The dead are raised

Luke 7:11-23 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

¹¹ Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” ¹⁷ This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

¹⁸ The disciples of John reported to him about all these things. ¹⁹ Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord,²⁰ When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’” ²¹ At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. ²² And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Yesterday was the day Christians remembered Christ’s Passion, His sacrifice suffering the painful death of crucifixion for the sins of all mankind. Tomorrow we celebrate the resurrection. The empty tomb the truth that Jesus died and now lives, that He Himself was raised from the dead is what makes our faith so different than any other. The resurrection truly is the greatest event in human history.

In today’s text we see that Jesus, as scripture says:  is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)      And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.    Not only did Jesus rise from the dead, but as He said to Martha before raising Lazarus from the dead:   "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies. (John 11:25)

Later in today’s text, John the Baptist, who was in prison, sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask: Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else? Jesus answer to them was: , “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them…      

The power of resurrection was/is a part of who Jesus is. When we look at the accounts of Jesus on the cross we see again that resurrection power was part of the work of the cross, an important part of Jesus work and mission. Matthew 27:50-53 says: Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

⁵¹ Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.    Verse 54 continues saying:  So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”     They believed.

When Jesus said to Martha:  “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”        He said, “Do you believe this?”    Martha’s answer was:   “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”   She believed.

Jesus answer to John and his disciples was that they should look at the evidence see the miracles and the resurrection of the dead and believe.

For us today, on this day between the crucifixion and the resurrection, we too need to answer that question, do you believe? Do you really believe Jesus Christ suffered and died for your sins, was placed in a tomb and rose again from the dead. Many today believe that the story of the resurrection is just that, a story. They believe it is the happy ending to a story written and told by men. Even many who believe Christ was a great man and a great teacher believe the resurrection was symbolic of eternity in heaven.

The young man in today’s text, while he may now be in heaven, was raised back to this life. Lazarus was not raised into eternity but resurrected back to this life. Others too were raised, resurrected from death to life, here on earth. Jesus, when He came back to His disciples:   Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” ³⁷ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. ³⁸ And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. (Luke 24: 36-40)

Do you believe? Can you say, like Martha:   “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”  I believe that You gave Your life as a sacrifice for my sin. I believe that because You live, I too can live. I believe that through the power of the cross and the resurrection I will have eternal life and even more I do have resurrected life here and now, the abundant life that You said You came to give. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and the Life; precious Holy Spirit, the same Spirit Who raised Christ form the dead, who dwells in me. I believe.   Amen.