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If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#33) We Will Be Together Again

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Because of the resurrection of Jesus, one of the great hopes we have is that we will one day be reunited with our loved ones who have died in Christ: husbands, wives, sons, daughters, family and friends. Ravi Zacharias left us just a week ago, but we will be with him again. My father passed away a number of years ago and I still miss him, but he and I will one day laugh together once more.

Is this just some Pollyanna wish or do we have a firm basis for it?

David seemed to think that he would see his infant son in heaven:

But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me. 2 Samuel 12:23

Jesus certainly implied it:

I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven… Matthew 8:11

If Jesus says we will sit down and have a meal with Abraham, then that’s pretty strong.

One of the more detailed passages in found in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. Paul is comforting those who have lost loved ones in Christ:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ... 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Notice that Paul is basing all of this on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. And if Jesus was raised from the dead, then those who have fallen asleep in the Lord will also be raised from the dead. The key words for our consideration today are that we will all be “caught up together” and that we will, therefore, “always” be with the Lord. This is another confirmation that we will not only be raised from the dead, but we will be united with each other again.

But, there are those who claim this will only be a spiritual resurrection. We have already dealt with that, but let’s look at it some more:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body… Philippians 3:21

This is one of the clearest passages we have that God is going to give us a body like the Lord’s. And we know what His body was like. We looked at that earlier. It was a physical body. They saw Him and touched Him. They talked with Him and ate with Him. 

This is exactly what John is saying as well:

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him… 1 john 3:2

We will have a resurrected body that will be like Jesus’ resurrected body. 

When Moses and Elijah met with Jesus, they were recognized by Peter as being in physical bodies for he offered to make tents for them. (Matthew 17:3-4)

We are given another picture in Revelation:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands… Revelation 7:9

If we are “standing” and “clothed” and waving “palm branches in our hands” then one might rightly conclude we are in a physical body.

Here is another interesting insight:

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:49

This comes from the very lengthy passage in which Paul deals with the question, “What kind of body will we have?” It is a great question, for the passage above implies there is something different about the new body: the old one is from “dust” and the new one is from “heaven”. Paul gives us some more detail, although it isn’t exhaustive for sure. I encourage you to read this whole chapter, but here are a few of the insights we get about what kind of body we will have:

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 1 Corinthians 15:36-38

First, we are told that our new body will be different than our old body. This doesn’t mean that we won’t recognize each other, for it appears from all of the passages we just looked at that we will. But the new body will be different and it will be an actual body for God will “give us a body".

Now the next verses are critical for us to begin to understand what the “difference” might be:

There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:40-41

Paul is telling us that the difference is going to be in its “glory”. The Greek word is doxa and it can mean a lot of different things. In the context here, regarding the sun, moon and stars, it most likely means “splendor” or “brightness”. What does that mean for our new bodies? Well, Paul tells us what “glory” means for our bodies:

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

The difference is not that we will no longer have a body, we will. But it will be an “imperishable” body. Our earthly bodies, because of the fall, are subject to age and decay. Our bodies are buried in “dishonor” for they are dead and decaying. Our new bodies will no longer be subject to age and decay, aches and pains, paralysis or cancer or disease or deformity. It will no longer be subject to weakness, but will a body that will be powerful.

Now, do not let the last two verses throw you: “natural body” vs “spiritual body”. Some have used this to say we will only be spirits floating around. The key word is "body" and remember all the passages we just looked at. We will be given a body like Jesus' body. The natural body is the fallen body; the spiritual body is the new imperishable one he just described. Jesus was in His spiritual body when He appeared to the women and the disciples and to the many others. We don’t know every detail about it, but it seems to me that it was able to pass through solid matter or it could transport itself instantly from one place to another. Molecular physics informs us that the vast majority of the space that a solid object takes up is made up of space! It is not beyond reason that our new bodies would be able to pass through matter.

But, although we don’t know the specifics of the new body, we do know that it will no longer be a fallen body in a fallen world, because God is going to make all things new:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more… Behold, I am making all things new. Revelation 21:1, 5

This was prophesied long, long ago:

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth… Isaiah 65:17

Isn’t it wonderful how consistent God’s word is? From beginning to end.

You and I, who are in Christ, are going to be raised with “imperishable” bodies and placed in a “new earth” that will no longer be groaning and decaying. It will be a most marvelous place and we will all be together with our loved ones in the Lord and all of the saints. We will walk and talk with Ravi and with Paul, with Moses and Enoch. My personal opinion is that we will have an immense universe to visit filled with the most jaw-dropping sights. The fact that God raised Jesus physically and He is going to raise us physically and He is going to create a new heavens and a new earth tells us that the old Gnostic position that the physical was evil is wrong. There are those today who lean toward this as well. No, God has blessed the physical. He created a physical world and He will recreate it. Don't let the spiritualizes take that away from you.

And, for this reason, we know in this new heavens and earth, we will all be together again... physically.

Doesn't this lift our souls on this present earth in longing? Doesn't it fill us with a confidence and peace that no matter what our circumstances are in this fallen world, no matter how much the wicked prosper and the enemies of God and His truth bark and appear to hold the upper hand, that they do not? Does it not bring perspective to our trials and tribulations and momentary losses, that one day it will all be made new? Does it not relieve our worries and cares to know that those of us in Christ will receive an inheritance that has no equal? 

Oh, my!

I suppose we ought to close with Paul's ending of that amazing chapter on our resurrection:

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:51-55

Hallelujah!

