“If God is for Us” (7)

[Romans 8:31-34]

Let us look at the latter part of Romans 8:34: “… the one who was raised is Christ Jesus….” This verse speaks of the resurrection of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:4 also speaks of the resurrection of Jesus: “… He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” The Bible speaks a lot about the resurrection of Jesus. Look at Psalm 16:10-11 in the Contemporary Bible:

“For You will not leave my soul in the grave, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

This is a prophetic word regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and indeed, God did not leave Jesus in the grave. In 1 Corinthians 15:4, it says that Jesus was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, but finding a specific prophecy that mentions "on the third day" is not easy in the Bible. Pastor Arthur Pink attempted to find a prophecy about the death and resurrection of Jesus, starting from Genesis 22:4, where it says, “On the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.” In this story, God calls Abraham to test him and says, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (v. 2). From this story, he tried to find a prophecy about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Look at Hebrews 11:19: "He (Abraham) considered that God was able to raise Isaac even from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back."

Look at Matthew 12:38-40: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’”

Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees who asked for a sign, that the only sign they would receive was the sign of the prophet Jonah, who was in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights. Likewise, Jesus would be in the earth for three days and nights. Look at Jonah 1:17 and 2:10:

“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights... So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.”

Jesus repeatedly prophesied that He would suffer, die, and rise again on the third day. Look at Matthew 16:21: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Look at Matthew 17:23: “They will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

Look at Matthew 20:19: “They will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify Him, and the third day He will rise again.”

According to this prophecy, Jesus died on the cross, was buried on Good Friday, and on the third day, Sunday morning, He rose from the dead. After He rose on the third day, He walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, but they did not recognize that He was the risen Jesus (Luke 24:13-16). These two disciples said to Jesus: “The chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. And certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive” (Luke 24:20-23).

These disciples, not knowing it was Jesus walking with them, were testifying that He had risen, as the women had said. Jesus explained to them, beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, all the things in the Scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). In other words, Jesus began explaining to the two disciples from the Law of Moses and the Prophets all the things concerning Himself in the Scriptures—His suffering, death, and resurrection.

However, no one saw Jesus rise from the dead at the moment it happened. And since Adam, no one has been resurrected from the dead like Jesus. Although Lazarus was raised from the dead, it was different from Jesus' resurrection. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God, while Lazarus was resurrected and lived for a while before he died again. The Bible mentions people who ascended to heaven (e.g., Enoch and Elijah), but there is no one who has been resurrected from the dead like Jesus.

The risen Jesus proved His resurrection in many ways.
Look at Acts 1:3: "After His suffering, He presented Himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."

Look at 1 Corinthians 15:5-8: "He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

During the forty days that the risen Jesus was on earth, He gave many proofs of His resurrection (for example, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, though this is not mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Six appearances are recorded:

He appeared to "Cephas" (Peter). Peter saw the risen Jesus with his own eyes on the earth at least five times. Therefore, Jesus’ resurrection was not a vision.
He appeared to the twelve disciples.
He appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters.
He appeared to His brother James. James believed in Jesus after His resurrection and became the leader of the Jerusalem church.
He appeared to all the apostles.
He appeared to the apostle Paul. Paul saw Jesus, who was resurrected and ascended, sitting at the right hand of God, on the road to Damascus.

Jesus has risen! Jesus is alive!
If we believe in Jesus, who died, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, we will receive forgiveness for all our sins, be declared righteous, and on the day Jesus returns, we will experience physical resurrection.

Look at 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23: "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep... But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him."

Those who belong to Christ, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, will be resurrected when Christ comes.
Look at 1 Corinthians 15:52: "For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

When the last trumpet sounds, the saints who are dead will rise imperishable, and those who are alive until then will be instantly changed.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:14, in the Contemporary Bible: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him."

God will bring with Him the souls of the saints who have died believing in Jesus. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore, we should have this assurance, remain steadfast, unshaken, and always abound in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).