Lesson for April 17, 2022
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of Jesus Christ coincided with the Jewish Feast of the First Fruits, where a portion of the harvest was gathered first and given to the priest for the blessing of the entire harvest. This feast pointed to the resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ as the first fruits for every believer. It was celebrated three days after the Passover. Paul wrote about “the first fruits” in I Corinthians 15:20-25. Jesus spoke of this when He described Himself as the grain of wheat that fell to the ground and died that it might spring to life and bring forth much fruit. The “fruit” is all those who believe in Christ as Savior. (John 12:23-24)
The uniqueness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ sets Him apart from all religious leaders. Furthermore, Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship. The word “religion” comes from two Latin words, “re,” which means “back” and “ligio,” which means, “to bind.” Combined, they mean “to bind back.” This is exactly what religion teaches – that we must bind ourselves back to God. However, the Bible teaches that it is impossible to bind ourselves back to God. Actually, the opposite is true – God binds us back to Himself in Christ.
God’s plan called for Jesus Christ to become a human being, live a sinless life, die on the Cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the world and be raised from the dead after three days, all in fulfillment of prophecy. [Job 19:25-26 (1520 B.C.); Psalms 16:9-10 (1000 B.C); John 2:19-22 (26 A.D.)] The resurrection of Jesus Christ is definitive proof that He is the Son of God, and that physical death has been conquered. For those of us who place our trust in Him, He guarantees us a resurrection as well. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that will raise all believers from the dead at the Rapture of the Church. This same power also enables us to fulfill God’s plan for our lives. (Romans 6:4,10-13)
Because of the Resurrection, believers have hope (confident expectation) of their own resurrection at the Rapture. Just as the death of a believer is the Lord’s victory, so the resurrection of believers is the Lord’s victory. The resurrection of believers is the wise and sovereign decision of God. This means that a believer’s volition and individual merit are not factors in the resurrection of the Church. The Resurrection of Christ and of all believers is strictly God’s victory. We have no control over the manner or time of our resurrection. It is completely a matter of the sovereignty of God.
The Resurrection is far greater than we can imagine. At the resurrection of the Church, God makes no distinction between those who completely fail to live the Christian Way of Life and those who succeed in living it. All believers are resurrected. The time, place, and manner of the resurrection of the Church are God’s perfect decision based on the completion of the Royal Family of God.
The Rapture however can occur at any time because no prophecy must be fulfilled before it happens. The time of the Rapture and our resurrection is God’s decision. It is not based on our decision or our desire. In the meantime, we are to live every day “as unto the Lord.” Just as we do not know when we are going to die, we do not know when the Rapture will occur. Therefore, the Rapture is not subject to man’s timetable or man’s speculation.
In I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul wrote, “We do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [and we do], even so, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this doctrine we communicate to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God; in fact, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are living and remain on the earth shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort each other with these doctrines.”
In I Corinthians 15:53-54 Paul wrote, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Now when this corruptible will have put on incorruption [resurrection body through death], and this mortal [resurrection body while alive] will have put on immortality, then the doctrine that stands written [Isaiah 28:5] will occur [come to pass]: `Death has been swallowed up because of the victory.’” The ultimate victory for the Royal Family of God is the resurrection of the Church which is guaranteed by the resurrection of Christ. Resurrection is a complete divine victory. There will be no death in the eternal state. Death is abolished with the possession of a resurrection body. Our resurrection body will be an eternal memorial to the grace of God. This is the true meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ for you and me!
Luke 24:1-12, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing;and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.’ And they remembered His wordsand returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe the women.Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped, and looked in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.”