The Resurrection

John 20:1-18

Today is Easter Sunday, the day of celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, the most glorious day in all of human history.  Naturally all four Gospel accounts record this event, each with their own unique perspectives and details.  Today we will look at the Resurrection from the Apostle John’s perspective, and see what the Lord would teach us.

It was now the third day since the crucifixion of Jesus.  Since the body of Jesus was removed from the cross late in the afternoon on Friday, with sunset, and thus the Sabbath, quickly approaching, the women did not have time to appropriately wash and anoint His body for burial.  Nothing could be done on Saturday, the Sabbath, so early Sunday morning was the first chance the women had to perform this needed final loving gesture for the Savior.  There were several women who went to the tomb, but John focused only on one of them, Mary Magdalene (vs. 1).

When she arrived at the tomb Mary saw that the large stone had been removed from the entry.  Typically the stones that would be placed in front of a tomb were 5-6 feet in diameter, and a foot thick.  They would weigh 3,000 - 4,000 pounds.  This would require several strong men to roll away the stone, nothing a woman could do.  Additionally, generally a groove was dug in front of the tomb entrance where the stone was placed, making it all the more difficult to move.  Mary Magdalene was alarmed and ran back to tell the disciples.  She knew it wasn’t one of them who did this, as they were too afraid, and she was likely with them the whole weekend.  The guards wouldn’t have done that, so who?  She likely assumed a grave robber as she told Peter.

Peter and John quickly got up and raced to the tomb, and saw the linen cloths lying there undisturbed (vs. 3-10).  The one headcloth was folded and placed separately.  This was not the work of thieves.  It is the quiet, orderly evidence of a risen Lord who left the wrappings behind because He would never need them again.  Jesus’ resurrection body is real, physical, and glorified, not resuscitated, not stolen, nor symbolic.  John saw this and believed (vs 8).  He believed before he actually saw the risen Savior.  His faith was based on evidence and Scripture (vs. 9).

After Peter and John left, Mary Magdalene remained behind.  She was still crying because she still thought someone had taken the body (vs. 11-13).  Mary looked into the tomb, and there she saw two angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of where Jesus had lain while dead.  This is a picture of the two cherubim whose wings were spread over the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.  On the Day of Atonement the High Priest would sprinkle the blood of sacrifice there as atonement for the sins of the people.  The empty tomb became a picture of atonement completed.  The resurrection is God’s declaration that the sacrifice of Jesus was accepted (Romans 4:25).

Mary turned back out of the tomb, and she saw Jesus standing there, though she didn’t recognize Him (vs. 14-17).  She assumed He was a gardener, since Jesus’ tomb was in the garden of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea.  This is an ironic but beautiful detail, since Jesus Christ is the Restorer of Eden.  He asked her why she was crying, and she responded that if He was the one who moved Jesus’ body, to tell her so she could care for it.  Then Jesus spoke her name, “Mary!”  That one word changed everything.  She immediately recognized that it was Jesus who stood before her.  With His one simple word, death becomes life, and crucifixion becomes resurrection for Mary Magdalene.  The world is transformed with the utterance of her name, and our name today.  God knows each one of our names (Isaiah 43:1).  Jesus knows His own personally, individually, and intimately.

Mary Magdalene wanted to run over to Jesus and cling to Him, but He told her no (vs. 17).  Jesus wasn’t forbidding all touch, as He had invited Thomas to touch the nail prints (John 20:27).  He was redirecting Mary’s understanding.  He didn’t want her to cling to Him as if He was staying on earth.  The ascension was coming and a new relationship was beginning.  Jesus would be present with His people through the Holy Spirit.  The Savior’s resurrection is the first stage of His exaltation.  His ascension will complete His return to the Father.  Believers now relate to Him by faith, not physical proximity.

Mary Magdalene became the first herald of the resurrection as she told the disciples that she had actually seen the risen Savior (vs. 18).  In the first century women were not considered reliable legal witnesses.  Yet God chose a woman to be the first witness of the resurrection.  If the Gospel writers were inventing a story, they would not have chosen Mary as the first witness.

As we celebrate the Resurrection, let us consider what the Bible teaches us.  The bodily resurrection of Jesus is central to the Gospel (I Corinthians 15:3-4).  It is not symbolic or spiritualized.  It is literal and physical.  Only God can conquer death.  The resurrection vindicates every claim Jesus made.  The empty tomb is God’s “Amen” to “It is finished.”

