PASSION WEEK: HORRAY! ITS RESURRECTION DAY!

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.” Matt.28:1-10.

     Many ministers to this day do not understand how Jesus conquered death. The typical statement of Easter sermons is, "The resurrection of Christ is a great mystery." There’s nothing mysterious about it. GOD does everything with logical precision. The legal framework of GOD’S plan of salvation is well within our ability to understand. Many elements of our judicial system parallel GOD’S methods of judgment.

     The Bible says, "The soul that sinneth it shall die;" and "The wages of sin is death." Eze.18:4; Rom.6:23. The dominion of death is GOD’S prison to contain every sin that threatens the security of life. Death (or nonexistence) is a vault, an abyss of nothingness to hold all the bitter fruits of selfishness. That is the sole function of death. It has no other purpose.

     So, when “the Son of God” became “the Son of man” He was "made of a woman, made under the law." Gal.4:4. "Under the law" means that when Christ united His Divine nature to our sinful human nature He came under the same death sentence that we all received as an inheritance from Adam; for we were all a part of him when he sinned, although we were not yet born. “The LORD,” “Jehovah” Who is equal with His Father (Ps.50:1-6; 98:5-9; Isa.25:9, 26:21; Jn.10:30), in becoming a man adopted man’s condemnation of death.

     And when Jesus Christ was forced into the grave at the hands of lawless men, having never united His will with sin, either by thought or deed, the grave had no legal right to hold Him: it had to set Him free; for death can only hold sin, of which Christ had none! On the day of Pentecost Peter said, "it was not possible that he should be holden of it." Acts 2:24. And because He is our Creator, [the Father and now son of the family of Adam (Rev.22:16)], the whole of mankind is to share in this victory that our "Everlasting Father" and "Creator," Jesus Christ gained on the behalf of His children (Is.9:6).

     The essence of the legal framework of salvation is this: Only the Father of Adam had the legal right to redeem the family of Adam. This is why we see the genealogy of Jesus Christ (from Mary’s lineage) recorded this way in the book of Luke: "And Jesus Himself……being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of……Noah……which was the son of Adam, which was the son of GOD." Luke 3:23-38. Said Christ of Himself, "I am the root and the offspring of David," Rev.22:16.

     We are the offspring of the Creator of Heaven and Earth: His children—created in His Image and Likeness. And because He is the “Everlasting Father,” and now, “the last Adam,” our inherited condemnation that none of us gave our consent to receive has been removed and replaced with a new inheritance: the sinless history of Christ! His history is now our history! His resurrection is our resurrection! And His eternal life is now our eternal life! This is the Gospel! And we are called to simply believe this truth, “as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph.4:21).

     This is what GOD has accomplished for every man, woman and child who has ever lived: to provide us the liberty to choose eternal life through Jesus Christ! It also explains why the Great Judgment must take place where every man will stand before GOD in the end of time to give an account of their deeds done in life, whether of benevolent love for others or of self-indulgence to the sacrifice of others. In the end, it is love that GOD measures in the heart of a man.

     Therefore, the Scriptures teach that GOD desires His children to understand three basic facts:

1. Our justification to everlasting life is only through the sinless life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ whose merits as the “Everlasting Father” and “the last Adam” place Him as “the Saviour” of the human race (Isa.9:6; Jn.5:24; I Cor.15:45).
2. The refinement of our character and our resurrection from the grave to an eternal life with Jesus Christ is only through the power of the Holy Spirit residing within our heart (Rom.8:9-11).
3. The Christian's standard of godly living is through careful, prayerful reverence to GOD’S Ten Commandment Law through the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit drawing from us the ability to “walk even as he walked” (Jn.14:15; 8:58; Rom.8:7).

     After His resurrection on the first day Jesus began His work of proving to His followers that death had no hold on Him just as He had given prophecy (Lu.18:31-34). Through Jesus Christ, holy angels and men are now provided with a future and a hope to enter the Father’s joy, of which the Sabbath rest is our seal of faith in what Christ said He will do. The Bible defines this as “the seal of God” (Rev.9:4). It is the seal of our faith in Him, His unending love, and His salvation in accordance with His Own Words.

     Until Jesus “cometh with clouds” “in the resurrection at the last day” every Christian is called to uphold the Words of Jesus Christ by demonstrating His Standard of justice, mercy and love toward “all men.” With GOD’S Presence near and dear to the heart of the Believer this privilege is achieved, as Jesus calls to us in gentle admonition: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt.11:28-30.

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” I Thess.5:14.

     To repose in gratitude that all life has been redeemed from the curse of sin that is destroying this present world (Rev.11:18), and that GOD’S assurances are worthy of our trust! Of this wonder yet to come, GOD’S Word gives several prophecies of the coming Utopian paradise. Human comprehension cannot grasp the scope of the joys that are to come to those who “the LORD” says, “love me and keep my commandments.” Ex.20:6; Jn.14:15.