were so fully accepting of the fact of His bodily resurrection that millions of them died as martyrs rather than disclaim it.

If these people were not absolutely certain of the resurrection they would not have allowed themselves to be tortured to death in order to proclaim it as fact.

Among those who came to the tomb the morning of the resurrection was the Apostle John who noted the facial napkin. In that era it was thought that life did not leave the body for three days after the person died. A napkin was placed over the face of the “deceased” in the event they revived so they could blow it off and call for help.

Like a detective investigating a crime scene John scanned the chamber looking for clues. In that napkin he found a clue with a message. John reported the napkin was “folded together in a place by itself” (John 20:7).

It was the custom of monarchs that upon the completion of a meal they would crumple their napkin and leave it on the table indicating they had finished and would not be back.

If they were leaving the table with the intent of returning they folded the napkin and left it neatly in place.

In that clue in the tomb Jesus was saying, “I will be back.”

He said, “I will come again and receive you unto myself.”

                                That is the reason to REJOICE!

He left us with many unanswered questions, but not a single one is a “need to know” question. He taught us all we need to know to be able to follow Him. Our inquisitive nature will always have one more question than there is an answer. It’s a good thing. It is a stimulus to our faith.

In light of all the information He left us, what will be your response? Will you have the right answer to His definitive question? It was asked of Simon Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Or, in old English, “Lovest thou Me?” Summarily your faith response embodies your answer. Answer it now with a truthful resounding “Lord, you know I love you” and spend the rest of your life proving it.

Day Eight Sunday: Resurrection

Matthew 28: 5 – 8; John 20: 1 – 23; Luke 4: 4 – 49

What happened on that radical resurrection morning was more of a miracle than it would be for the sun to rise in the west. He arose!

Two approached the grave concerned with the removal of the gravestone in order to prepare it for the final entombment. The stone, to them a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, was a pebble to the Easter angel who had moved it away.

The correlation of the Greek texts of two different gospels reveals the stone had not simply been tilted away from the cave. It had been moved away a great distance uphill. These stones customarily weighed about three thousand pounds.

When God does something He does it right. He can roll away any stone in your path to spiritual truth and maturity.

An angel messenger met the visitors with the most hopeful message:

Matthew simply focuses on the message of one of the two saying:
“HE IS NOT HERE; FOR HE IS RISEN, AS HE SAID,
COME AND SEE THE PLACE WHERE THE LORD LAY.” 

The day of the resurrection was the day —–           

                        THE SON ROSE BEFORE SUNRISE. 

The angel said: “Fear not!” The Greek verb tense used means “stop being afraid.” All His little cadre of friends could say was, “We had HOPED that He was the one to redeem Israel…” (Luke 24:21). Their hope had died. When hope died fear was given birth. In the moment of death everything seems frozen to those grieving.

There was only yesterday – there was no tomorrow.

They were living on the wrong side of the resurrection. Today those who are still searching for some man-made, humanistic solution to our problem are living on the wrong side of the resurrection also. In the resurrection, the empire of joy, peace, and liberty was brought to light.

Biblical Christianity is a faith of promise, not of nostalgia. Its thrust and momentum is always forward. It moves inexorably into the future. It calls us to what lies ahead in Christ. This inspires and enables one to cope. This is the hope Easter inspires, there is reason to find out how to live through the resurrected Son of God who arose before sunrise.

Historian Arnold Toynbee, in his monumental work entitled,  The Study of History, devotes a chapter to saviors. He lists them in four categories:

The savior with a scepter —- the political savior.

The savior with a book —- the philosopher savior.

The savior with a sword —- the militant savior.

The man-god or god-man savior —- those of Greek mythology.

Professor Toynbee points out that each of these finally capitulates to the ultimate enemy, death. Politicians, kings, military leaders, philosophers all die. All of these demi-gods ultimately surrender to death. Then this imminent scholar concludes: “When the last civilization comes to the river of death, there on the other side filling the whole horizon with Himself will be the Savior.”

If someone were to say to you they saw a dead man walking, you might think that person to be a candidate for residence on the “funny farm.” If five were to tell you that you might think it a joke. If ten bonded together with that story you might think it a conspiracy. If 500 said it, at the very least, don’t you think you ought to at least look in the coffin.

These did and so should we.

“Seen” as used in the texts means to behold. It can mean to comprehend. They had experienced the power of an elevating presence.

On Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, we reach the culmination of Holy Week. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event of the Christian faith. The very foundation of all Christian doctrine hinges on the truth of this account:

HE AROSE.       

Day Seven Saturday: In the Tomb

Matthew 27: 62 – 66; Luke 23: 56    

The Pharisees asked Pilate for a guard to be placed at the tomb “Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.”(Matthew 27: 65).

Jewish leaders had asked Pilate for a guard to make certain the tomb was secure. Shortly before this Herod had disgracefully divorced his wife, the daughter of the King of the Nabataeans, Aretas domiciled in Petra. Aretas retaliated by engaging Herod’s forces in battle east of the Dead Sea. Herod’s forces suffered heavy losses in the battle. There were scarcely enough to keep the peace during the festival apart from Roman soldiers. In response to the request made of Pilate the scarceness of Jewish forces prompted Him to say, “You have a guard.” It is commonly thought he was giving them a guard. However, it is more likely he was saying “You have a guard, your Temple Guard, use the guard you have.” This being true there were not members of Herod’s forces or Roman soldiers at the tomb resurrection morning, but Jewish members of the Temple Guard.

Jesus’ body lay in its tomb, where it was guarded throughout the day on Saturday, which was the Sabbath. When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m., Christ’s body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by Nicodemus:

“He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth” (John 19: 39-40).

Nicodemus, like Joseph of Arimathea, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court that had condemned Jesus Christ to death. For a time, both men had lived as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community.

Similarly, both were deeply affected by Christ’s death. They boldly came out of hiding, risking their reputations and their lives because they had come to realize that Jesus was, indeed, the long-awaited Messiah. Together they cared for Jesus’ body and prepared it for burial.

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (I Peter 1:18-19, NLT).

While his physical body lay in the tomb, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin by offering the perfect, spotless sacrifice. He conquered death, both spiritually and physically, securing our eternal salvation.

At sundown on Saturday gloom had engulfed hope, death mocked life, angels wept and demons laughed, BUT Sunday is coming.