Who Are You Standing With?

John 18:15-18, 25-27

Most of us have heard the phrase “being in the wrong place at the wrong time”, or something similar to that.  Often that happens accidentally, when someone by chance just happened to be in a location when something bad happened.  Occasionally, though, a deliberate, but wrong choice of ours can land us in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That is what happened to the Apostle Peter in our Scripture today.  Let’s look at this time, one of the worst hours in Peter’s life.

It was late at night when the events in our Scripture took place.  Earlier in the evening Jesus had celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples, and then instituted the Eucharist.  Following that, He took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, then selected Peter, James, and John to accompany Him while praying.  Then Judas Iscariot led a group of soldiers and others to the garden where Jesus was arrested and led away.  Most of the disciples then ran off into the night.  However, as we read, Peter and John followed behind at a distance, undetected by the authorities of the High Priest.  This is where our Scripture begins.

After Jesus’ arrest, He was brought to the home of the High Priest, both Annas and then Caiaphas.  As we read in verse 15, the Apostle John was known to the household of the High Priest.  Though the Bible doesn’t specifically indicate how, many Bible scholars believe it was through his family’s business connections.  John’s father, Zebedee owned a successful fishing business along the Sea of Galilee, lucrative enough for them to have servants.  It is possible that he supplied fish and other delicacies to the high priest.  Since John was known to the household, he was allowed entry into the courtyard, and a word from John to a servant girl allowed Peter entry, as well (vs. 15-16).

As we look at Peter, we can see that his love for Jesus was real.  He didn’t flee with the others when Jesus was taken.  However, he followed “at a distance” (Matthew 26:58).  Spiritual danger often begins when we are at a distance from Jesus.  A Christian can have sincere affection for Jesus, yet fall into sin when relying on the flesh rather than the Spirit.

Shortly after entering the courtyard a servant girl noticed Peter and asked him whether he was a disciple of Jesus (vs. 17).  That struck fear into Peter, and rather than trusting God and relying on His power and strength, he answered her that he wasn’t, the first denial.  The fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25).

The time was after midnight, in the very early morning hours in early spring, and it had gotten chilly out.  Someone had started a warming fire in the courtyard, and people were gathering around it to keep warm while they waited for news about what was going on inside the high priest’s house.  Many of these folks would have been enemies of Jesus, the others probably at best indifferent to Him.  Yet Peter chose to stand among them just to keep warm (vs. 18).  He had come into the courtyard to find out what happened to Jesus, but he would have been better off to have stayed outside.  Peter is in the wrong place, with the wrong people, doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time.  Now Peter was standing with Jesus’ enemies.  That is never a good place to stand!

While Peter stood around the fire, a second person questioned whether he had been one of Jesus’ disciples (vs. 25).  Again, Peter vehemently denied being with or knowing Jesus.  If we aren’t carefully on guard, sin becomes easier the second time around.  Repetition hardens the conscience, and Peter’s heart was moving from fear to entanglement.

Also standing by the fire was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off while trying to defend Jesus at His arrest (vs. 26-27).  He thought he recognized Peter and said so.  However, Peter denied it a third time.  Right after the words left his mouth, a rooster crowed.  This fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy exactly (John 13:38).  Peter’s failure did not surprise Jesus.  He had already prayed for him (Luke 22:31-32).  This rooster crowing was not a condemnation of Peter.  It was conviction.  It was the sound of God calling His child back to Him.

Looking back over these short seven verses we can learn some things from Peter.  We know that his intentions were noble (Matthew 26:33), but sincerity is not enough.  The flesh cannot sustain spiritual faithfulness. Peter followed “at a distance”, and that distance became a doorway to denial.  He also made the mistake of warming himself at the enemy’s fire.  Where we place ourselves will shape our spiritual temperature.  Are we more frequently in the company of Jesus’ enemies or His friends?

And though Peter denied Jesus, Jesus did not deny Peter.  He went to the cross for the very sins that Peter was committing.  Though this fall of Peter’s was tragic, it was not purposeless.   Jesus used it to humble, refine, and then prepare Peter for his future ministry.  Jesus prayed for Peter, and He intercedes for us today (Hebrews 7:25).  Our failures do not surprise Him, and they do not exhaust His grace.  Peter’s story does not end here.  Jesus restores, recommissions,, and uses broken people.  Failure is not final for the believer.

Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46

Holy Week is progressing on, and today we shall take a look at an event that occurred on the night before Jesus’ arrest, His corrupt “trial”, and His crucifixion. On that evening Jesus retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to the Father.  This is one of the most sacred moments in Scripture, when the Son of God in Gethsemane prepared to drink the cup of divine wrath for sinners.

As our Scripture passage begins, it is nighttime, and Jesus has taken the eleven disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Earlier that evening they had celebrated the Passover meal together, where Jesus instituted the rite of the Eucharist.  At this time Judas Iscariot departed from them, so there are now only eleven disciples which accompany Him to Gethsemane, a garden which contained olive groves.  Within a short time Jesus would be arrested.  The cross is immediately before Him, not just the physical suffering, but also the spiritual reality of bearing the sins of all mankind and enduring the Father’s wrath.

Jesus left eight of the disciples together and took His three closest companions, Peter, James, and John, further into the Garden to stay with Him while He prayed (vs. 36-38).  Jesus said His soul was “exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.”  This revealed the depth of His anguish.  It was not specifically the fear of physical pain but the horror of becoming sin for us.  Jesus’ sorrow did not diminish His deity.  Instead, it displayed His real humanity and the cost of redemption.

The Lord proceeded further by Himself a short way and then fell down on His face to pray to the Father (vs. 39).  This was a lonely time of prayer for Jesus.  It was humble prayer, as He knelt and then fell on His face.  It was also filial prayer, as a child calling out to His Father.  It was persevering prayer, as He prayed three times.  It was lastly a prayer of resignation.  Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done.  In this prayer the “cup” refers to the cup of divine wrath (Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17).  Jesus expressed a real human desire to avoid the horror of sin-bearing, yet He fully submitted to the Father’s will.

After a first period of prayer to God, Jesus returned to the three disciples and found them asleep (vs. 40-41).  Jesus had asked His disciples to keep watch with Him, for His soul was crushed with grief.  He was in deep agony and pain, yet these faithful few could not stay awake.  He gave the three, and us as well, a timeless warning - to watch and pray that we do not enter into temptation.  Jesus spoke specifically to Peter, as he had earlier boasted of such strong loyalty, yet he couldn’t even stay awake for one hour.  Spiritual failure often comes, not from sudden rebellion, but from neglect, from being prayerless, from complacency, and from overconfidence.

The pattern of prayer and then checking on the three disciples repeated two more times (vs. 42-44).  Jesus’ prayers were consistent, that of submission to the Father’s will.  His agony was so intense that Luke recorded that His sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).  This repetition of prayer for three times showed the depth of His struggle, but also the earnestness of His obedience, along with the reality of His suffering.  Jesus did not resist the Father’s will, He embraced it, even as He felt the full weight of what it meant to be our sin-bearer.

God’s answer to Jesus was no, that it was not possible to redeem mankind without His taking the cup of suffering, by Him bearing the sins of all mankind.  To provide for our salvation, God had to send His Son Jesus to die on the cross.  Jesus bore the pain and isolation of Gethsemane and the cross for us.  How it must have broken the Father’s heart to see His beloved Son in such agony, yet there was no other way to save mankind!

After the third time of prayer, Jesus was now resolute.  He rose from His prayer strengthened, and willingly went to meet His betrayer (vs. 45-46).  Jesus was steadfast, obedient, and ready.  However the disciples were sleepy, unprepared, and fearful.  The disciples’ failure is a warning to us.  Prayerlessness will lead to temptation.  Are we slumbering when we should be watching and praying?  Are we willing to set aside time to press on in prayer?  The flesh is weak, even if our spirit is willing.

Gethsemane shows the depth of Jesus’ love.  He saw the full cost of redemption, and He still chose the cross.  Jesus’ submission to God’s will has brought us eternal blessings.  When we submit to God’s will, we also bring blessings to His world.  Even when His will is costly, it is always right.  In closing, we have a call to action - Watch and pray!

From the Cross to the Crown

Psalm 22

The writers of the New Testament frequently quoted from the Old Testament.  One favorite book that they often quoted from was the Book of Psalms.  Which psalm do you think they quoted from most often?  Would it be the favorite of so many people, Psalm 23?  No, it is the Psalm just prior to that, Psalm 22.  This psalm is filled with prophecies of the suffering and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, each one fulfilled with stunning precision.  Psalm 22 moves from an agonizing lament of suffering to triumphant praise, showing us the path from the cross to the resurrection.  Let’s take a look at this psalm, written by King David.

