Resurrection

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

What would you expect to experience if you were in the tomb where Jesus lay? Death. Stone, cold death. Lungs with no air in them. A brain with no activity. Fingers with no feeling. Just death. A lifeless body that remained on a stone slab just as when it was put there.  

Jesus was dead. There can be no doubt about that. The Roman soldiers in charge of his death were masters of execution. There was no doubt in their minds. Had they the slightest thought that He might still be alive, they would have broken His legs to hasten the inevitable. But that wasn’t necessary; He was dead. Blood and water from a spear wound made it clear; He was dead. So, when their job was done, they pried Jesus’ body from the cross and gave it to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

They must work quickly to get the body of Jesus in the tomb before Passover began. So, they did what you’d expect someone to do with a crucified body. They washed Him to remove caked on blood. They didn’t have time for the traditional spices and ointment. That would have to be done later. They merely wrapped Him with clean linen and placed Him lovingly in the tomb. 

A great stone secured the tomb. Roman guards were stationed in front of it. A Roman seal was set on the stone for added protection. No one can go in or out of the tomb without grave consequences. 

What happened early that Sunday morning no one really knows. There wasn’t anyone in the tomb with Jesus to witness the actual event. But something truly miraculous happened. Dead lungs began to expand and contract. Rigid joints began to bend. Silent lips opened. Death gave way to life, and the world has stood in awe ever since. 

There is a special joy in the life of a Christ follower because of the resurrection. It’s because we were stone cold dead spiritually. There was no breath of God in us. Great scholars have called it TOTAL DEPRAVITY. The Apostle Paul said we were “dead in trespasses and sins” [Ephesians 2.1].

But there came a day when, because we put our faith in Christ who rose from the dead, we came to life, full spiritual life. Let me quote the entirety of Ephesians 2.1, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Our once dead lungs now have the breath of God in them. Our once dead bodies are alive in Christ. All because of the resurrection.

No one comes to that kind of life without the resurrection. It’s the constant on which the salvation stands. Paul said it this way, “That if you will confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” [Romans 10.9].

Because of the resurrection, there is complete salvation for you and me. All I can say is “Hallelujah!” 

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. Romans 6.5-9