The Resurrection - Proof Jesus Was Victorious!

Yesterday I meditated on the first Holy Saturday and the experience the Apostles and disciples had that day after Jesus died.  I titled it "When Hope is Dead and God is Silent".  Shortly after posting it, I felt like the Lord gave me some additional perspective.  I really should have titled it "When Hope Seems Dead and God Isn't Talking".  He reminded me of the biblical and historical perspective on what He was actually doing Holy Saturday.  In other words, even though it seemed like nothing was happening, He was at work moving mightily.  In the same way I believe that this is the case in our lives.  When the Lord isn't speaking, He is at work in hidden ways, moving mightily on our behalf.

The first view we have concerning what happened when He died is seen in Matthew's Gospel 27:50-53 NIV:

[50] "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. [51] At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split [52] and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. [53] They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people."

I find it interesting that at the very moment He died all this happened, rather than at the moment of Jesus Resurrection. The curtain that was in the temple separated the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt, from the rest of the temple and all the people.  The tearing of this curtain represented Jesus opening the way to the Father. The earth shaking and quaking speaks of the power that was released at that moment, into the earth. In other words, Jesus death didn't just have spiritual ramifications, but also ramifications in the natural realm.  Third, the many people who were raised from the dead speaks of Jesus' victory over death.  At the very moment when Jesus died, death was defeated!  That is the exact opposite of how we would normally think.

Peter adds some additional perspective, as directed by the Holy Spirit, regarding Jesus' actions immediately after His death.  Here are the verses -1 Peter 3:18-20 NIV:

[18] "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. [19] After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits--- [20] to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,..."

Two things of note here, it was immediately after His death that the Spirit of Jesus was made alive (Peter's words).  We know that we are three part beings, made up of mind, body and spirit.  It was only Jesus' body that died, and when that occurred His Spirit was freed from the physical confines of His body and He was immediately at work.  Peter says that He went and made a proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.  Many believe this was to Abraham's bosom or side (Luke 16:22) which was a place where those who died in relationship to God, prior to Jesus' coming, were held waiting the opening of the way to The Father in Heaven.  Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians 4:8 that when Jesus Ascended "He took many captives", and this is understood to be those that He rescued from Abraham's side.

Finally in Revelations 1:18, Jesus proclaims to John, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."  It is from this verse that we understand that Jesus defeated death, defeated the enemy and now held the keys, which signify His complete authority over both.  Jesus was far from idle those three days, but rather was at work in the Spirit, defeating all His enemies, opening the way to the Father, feeing captives, and fulfilling that which the Father had given Him to do.

Jesus Resurrection was really the final proof of all the Jesus did after He died.  He now held the keys of death, having defeated death, and was restored to life!  He is now alive, forever and ever.  His Spirit was reunited with His body, which was changed into its new form (1 Cor 15:50-57), and released from the tomb!

So, hope only seemed to die, and although God was silent, He certainly wasn't at rest, but rather was working mightily on our behalf.  Jesus was raised from the dead, in the fullness of time, as described by Himself (many times in the Gospels) and prophetically through the prophets of old.  God is always able to fulfill His promises and His perfect timing.  He may be moving in ways we cannot see, but rest assured He is moving on our behalf! We may not understand the timing, but it is perfect.

It is right that we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection, for it is proof that He has accomplished everything He was asked to do. He was victorious over all His enemies.  In His words, "It is Finished."

The Apostle's hopes and dreams didn't die with Jesus, in fact they were transformed into much more than they could have ever imagined!

Amen!