A New Testament Moment
It is never out of season to study through the life of Christ, especially pausing to consider the impact of His Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection. That is what I was doing last night as I picked back up with Christianity Explored, my subscribed reading plan on the YouVersion.com app.[1]
I was “behind” in my personal daily reading schedule[2], so I read a few days’ worth of sessions at once, viewing the accompanying video clips. The whole house was dark and quiet since our two boarders were away for a few days and my husband was already asleep. A storm had just passed in the early part of the evening and all seemed cozy and safe inside. In the quietness of night, there was no schedule to make me feel like I should be doing something else. There was no one to interrupt my thoughts with questions or concerns that usually entail a redirect of the day. Christ’s life received the full focus of my attention.
Each daily scripture reading in the reading plan is reinforced by a video from the Christianity Explored discipleship study series that helps me to consider the passage from my own modern context. So it was that I came upon the passage in Mark 15:42-47 and Mark 16:1-9 that tells what events occurred just after Jesus’ death on the cross. In the video, Rico Tice walked viewers through the various evidences that verify Jesus’ death:
* Joseph of Arimathea, a “prominent member of the Council” (of the Sanhedrin), “who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God”, went “boldly” to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body;
* Curious that Jesus should have died such a mercifully early death, since crucifixion was designed to draw death out torturously, the official governor, Pilate, summoned the attending centurion to verify that Jesus was indeed dead;
* The attending centurion did indeed verify to the governor the actual, physical death of Jesus Christ;
* Joseph of Arimathea was given Jesus’ body for burial, whereupon Joseph took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped “the body” in linen, and placed “it” in a tomb cut out of a rock;
* a huge, heavy stone was rolled against the entrance to the tomb and sealed shut;
* Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw (took note of) where he was laid [so that they could come back later to anoint the dead body];
* When the Sabbath came (three days and two nights later—a long time to be entombed in an airless cave),
* Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought [burial] spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ dead body;
* As they walked to the sealed, airless tomb, just after sunrise, they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” for it was too heavy for women or even one man to unseal and remove.
These facts show there was every expectation from all parties involved that the physical body of Jesus Christ was truly dead. As Rico says, this generation knew the actual definition of physical death. We can’t look away from the evidence, especially the evidence of the attending Roman centurion who verified death. Again, as Rico says, it was the very business of the Roman guards to know how to ensure death, such was their reputation and responsibility.
Given these assurances, I began to think about those loved ones in my life who have passed away recently. I wonder what it must have felt like for the disciples and for the wider public who eventually also saw and spoke with their own loved one, Jesus Christ. What were the turnings of mind for them as they encountered this phenomena?
In 2023, I attended my precious mother’s death. I have, in the past, also attended my beloved father’s and step-father’s death. I have seen the physical changes that death brings. Death is unmistakable. So what would it be like for me if the grave of any of my loved ones suddenly appeared open and empty? What would I think and do if my dear late brother-in-law suddenly appeared in my home? What if I walked and talked and even ate a meal with any of these loved ones after so long in the grave? Just think of one deceased loved one and consider the drama of it. It boggles the mind to consider it! But this was the actual experience of Mary and the other women and of the disciples, and then later of many others in the community—at one time numbering 500 (Luke 22:44-49; Acts 1:3-8)! This was their new reality.
Jesus is Unique
But my comparison is not equal. Jesus walked about the entire region of Judea and Samaria preaching and teaching about spiritual truths, upending the religiosity that had clouded those truths and even foretelling his own death and resurrection. My relatives did no such thing to predicate their proposed resurrection.
So my mind must turn to this unique man at the center of all history. Even our historical timeline finds its past and future rays extending from the single axis-point of his Incarnation to our world. If this man should appear before me today as he did for the disciples, and if I had now the limits of knowledge and understanding that they had then (i.e., without the benefit of the New Testament scriptures), I would very quickly re-evaluate what I thought I knew to be true about life and reality.
1. I would reconsider the laws of nature and who was sovereign over them. Think about it! The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is no myth, but historical reality. We normally understand death to be final on the physical level. We might even entertain a spiritual (i.e., “ghostly”) resurrection, but what of a physical one?
Jesus Christ died a physical death. He arose physically, walking and talking and even eating a meal with his disciples (i.e., digestion). Jesus had previously raised his friend Lazarus from the dead in the midst of a loudly wailing mourning party and a group of closely watching priests (John 11:1-44). That was enough to tell anyone that this Jesus was unique and had “powers” above any ordinary man. His power was supernatural (“above nature”). This fact alone defeats the materialist worldview.
Yet what do we make of Christ’s own death and self-Resurrection? This is what we are considering here, and it is significantly more overwhelming in its scope of impact. Jesus doesn’t just manipulate the laws of nature; He, Himself, is Sovereign over all—quite as if He were the creator of the world! Jesus had already said as much (John 8:48-59)[3], and now we are forced to take Him at His word.
