“I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25,26
The matter of the resurrection concerning that of Christ, and now the believer, is what we might call the “hinge of history.” Why? It deals with the most fundamental question that man, as a created and now lost individual, can have, because it deals with the matter of death, and life eternal at the same time. Ever since the Garden of Eden when God told Adam that if he partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that he would die, the matter of death entered into this world, with its specific application to the life and existence of all men. And though there would be somewhat of an exception with a few individuals, like Enoch and Moses, even they put off all that was of this earth, to be clothed with the beauty of Christ in heaven. Hence, every man, woman, and child, would face the issue of death. In the face of this unmovable mountain, from a human standpoint, there arises a hope, a certain hope, which is the anchor of the soul. It is the hope of the resurrection from the dead, life after death, and the certainty of its holy, eternal character, as is found in Christ. Paul puts it like this, when he writes to the Roman believers:
“For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” (5:15) He goes on by writing: “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (5:17)
In other words, God has provided an answer to the stark reality of death, and it is Life by Christ. So, why consider the matter of Christ’s resurrection? There is in that singular event, not only the declaration of an eternal hope in the face of a dark certainty, but the confirmation of death being destroyed, having lost is hold on the sinner. The resurrection was the declaration of God that there is a power, a Person, who is greater than death, and this proved by Him overcoming it. That declaration was not only a show of His greatness, and victorious Life, but a proclamation of a widespread work throughout the world, and available to all men, that they should know individually its effects. So, what is there about the resurrection of Christ, and the following manifest work in men, that is so very important to grasp?
The first thing to see is that the “resurrection” of which Christ spoke was not principally a material, or physical one, though the effects of it would extend to this. It was a defiance of the power of sin to hold the individual soul in its eternal grip. But it was also the manifestation of the Christ, the Person and Power of God. Many years before Christ came to earth to reveal to us God’s way to be saved, He revealed to Moses His name: “I AM THAT I AM.” This He did, so that the people of Israel could grasp something of His eternal, unchanging, character and nature, but also, that He was perpetually present for man. When Jesus spoke to Martha after the death of Lazarus, He declared to her: “I am the resurrection and the life.” (Jn. 11:25) In that moment is revealed to the whole of mankind, in a small circumstance to a single believing woman, the basis and essence of the hope of every believer. Christ is the hope of the soul in the face of death. He would prove this to be true by His own resurrection, but at the same time, it would be a faithful declaration, that the power of His resurrection belonged to all who believe.
Dear Father, Show forth Thy power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.