He is risen

I want to tell you the strange tale of when Jesus,  who had healed entire towns of every conceivable disease, malady, illness, lameness, and infirmity, (as well as casting out demons from people who were tormented) refused to heal one of his very best friends!!

At first read it is very hard to understand. Why in the world would Jesus who had such power to heal and cleanse, refuse to go to his best friend on his deathbed?

This is a tale of two sisters and a brother who lived in a town called Bethany and they were the closest friends to Jesus outside of his direct group of disciples. He considered them as his very best friends and yet when Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, became sick to the point of death Jesus purposefully delayed coming to heal him knowing that he would die. 

What kind of a best friend is this? 

He was only one days walk from the town of Bethany in Judea. 

Jesus and his Disciples had retreated from the region of Jerusalem down to the Jordan river because the extremely jealous and self-righteous religious leaders were out to kill him. When the message came from Mary & Martha that Lazarus was sick to the point of death Jesus’s disciples did not want him to go back into Judea because the governing religious officials had been actively looking for an opportunity to put him to death. He had fulfilled almost every ancient requirement from the Torah and the Mishnah and the writings of the rabbis to be recognized as the Messiah. But much like today with those who rule and reign over religion (such as the current Pope & many TV faith healers) they had become corrupted and apostate. They cared more about their position and power and the adulation of the crowds and refused to recognize the witness of God Himself that this prophet from Galilee was the sinless son of God, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world. 

There was one major sign that would undeniably confirm his identity as the Messiah that had to be publicly enacted.

So Jesus had reasons of his own for not responding to the impassioned pleas of his two dear friends Mary and Martha that had nothing to do with fear of the self-righteous religious leaders. 

He had given the nation of Israel a sign that he would perform to confirm his identity as Messiah. He had given them “the sign of Jonah”, which refers to resurrection from the dead. 

Although he had raised others from the dead already, including the 12-year-old daughter of a synagogue leader,  he always did this with instructions to tell no one and there had only been a small number of witnesses to his resurrection power. 

But now everything was coming down to the wire and the time for his presentation at the Passover was just ahead. 

Do you know the reason that Passover and Easter are always at the same time of year?

That is because Easter is the fulfillment of Passover ! 

You see…It’s not about bunnies and eggs or the ancient fertility cult of the goddess Astarte, from which it gets its name. Rather, it is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover and first fruits.

Many centuries before God had painted a picture for the Israelites of redemption, forgiveness, deliverance and salvation through Moses giving the instruction to take a spotless Lamb (which signifies purity in its genetics and innocence)  to be a representation and picture of a sinless sacrifice . The Instruction to the children of Israel was to take this pure unblemished lamb into their home and identify with it and then before the day of judgment to shed its blood and put the blood on the door posts and lintel of their home. Every time they applied the blood with the sticks to the top of the door, and the sides they made the sign of the cross with the blood  of the lamb. It was a picture and a prophecy of what God would do for those who respond in faith to his instructions. During the terrible night of God’s judgment day, the Angel of death passed over their homes that were by faith marked with blood. 

But throughout all of Egypt the firstborn of everything living died including the son and heir apparent to pharaoh himself. This is what finally broke the power of evil that held the children of Israel in bondage. All of this was given as a picture for us today . Today for those who have received by faith the sacrifice of Jesus… There is no sting in death because all sin has already been completely, and totally expunged, forgiven, and erased …forever. 

The judgment and penalty of our sin has already been paid for and eternal life comes through the power of the Resurrection.

So Jesus waited two whole days, knowing that he would arrive after Lazarus had already been dead for more than three days. In the rabbinic teaching of the day three days was the longest that a person’s spirit might hover over their body after death making the possibility of resuscitation slightly possible.  Anything longer than three days was a complete impossibility and would indicate that true resurrection from the dead had taken place.

When Jesus completed the days journey along with his disciples he was met by a very mad Martha who was so distraught that she scolded him for taking so long to come to the aid of her dear brother Lazarus. 

And it is here that we start to understand Jesus’s reason for delaying and not coming immediately to heal Lazarus. Martha cried “why did you not come”? If you had been here, he would not have died“ 

Jesus looked into her eyes with love and compassion and said “your brother will rise again“ this she believed,  because life after death for the righteous was a core belief that she had always held closely to. She replied, I know, Lord that he will rise in the resurrection..