What impact does Jesus’ Creatorship of this world have for me? For one, life and death are clearly not mere scientific realities, but they are spiritual realities as well. There is something beyond mere physicality for me to reckon with. There is Person, not just material. There is personality, and not just the stuff of mortal observance. I am suddenly not in control—someone else is, andalways has been! This leads me to the next consideration.
2. I would reconsider the whole idea of authority. The Jews had lived for hundreds of years under the authority of the Mosaic law in all manner of victory and suffering. In Jesus’ time, they were under two oppressions: a physical Roman occupation and an enlarged, elitist spiritual rule by the priests and scholars of their own law. It is at the point of His Resurrection that Jesus suddenly takes center-stage even more than He had during His ministry of teaching and miracles. All that Jesus taught before now takes precedence over both Roman and Judaic rule. Jesus has just enacted authority over life and death and all that lies in the between!
Jesus spoke of sin and forgiveness of sin—I now take Him seriously and consider my own sin. I begin to entertain the miracle that peace with God is being offered to me without ritual or the intervention of man (i.e., priests), but based solely on this one Person’s substitutionary death and Resurrection.
Jesus spoke of freedom and liberty of soul for the poor and oppressed—my mind now begins to “breathe” in the possibility of my own freedom from all manner of poverty and oppression! This would include poverty of spirit (e.g., depression, anxiety, miserliness and despair). It would include spiritual oppression as well as physical. Chased by thoughts of destruction and evil? Jesus offers hope for life and freedom from evil! Even physical suffering that leads to physical death would no longer have a “sting” for me, for there is life and freedom and peace beyond the grave!
Jesus spoke of loving our “Father” God and loving my fellow man as the two greatest commandments of God (Matthew 22:36-40)—I now understand that this was not a mere suggestion, but a life principle with Christ the Supreme Exemplar. Whatever Jesus has said on love before, and is now saying in His Resurrected form, I now take to heart. He once said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” and Jesus did just that! He has shown that He is the author of all Truth and Integrity. He, alone, is the Authority on love. How can I, in His light, live otherwise?
3. I would realize that this Jesus must be my personal Savior and Lord. No other leader of any other religion has ever been preceded by hundreds of years of prophecy about his life and death, and then fulfilled those prophecies on his own, including self-Resurrection from the power of death. Jesus stands alone in all of history in this. If I were to experience his physical resurrection for myself, I would (as many did) bow down and humbly offer myself in His service. I would attach my very life to his. As one wise young man I know once said, at the very least “Jesus is the only one who makes sense of reality.” His life and teaching is the only consistently plausible truth. It follows for me that if He is all these things—Sovereign Creator and Authority over my life, then I should respond and follow Him in obedience as my Savior (Who has liberated me from my sin) and my Lord (my Master) forever. It would be, and it is even now in the mere consideration of it, an automatic response, for I can conceive of no other practicable alternative!
Alternative Responses
These were not the responses of many living in Jesus’ time, however. The Bible very transparently tells us that not every one believed, even when their family members, friends and neighbors testified as eyewitnesses. Even this miracle was given the “fake news” treatment by the very priests who were so afraid of Jesus that they had to release a guilty prisoner in order to have this sinless, innocent man killed. It was not the first time they had tried (Luke 4:28-30), but now they were frantic!
I can imagine how I would feel if all “our” corporate power was not only threatened (as in the passage in Luke) but was now permanently demolished! As one erudite and wise Pharisee later warned his fellows against persecuting Peter and the other apostles for their testimony: “And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God” (Acts 5:38-39 KJV). They were effectively between two extremely uncomfortable responses: accept that Jesus is true and lose all credibility and take on the responsibility of having killed the Messiah, or persecute the eyewitnesses to hush them up and risk war with God Himself. Some of them wisely chose belief, though desire for control, we know full well, is hard to eradicate (Acts 15:5).
It seems to me that the difference in reaction to Christ’s ultimate Lordship has to do with the condition of the heart. For many who were actively looking for a Savior, Jesus’ Resurrection was proof positive that God is true and that God is love and that there is mercy and forgiveness in His Son. But for those who were mired in the guilt of their sin, such good news only brought fear—fear of being found out, fear of being judged, fear of having the fruits of their sin discovered and taken away, fear of what to do when the status quo is no longer operable and I am without control over my own life or life in general. I imagine it is the same with us today. And I get it. I’ve been there.
Conclusion
My own reaction to this “you are there” exercise of the imagination, coming from the standpoint of having already submitted to Christ, will not necessarily be the same as my readers’. I have already taken by faith that all God’s Word is true, so the imagined impact of it all only strengthens my faith and causes me to love Him all the more. And I rejoice in the grace of God that allowed me to come to Him at an early age and every day since.