Psalm 22 doesn’t gently ease us into a look at Jesus’ agony and suffering.  Instead, it jumps right in, opening with a heart-wrenching cry of one who feels abandoned by God (vs. 1).  Jesus quoted this verse from the cross (Matthew 27:46).  This was not a cry of unbelief but one of real abandonment, as Jesus bore our sin (II Corinthians 5:21).  We don’t know what trial David was going through when he wrote this, but he felt alone and abandoned, even from God.  However, he wasn’t really abandoned by Him, as later in this psalm he tells us how he knows that God is holy, trustworthy, a deliverer, a rescuer, and is his strength.

Jesus, though, was abandoned and forsaken by God when He bore the sins of the world on the cross.  Jesus endured the full wrath of God in our place.  God withdrew fellowship as Jesus became sin for us.  As an absolutely holy God, He had to turn His back on Jesus for that moment in time, as He cannot face sin.  Jesus’ grief culminated in suffering the spiritual agony beyond all telling that resulted from the departing of His Father’s presence.  It was the black midnight of horror for Him.  God had really turned away from Jesus for a season.

As we continue in this psalm we read several verses that contain prophecies that were fulfilled that day Jesus was crucified.  In verses 7-8 we read of a prophecy of mockery, which was fulfilled when Jesus was ridiculed, mocked, and laughed at by the people who witnessed and took part in His abuse and execution.  The mockery of Jesus was not random, it was a fulfillment of these verses.  The people who gathered near the cross even repeated similar words to Jesus as those we read here.

Mockery and ridicule was a large part of Jesus’ suffering.  Judas mocked Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The chief priests and scribes laughed and mocked Jesus to scorn.  King Herod mocked Him, the servants and soldiers jeered at Him, and brutally insulted Him.  Pilate and his guards also ridiculed Jesus’ royalty, and while He hung on the cross, the crowd taunted Him.

David recalled how God cared for him from his birth (vs. 9-11).  This was also the case with Jesus.  He lived in perfect dependence on the Father.  As we read throughout Scripture, the suffering that believers go through does not erase God’s lifelong faithfulness to them.

The next seven verses give astonishingly specific prophecies that were fulfilled on Good Friday (vs. 12-18).  We read descriptions of bulls, lions, and dogs - powerful and often dangerous animals.  These were symbolic of Christ’s enemies who were powerful, vicious, and relentless.  In verse 14 we read a description of the physical agony of the crucifixion.  The heart feeling like wax could be a possible reference to cardiac failure under extreme stress.  One physical torment was extreme thirst (vs. 15).  This was fulfilled with Jesus’ cry, “I thirst” (John 19:28).

In verse 16 we read a very specific prophecy that was directly fulfilled by the Lord Jesus, of how His hands and feet were pierced. This clearly describes crucifixion.  However, David wrote this centuries before this form of execution existed in Israel.  Then in verse 18 we read about this victim’s clothes being divided and gambled over.  Again, this was a literal prophecy that was fulfilled exactly in John 19:23-24.

Beginning in verse 22 we turn a corner, and on through the end of the psalm we read verses of praise and glory, as the crucifixion was not the end, with Jesus’ glorious resurrection on the third day.  Because Jesus endured all of this torture and execution for our sins, He is now seated at God’s right hand, to be worshiped by all creation.  Verse 22 is quoted in Hebrews 2:12, and is applied directly to Jesus.  The One who suffered is now leading His brethren in praise.  The psalm ends with global and eternal triumph.  All nations will worship Jesus (vs. 27).  The kingdoms of the world belong to Him (vs. 28), and future generations will hear of Him (vs. 30-31).  This all foretells Jesus' Millennial Kingdom where He will reign.

Looking back over this psalm we see its graphic description of some of the agony that Jesus went through.  We see the substitutionary atonement, as Jesus suffered for us and instead of us.  Our sins demand punishment, eternal punishment in hell.  However, because of His vast, eternal love for us, Jesus took our punishment so that all who accept Him as Savior do not have to suffer that punishment.  We also see the prophetic accuracy of Psalm 22.  This is a powerful testimony to the supernatural nature of Scripture.  This is not just an ancient text written by the hands of man.  The odds that each of these prophecies being fulfilled in one man centuries later are astronomical and virtually impossible.  The Bible is indeed the inerrant Word of God!

