Resurrection

(Originally posted 3/22/2011)

Many children raised in Christian homes do not understand the meaning of Resurrection Sunday. They might choose the correct answer on a multiple-choice test but would flunk an open-ended question (“Why do we celebrate Easter?”). Open-ended questions provide the best measurement of understanding.

Fortunately, some of these kids will later appreciate the meaning of the holiday. They will learn that Easter is not about bunnies, baskets and ham, but the resurrected Savior. There were no bunnies at the tomb as far as we know. The women may have carried baskets, but we know that Jesus never tasted ham.

Similarly, Jesus’ disciples understood many of His teachings only in retrospect. After the resurrection, the disciples finally understood that He had to die an atoning death and then be raised.

A man went to a psychiatrist with a problem.

“Doc,” he explained, “I keep being plagued by two recurring dreams. One is a dream that I am a wigwam. In my other dream, I dream I am a teepee. Doc, you gotta help me. Am I going crazy? Is there something wrong with me?”

“Relax,” consoled the psychiatrist. “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re just two tents.”

The subject of tents was something Paul the Apostle took seriously. He was a skilled tentmaker by trade. Because tents were not far from Paul’s mind, he was in familiar territory when he compared life’s temporary nature to tent dwelling.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead with a glorified body is a foundational truth of the New Testament. In fact, “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (NKJV, 1 Cor. 15:17-19).

But how can we be absolutely sure that He rose from the dead three days after He died on the cross for our sins? Even one of the 12 apostles denied His resurrection: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Eight days later, Thomas saw Him in the upper room, and exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

But how can we say what doubting Thomas finally confessed if we have not seen Christ as Thomas did? Our Lord gave the answer to him and to all men everywhere: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

(About this series)

CHAPTER III THE CERTAINTY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD

BY REV. R. A. TORREY, D. D.
(Copyrighted by R. A. Torrey in Great Britain and America and published herewith by permission. {sic}

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the corner-stone of Christian doctrine. It is mentioned directly one hundred and four or more times in the New Testament. It was the most prominent and cardinal point in the apostolic testimony. When the apostolic company, after the apostasy of Judas Iscariot, felt it necessary to complete their number again by the addition of one to take the place of Judas Iscariot, it was in order that he might “be a witness with us of His resurrection” (Acts 1:21, 22). The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the one point that Peter emphasized in his great sermon on the Day of Pentecost. His whole sermon centered in that fact. Its key-note was, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32, cf. vs. 24-31). When the Apostles were filled again with the Holy Spirit some days later, the one central result was that “with great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” The central doctrine that the Apostle Paul preached to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on Mars Hill was Jesus and the resurrection. (Acts 17:18, cf. Acts 23:6; 1 Cor. 15:15.) The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the two fundamental truths of the Gospel, the other being His atoning death. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:1. 3, 4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; For I

One morning, about two weeks ago, I woke to the sound of my four-year-old son screaming at the top of his lungs. In a response that has become more instinct than will, I jumped out of bed and ran to find him. He was in the bathroom, standing in front of the toilet, wailing with all the angst and fury a preschooler can muster against the injustice of life. His stuffed rabbit—the one that has been with him since birth, the one that we search for every night before bed, the one that has accompanied us on every road trip, vacation, and doctor’s visit—was floating in the bowl. And in that moment, I remembered what day it was.

It was Monday.

In our culture, Monday holds a certain psychological mystique. It’s the bully of the week. The day that knocks you down and laughs. The day that steals your lunch money. The day that many of us just hope to survive. In the words of Alexander, Monday is a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

A lot of this is because Monday is the first day back to normal after the weekend. It’s the first day back to business—the first day back to school lunches and briefcases and time cards. The coming week looms large before us, and instead of being invigorated, we feel helpless. Instead of charging forward, carpe diem, we drag and slide and haul ourselves forward, bleary-eyed and overwhelmed.

It is fascinating to see the part women had in the life of God’s Son during His third of a century on this planet. We all know of His arrival in the body of a young virgin and of the encouragement that Elizabeth and Anna gave to her at that time (cf. Luke 1:36-45, 2:36-38).

Then, for 30 years, Joseph and His mother had authority over Jesus (cf. Luke 2:51, Matt. 13:55). Mary suffered much shame in that notorious town of Nazareth for having a son by an unknown father (cf. John 1:46, 8:41, 8:48).

During the three years of His public ministry in Israel, the Savior cured women who were ailing (cf. Matt. 8:14-15, 9:20-22), raised one from the dead (cf. Matt. 9:18-26) and highly praised one for her sacrificial giving (cf. Luke. 21:1-4). He also reached out to “a woman of Samaria” (John 4:7ff.) and to “a woman of Canaan” (Matt. 15:22) in the land of Tyre and Sidon, concerning whom He said: “Great is your faith!” (Matt. 15:28).

Much if not most of the finances that our Lord and His apostles needed came from women who were thankful for his ministry in their own lives (cf. Luke 8:1-3). Also, Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, provided rare hospitality and devotion to Him at Bethany, near Jerusalem (cf. Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-45,12:1-8).

Finally, when the Lord Jesus was betrayed by Judas and abandoned by the other disciples (cf. Matt. 26:47-56), it was women who stayed by our Savior as He was crucified (cf. Matt. 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41). The one named last, Salome, was a sister of Jesus’ mother and the mother of the apostles James and John. Then the apostle John returned to Jesus with these four women (cf. Jn. 19:25-27). Amazing! Of all His disciples, only one man showed such devotion to the end—and four women!

Even more amazing, if possible, is the record of what women did when Jesus died and rose again. When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried the body of Jesus in a special tomb (cf. John 19:38-42), “the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid” (Luke 23:55).

Many children raised in Christian homes do not understand the meaning of Resurrection Sunday. They might choose the correct answer on a multiple-choice test, but most would flunk an open-ended question (“Why do we celebrate Easter?”). Open-ended questions provide the best measurement of understanding.