What about you? Take a moment to reflect what it would be like for you “if you were there” at His Resurrection—imagine for a moment that it was all true after all. What shifts would occur in your thinking? What might you actually feel in your body and in your spirit?
For me, one last change would take place. I would follow Him wherever He led me to go. This is true within the concept of “Lordship”, but this is more a “feet on the ground” observation of feeling. It is active. It is not something that merely “is” (Christ’s Lordship), but something that I do in response: I obey.
Jesus would become my one focal point of life. Whatever He said, I would be inclined to obey (however imperfectly I could actually achieve that obedience). Jesus would be my new reason for living. If He is true, and He is alive, then He, as my Author, Savior and Lord, would command me entirely and, given His message of love and forgiveness, I would relinquish self-command most willingly.
Here is where I am on level ground with every person in this exercise. I do not obey like this, because the reality of Christ becomes fuzzy with daily concerns and schedules. That is why last night was so special! Christ reached out to me through His Word in the quiet stillness of night and reminded me that He is the True Light of the World. The implications for me is a renewed desire to live for Him because I love Him. I realize anew that I have been wielding imaginary control in life with far too many failures to show for it, and with the promise of only more and worse ones to follow! I need help. I need Truth, a path toward cleanness and purity. I need a Savior, and a merciful one at that! I need Jesus, the Son of the Living God and His Holy Spirit. Upon this re-imagining exercise, I renew my pledge.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, beloved Son of the Heavenly Father, and my Lord, Thank you for coming to us as You had already planned to do at the foundation of the world. You came from Your throne and position in heaven, immortal, invisible, to become visible in human flesh for our sake! You did not want us to be ignorant of Yourself and of Your plan to redeem our guilty, rebellious souls. You lived a sinless life in this broken, threatening, destruction-bound world and in innocence and purity of heart, you willingly gave yourself up to the Roman guards to be unjustly abused, ridiculed, betrayed, beaten and crucified. Even then, it was not the Roman guards or the crucifixion itself which took Your life. You willingly offered up Your holy Spirit to the Father to take upon yourself the guilt of our sin and thereby satisfy the death-wages. But oh, my Lord and Savior! You rose again in LIFE! Real, true life, so that I, too, may rise from the ashes of my former sinful self and know abundant clean and wholesome life now and life with You forever. And this is not the end but only the beginning, for there is meaning and purpose in life, not just for this world, but for the world to come. I tremble at the magnificence of the truth of it all! And yet, there are those who are in fear of meeting You. I ask, dear Lord, that you melt their sin-based fear and install a new kind of fear, a respect for You and a love that casts out all fear of punishment. Open up their eyes to see You in all Your beauty and truth. Let them come to You for salvation. Lord, I lift them up by name. . . .I pray for those reading this now, and for so many more. In grateful praise and gladly humbled spirit, I pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
© by ReadPsalm119.com. PHOTO: Loch Ness, Scotland, UK 2017 by ReadPsalm119.com.
Footnotes:
[1] The free (non-monetized) YouVersion Bible App, a digital ministry of Life.Church. Life.Church is “a multi-site church that meets in multiple locations across the United States and globally at Church Online.” They are “Christ followers who create biblically centered, culturally relevant experiences to help people grow closer to God. This interactive app provides community, the Bible online and in audio form, reading plan subscriptions, and is available in 1,750+ languages. You can add your own Prayers, Verse Images, Highlights, Bookmarks, and notes. This app is available from the App Store or Bible.com or YouVersion.com. Note: Though I have personally enjoyed this app and give information about it here, I do not necessarily endorse its full content since I have not seen its entire content (e.g., every Bible translation offered).
[2] “Jesus: The Man Who Changed History” is the title of this Reading Plan which is the alternative title for Christianity Explored (CE). To access Christianity Explored on its own, go to ChristianityExplored.org and either remain on the international site, or click to enter the North American site.
[3] When Jesus said “…before Abraham was, I am…”, Jesus was addressing himself as Jehovah, the Almighty God, the “I Am” (i.e., “I exist”). This was how God identified Himself to Moses, the name God chose for Himself to His people. The name is meant to signify that He has no beginning and no ending, but is Eternal and therefore Sovereign in nature and authority. It is at this point that Jesus is identified Himself as co-equal and co-existent with the Father as the second Person of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Given that Genesis 1:1-2 tells us that God (using the plural “we/us”) is the Creator of the World, Jesus is also thereby saying he is outside of time as we know it and is co-existent with the Creator. John confirms this in John 1:1-3, the later apostle Paul confirms it in 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Colossians 1:16, and the author of Hebrews confirms it in Hebrews 1:2-3.