The Cost of Our Salvation

Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

We begin Holy Week today, that final week of Jesus’ life here on earth, which includes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a final few days of teaching, then the Last Supper, His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, trial, scourging, and death upon the Cross.  Today let us look at one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies of the substitutionary, atoning death of Jesus Christ.  In this passage of Scripture, frequently described as the Suffering Servant, from the prophet Isaiah we will see the Messiah’s humiliation and exaltation, His rejection by Israel, His substitutionary suffering, death, burial, and resurrection with His ultimate triumph and reward.

As we begin, we look at the last three verses of chapter 52, where we see the Servant Exalted.  As we read, we see that God begins with the end of the story, where His Son, the Messiah, is victorious, not defeated (vs. 13).  This was fulfilled in His resurrection, ascension, and then with His glory in God’s future kingdom.  After establishing that fact, God then proceeds to show the suffering that the Messiah will endure.  This suffering was real, physical, and shocking, not just figurative (vs. 14).  By the time that Jesus finally got to the crucifixion, He had been so beaten, scourged, and abused that He barely looked like a man anymore.  This was done for the atonement of our sins, both for Israel and for all nations (vs. 15).

Next we look at the Servant Rejected (vs. 1-3).  Isaiah prophesied that the people of Israel would be in unbelief.  Though a few did believe, as the first Christians were Jewish, the overwhelming majority, then and now, rejected Jesus.  Paul quoted this verse in Romans 10:16, regarding the rejection of the gospel.  Isaiah continued by saying that in His humanity, Jesus was ordinary, not majestic in looks.  Israel was expecting a conquering king, not a humble carpenter.  Throughout His ministry Jesus experienced grief, rejection, and misunderstanding.  He was misjudged by the people He came to save.

Now we look at the Servant Substituting (vs. 4-6).  This portion of our Scripture is the heart of the passage.  We read of how Jesus carried our sorrows, the consequences of our sins.  While He hung on the cross, the people who gathered around thought that God was punishing Him for His own sins, but they couldn’t have been more wrong.  Jesus was being punished for their sins and for our sins.  This is the clearest Old Testament statement of substitutionary atonement.  We read “for our” repeatedly.  Jesus suffered in our place.  God laid on Him all of our sins, assigning them to His account.  Jesus bore all of our guilt.

Next we see the Servant Suffering Silently (vs. 7-9).  Jesus is described as being like a lamb, which evokes imagery from the Passover, which was the Holy Day that was occurring when He was crucified.  Like a lamb which goes to its death silently, He was also silent during the mockery of the trial that He had (Matthew 26:63).  That trial was unjust, rushed, and illegal.  Under both Jewish and Roman law, trials were not to be held at night, nor on holy days (Passover).  Nor could they be held in private houses (Caiaphas’ house).  Capital offenses needed at least three consistent, unbribed witnesses, and could not be concluded in under a day.  These verses were fulfilled literally, as Jesus was crucified between criminals (wicked), and buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb (rich).

As the passage in Isaiah ends, we read about the Servant Vindicated (vs. 10-12).  God was not being sadistic.  All of this suffering that the Messiah endured had a divine purpose.  Jesus’ death was God’s plan for redemption.  Jesus bears our iniquities as our substitute, and provides justification for us. The Son of God willingly died for us, being numbered with transgressors as He was crucified among criminals.  Now He is seated at God’s right hand interceding for sinners.

God’s Word here clearly teaches us the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement.  Jesus, the Messiah, died in our place, bearing our sins.  We also see the deity and humanity of Christ.  Only a divine, yet human Servant could accomplish this work.  We read of how Israel rejected Jesus at His first coming.  However they will recognize Him at His return (Zechariah 12:10).

How much does God love you?  Enough to sacrifice His only Son for you!  He loved you and wanted to save you.  The only way for that was for His Son to suffer, to be crushed under the wrath of God, to die.  Our staggering sin debt, both past, present, and future, was paid in full when Jesus was put to death.  He was separated from His Father and was forsaken for our sake.  As we enter into Holy Week, let us remember what the cost of our salvation was.