Then Jesus looked straight into her eyes, and said Martha “I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

I include the dialogue from the Gospel of John chapter 11, so that you can get the whole picture.

This would set the scene for his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which the disciples thought would lead to him being seated on the Throne of David to rule and reign and miraculously, throw off the Roman oppression which the Jews hated. 

But in actuality he was fulfilling multiple prophecies and the progression of temple sacrifice of a sinless lamb that would free the faithful from the bondage of evil.. 

We call it Palm Sunday or his triumphal entrance when he was received with great praise and adulation by all the people, but rebuked by religious leaders who refused to receive him as the Messiah. They were so unbelieving, spiteful and filled with hatred that they actually tried to kill Lazarus after he had been raised from the dead in order to deny the miracle that had happened !! 

But it didn’t work. 

During the following week up to the time of his crucifixion he would pronounce a prophetic curse upon the Jewish Temple, which was more important to the leaders of this temple cult than the Messiah himself,  even though everything about Jesus had been so clearly defined by all of the Hebrew Scriptures in the Tanakh. 

When his disciples were so impressed with the huge Herodian stones of the temple structure which were gigantic blocks each weighing 8 to 10 tons, he told them that surely not one stone will be left standing upon another. In 70 A.D. this judgment and prophecy was literally fulfilled when the Roman general Titus Vespasian  laid siege to Jerusalem . He conquered it , finally burning it and slaughtering more than 1 million Jews . So just 40 years after this prophecy was spoken by Jesus it was literally fulfilled. 

He also proclaimed judgment upon that generation of Israel and her leaders by cursing a fig tree, the symbol of national Israel , that appeared to have life but produced nothing of any value. 

All of this left his disciples confused and wondering what was the meaning of it all.  

Jesus had already told them on several occasions of his coming crucifixion but they were still entrenched in their idea that the Messiah would come and cast off the fetters of Roman oppression and immediately raise Israel to a place of prominence and glory.

 They had signed up for prominence and victory… not rejection and persecution. 

They did not yet understand the two comings of Jesus the Messiah. The first as the suffering servant and Lamb of God to be the sin offering and atonement that would take away the sin of the world, and then the second,  to come again in glory and judgment to deal with all of the evil,  corruption, deception and violence at the end of the age. 

  Jesus needed to demonstrate to his disciples, the nation of Israel, its leadership and all that would follow him in faith that he is the resurrection and the life, the very source of eternal life, and that he is so much more than a healer of the sick and dying. 

He is the one who will raise them to eternal life. 

HE is RISEN !!

This is the happy and joyous greeting given among Christians on Easter Sunday all over the world. 

So what difference does this make now in the 21st-century?

The bold apostle Peter says it this way...

(1 Peter 1.3-5)

SO WHAT DIFFERENCE Could this possibly have for your life?

In a Word ?  EVERYTHING !!

So you see, it’s all about the mercy of God giving us something that we don’t deserve as a free gift for investing our faith in what he has already done for us. 

MEDITATE on that for a while!

New birth into a living Hope.

So what is Easter really about ?

It is about the gift of eternal life, the forgiveness of all sin, the restoration of right relationship with God and the promises of God for those who believe.

The apostle John, who was the youngest, and arguably the closest disciple to Jesus, recorded a conversation Jesus had with a high-ranking religious priest who thought that righteous living and good works would get him to heaven.

Later in his life years, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, John would record these words:

(1 John 1.5-10)

Are you one that says you have no sin? Or are you one who will receive the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through the finished work of Christ on the cross, and the love of God offered to you through Jesus. His arms are open wide to you.

Jesus says to you, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

I encourage you to open the door and let him in

HE IS RISEN …indeed !! 

Written by Gregg Townsley

The author, Dr Gregg Townsley is a veterinarian who has recently moved to the Algarve and is living in Carvoeiro. He has been involved in ministry and Bible teaching for over 40 years. If you have any questions for him on any of his articles, or would like to attend one of his classes in Bible Prophecy & the present formation of the New World Order, feel free to email him at Drgregga777@iCloud.com.

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