The Lord Lives

March 31, 2013 Background Scripture: Luke 24:1 – 35 Lesson Passage: Luke 24:13 – 21, 28 – 35 If there were a Jerusalem Gazette, “The Lord Lives!” would have been a perfect headline for the Monday morning edition. This was the greatest news item since word reached Jerusalem of the raising of Lazarus from the grave after he had been dead for four days. A number of persons had been raised from death during the pass three years by Jesus. Since that was the case, then what was so great about this? Isn’t bringing the dead back to life starting to be old news around Jerusalem? All of them were the result of the miraculous work of the prophet named Jesus of Nazareth. On the other hand, this was Jesus of Nazareth himself raising his own dead body from death. This was no mere prophet. This was not a mere man spiritually gifted to perform miracles. How can the dead raise the dead? Yet, Jesus had proclaimed, and it was used as testimony against him in one of his trials, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” And word is now spreading throughout Jerusalem and beyond, that Jesus’ temple has once again been restored. When Jesus raised others from the dead, it was clear even to Jesus’ enemies that he had been sent from God because no man can do what he did except God be with him. The ordeal in Bethany involving Lazarus provided a sneak preview of what was to come. Lazarus was not just raised from the dead. Because of the four-day delay between his death and Jesus’ arrival, Lazarus’ body had begun to decay. Lazarus needed more than to be raised from the dead. To be raised required that his life be restored. Lazarus needed a resurrection miracle. Resurrection restores both life and body. Jesus had proclaimed himself as both the resurrection and the life. He was more than a prophet sent by God to perform miracles. Jesus is God. Jesus and the Father are one even as he had proclaimed. The body, in fact, dies when the spirit is removed from it. It is the spirit that gives life. Jesus proclaimed his words to be spirit. On Calvary, Jesus had dismissed his spirit from his body and so he died. Jesus had warned his disciples that he was going to leave and when it happened they would be sadden by it. He encouraged them to not lose hope because a little while later they would see him again. That fateful weekend had come. He left them on Friday and they were saddened. But now the news was spreading that he was back! Some could not contain themselves because their joy was overflowing. Others were confused and consumed with doubt because it just did not add up for them. They knew too much about the man Jesus and could not see him for who he truly is. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And just as he has power to dismiss his spirit and lay down his life, he also has power to pick it up again. And the news is: The Lord Lives! He was dead and now he is alive and he lives forevermore. After two thousand years, it is still good news. Day after day and week after week the servants of God proclaim this good news: The Lord lives! When the preacher reminds us of his suffering, death, and burial, we get excited because true believers know that it’s all a pretext to the high point. All of that happened on a Friday, but early Sunday morning, The Lord Lives! Robert C. Hudson March 25, 2013