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

John 11:1-44

Most all of us have had to face the death of someone who was near and dear to us.  One thing you know for sure as you look at the coffin, is that person is not going to get up and start living again.  In our sorrow and grief, that truth is a painful one.  Once those hospital monitors show a flat line, that is it.  There is nothing more that the doctors, despite all of their expertise, can do.  We are told that death is final.  That is, until the Lord Jesus Christ steps in.  He is the One that conquered death by His resurrection from the dead, and who gives us a hope that goes beyond the grave.  In our rather lengthy Scripture passage today from the Gospel of John we see Jesus’ power and victory over death and the grave, and read of the hope that He gives us that goes beyond the grave.

The events recorded in our Scripture happened about one to two weeks before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.  Jesus and His disciples had crossed to the farther side of the Jordan River for their safety, as the religious authorities were hostile and threatening to Him following His messages about being the Good Shepherd.  While there He received a message from His very good friends Martha and Mary that their brother Lazarus was extremely ill, and would He please come to them (vs. 1-5).  Everyone thought that Jesus would leave immediately, since these were very dear friends of His.  However, Jesus delayed for two days (vs. 6).  Why?  Was it because He really didn’t care?

When there seems to be no answer to our prayers is that the reason?  Is it because God doesn’t care?  God’s timing often feels slow, but His delays are never mistakes.  Silence from heaven has a purpose.  Silence grabs our attention and teaches us to trust.  God’s love is not measured by immediate deliverance.  Jesus had a purpose in His delay.  Jesus knew that though Lazarus died, what would follow would be for the glory of God.  When we pray, we can rest in His love even when the answer tarries.

After delaying for two days Jesus left to go to His friends in Bethany, which was right outside of Jerusalem.  Despite the recent threats, His disciples went with Him (vs. 7-16).  Jesus’ obedience to the Father is fearless and unwavering.  Spiritual light is found in walking according to God’s will.  It may involve risk, but obedience is the safest place spiritually.

When Jesus arrived at Bethany Lazarus had been dead for four days.  He was beyond any natural hope.  Of the two sisters, Martha was the first to go outside the village, near to where Lazarus was buried, to greet Jesus.  Though she had faith, she was filled with grief.  She told Him that if He had only been there, Lazarus would not have died.  Jesus would have healed him (vs. 17-22).  Jesus proceeded to give one of His greatest declarations, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (vs. 23-27).  Jesus is not merely the giver of resurrection He is resurrection.  Martha then confessed her faith that Jesus was the promised Messiah (vs. 27).  Faith can co-exist with sorrow.  Jesus meets us in both.  Our hope in death is not abstract, it is anchored in the living Christ.

The other sister, Mary, then proceeded to go out and talk to Jesus. Her profound, overwhelming grief touched Jesus, and He also began to cry (vs. 32-37).  God is not unmoved by human suffering.  Jesus enters into our grief without diminishing His deity.  Jesus’ weeping rose from a grief, not only for His friend, but also for all humanity stuck in death’s grip.

With Mary, Martha, their friends, and His disciples around Him, all gathered by the tomb, Jesus told them to remove the large stone before the entrance to the tomb.  Martha objected because of the smell of the decaying body (vs. 38-40).  However Jesus was not operating by His human senses.  He was operating by faith.  If He had listened to His senses He would have left, with no miracle.  He saw the stone in front of the grave.  He could smell the decayed body.  He could hear the mourners.  He could taste His own tears.  But Jesus operated in faith.  Don’t trust your feelings, because we are to walk by faith, not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7).

The stone was removed, and Jesus cried out with divine authority, “Lazarus, come forth!” Lazarus emerged, still bound in graveclothes.  Only God can command the dead to rise, and Jesus, as the Second Person of the Trinity, has absolute authority over death.  This miracle foreshadowed His own resurrection about two weeks later.  This is also a picture of dead sinners made alive.  Not only does Jesus bring physical life, He also brings spiritual life to dead sinners.  Salvation is entirely His work.  Lazarus contributed nothing.  He was dead until Jesus called his name.

What is the final answer to all of the trials we face?  It is the hope of the bodily resurrection.  How can we know for sure that it will occur?  We can by the fact of Jesus’ resurrection.  Because He has been raised, we too shall rise!

Two Masters, Two Paths, Two Destinies

Romans 6:16-23

What contaminates a person the most?  We might think of some terrible diseases that we need to be careful of.  We all remember just a few years ago when we were all extra careful to not become infected with covid.  There are some contaminants that people will even dress up in biohazard suits in order to keep themselves safe from contamination.  It is wise to keep oneself safe from such danger.  And of course we shouldn’t ignore just the regular, everyday germs and dirt.  However there is one contaminant that many people tend to forget that is actually more dangerous to everyone.  It has the power to bring death to all it touches, and that is sin.  It can sometimes bring physical death, and unless protected by the Blood of Jesus, it will always bring spiritual death.  Let’s look at what the Apostle Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans today.

As we open our Scripture we need to know that every person serves a master.  It doesn’t matter what station one has in life, from the most powerful leader in the world down to a homeless person on the street, we all serve a master.  The question is not whether you serve, but whom.  Paul used the metaphor of slavery, not to endorse the institution, but because it clearly showed absolute ownership and obedience.  In the spiritual realm there are only two masters: sin, which will lead to death, or obedience to God, which leads to righteousness and life.

Paul begins this portion of Scripture by teaching us that we are the slave to whomever we obey in life (vs. 16).  If we choose to obey and follow sin in our life, then we are sin’s slave.  Obedience to sin will lead to death, not just physical death, but ultimately spiritual death and separation from God.  Obedience to God and His Word will lead to righteousness and ultimately eternal life.  Whomever we obey reveals our spiritual master.

The Apostle then reminds the believers in Rome that they were once the slaves of sin, but since the day that they decided to obey God’s Word, they were delivered from that bondage (vs. 17).  This is written in the past tense, as that was their old identity.  But now they have obeyed God from the heart, and are no longer under the slavery to sin.  They have been set free, just like when a slave is set free (vs 18).  When they gave their heart to Jesus, He brought them out of the bondage of sin, and they now belong to Him. Biblical freedom does not mean autonomy.  We are not now free to live any way that we want.  It is liberation from the wrong master and joyful submission to the right one. We are now the servants of righteousness.

Paul continues to use the slavery metaphor to help us understand the seriousness of whom we are obeying.  Before we were saved we yielded ourselves to uncleanness and lawlessness, in other words, all manner of sinful behavior (vs. 19).  Sin has a snowball effect - one sin will lead to another, and then more and more.  However, once we became a believer, we gave ourselves to Jesus, and we should yield ourselves to righteousness.

Curiosity often leads us to the edge of danger.  Sin is like that, too.  We are drawn to the edge, lose our balance, and fall in, destroying family, reputation, and career.  We think that we can flirt with temptation, but few ever win.  We know an action is wrong, and yet we toy with it.  We are drawn into deeper and darker perversions.  As a slave to sin, one doesn’t obey or follow Jesus and His righteousness (vs. 20).  What kind of fruit does a slave of sin have?  They only have shame and things that lead to death (vs. 21).

Once we give ourselves to the Lord Jesus, we are set free from our slavery to sin.  Our “ownership” has now changed (vs. 22).  We do not belong any more to Satan’s kingdom of darkness.  We are now servants of God, and as we yield ourselves to Him, we will bring forth holy fruit which will end with everlasting life.  This is the exact opposite of the life of a slave to sin.

As Paul closes this segment of Scripture, we see that sin pays a salary.  People enter into all sorts of various sins, thinking that it will bring happiness, money, fame, and pleasure.  However, that is not the salary it pays.  As Paul says, the wages of sin is death (vs. 23).  Often enough it is physical death in this life, and always it is spiritual death in the next.  As we finish this verse, though, we see that God gives us a gift, and that is eternal life.  It is a gift.  We cannot earn it, and we don’t deserve it.  It is a gift that God gives us when we accept the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior.

As we close, we see that there is no neutrality in the Christian life.  Everyone serves a master.  The unbeliever serves sin, but the Christian serves God.  Who are you obeying?  Your daily choices reveal your allegiance.  When one chooses to follow Jesus, their salvation should produce a new pattern of obedience to Him.  We aren’t perfect, but we should be heading in a new direction, with a new heart that leads to new desires and new fruit.  God has freed us from sin’s power and dominion over us, and we should yield ourselves to righteousness.  Remember, sin always leads to death, every time.  Every path of sin ends in destruction.  However God gives us a gift of eternal life.  Sin pays wages, but God gives gifts.