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If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#1) the Seal Was Broken
We don’t spend much time talking about the seal that was placed upon the tomb, but I think it is significant. Here is the historical record: The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27:62-66 The historical account states that the chief priests and the Pharisees “made the tomb secure by sealing the stone…”.  This seal was most likely several ropes that were drawn across the stone and then affixed to the tomb walls with a soft clay imprinted with some symbol of authority. It was also likely that the ropes were also sealed at their juncture in front of the stone. In this way, no one could move the stone or the ropes without breaking the dried clay and destroying the “seal” affixed upon the clay.  The seal was there to “put on notice” that no one was to mess with the tomb. Rome could deal quite nastily with those who did so. Now, this doesn’t mean much to us today, for we are long past the norm of using “seals” as they were utilized in ancient times. but in those days, a seal was inviolable. It represented authority, authenticity, and finality. No one messed with a seal. In the book of Esther, when King Ahasuerus issued the order to save the Jews, he commanded them to “seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.” When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, “… a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel." In the vision concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the Scripture says this: And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Isaiah 29:11 The permanence of a seal against all who were unauthorized to break it was an inviolable part of their world.  It becomes even more apparent when John is caught up to heaven and there beholds the scroll with seven seals. John begins to weep because there was “no one worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” Of course, we find that the Lamb, “standing as though it had been slain”, was worthy to break the seals. And when each of those seals were broken, great calamity came upon the earth. Seals in the Scripture mean something. And John had wept, because the seal represented an inviolable wall to anyone who did not have the authority to break it. Seals show authority. They show authenticity. And they show finality for all except the one who had the authority to break them. And so, we now come back to the tomb. The seal, whether it was a Roman seal or the High Priest’s seal, represented a fixed closure that no one was allowed to breach. When it was set upon the tomb, there was a finality, a stamp of ultimate authority, that said, “this tomb is closed”. Ah, but God is not subject to the laws or seals of man. I can imagine that when the earth began to shake and the stone was rolled aside, that those clay seals with the authority of man impressed upon them broke into a thousand pieces and lay as trash littering the ground. If Jesus rose from the dead, then the seal of man, meant to keep Him in the grave, had been utterly and completely destroyed. But there is one more thing that must be mentioned regarding “seals”.  In John 6, Jesus said this: Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” John 6:27 If God seals something, it is sealed! In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Eph 1:13 “… it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Cor 1:21 This is God’s seal of authority, authenticity, and finality. You are His, sealed with His guarantee. Oh my! [previous] [next]
5
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#5) the Angels Would Have Announced It
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:1-6 It may be too bold to say this, but I believe that it should come as no surprise to anyone that the announcement of the Lord’s resurrection was made by the angles, for this, indeed, was a cosmic moment. And, also not surprising, is that there is controversy over this: how many angels, where they were, and what did they really say. Matthew and Mark have one angel; Luke and John have two. We will deal with all of that soon. But today, we want to ponder the fact that it was the angels that announced the resurrection and why. Recall the great passage in Galatians (don’t skip through it… read it): What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.  Galatians 4:1-5 The advent of the Messiah was a “set time”—set by God. It wasn’t just that we landed on a nice calendar day. This was as if all the prophecies and all the promises were set on a timer and they all went off together at this moment. It was a cosmic moment: the time in which God was going to enter the world as a human being in order to redeem those who were in bondage under the law. It was a moment that began with the birth of the Messiah and extended through His resurrection… one big cosmic moment. John Calvin refers to the resurrection as “the closing scene of our redemption.” And the privilege of announcing this cosmic moment was going to be given to the angels. They came to Mary and to Joseph. They came to Zacharias and then on the night of His birth, the heavens were filled with a host of angels announcing the news… not to Herod or to the High Priest, but to the lowly, despised and smelly shepherds. Not in a palace or in the temple, but out in the middle of a common, ordinary field.  Should we, therefore, be surprised that it would be the angels who would announce His resurrection? And, to a woman in a graveyard? We will deal more with this later, but recall that women in that culture were second-class citizens. Jesus changed all of that forever. But it was no small deal in those days that the angels would break the news to a woman, and to Mary Magdalene, who at one time had been possessed by seven demons and no doubt suffered from the ravages those demons would visit upon her.  No, this is not surprising to us, for this is who God is. God’s heart is with the humble. And He blesses His creatures by allowing them to carry out His purposes and plans. Thus, He sends angels to announce the Moment of Moments. So, who are these “angels”?  Well, they are an amazing part of God’s creation. There are tons of them, “innumerable”, says Hebrews 12:22 and “thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand” says Revelation 5:11.  That is a lot of angels! There is even some conjecture that we might each have an “assigned” angel. When speaking of the children, Jesus refers to “their angels in heaven”. This certainly is inconclusive, but there surely are enough of them to go around! Maybe that is why there are so many. One thing we know for sure, they do minister to us: Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14 Angels are strong. They are mighty. They battle the forces of darkness and they serve God as He sends them to fulfill His purposes. They are messengers, but they also carry out some of God’s judgments. When Herod was struck down and eaten by worms because he did not give glory to God, it was an angel that struck him. (Acts 12:23) Some are sent to patrol the earth. (Zechariah 1:8-11) Scripture even says you might have come in contact with angels as they go about their duties in human form: Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 And so, it was the angels who kicked off the Moment and became quite active in the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. And it was the angels who ministered to Him in His times of need on earth. When Jesus had finished 40 days of fasting and had been tempted by Satan, the angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:11) When He was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and His soul was “deeply grieved to the point of death”, an angel came and strengthened Him. (Luke 22:43) I can imagine, then, how much they would have been straining at the bit to save Him from the scourge and the nails. All they needed was a word from Him and they would have swept in like a ferocious army. When Peter impetuously cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant, during the arrest, Jesus admonished Peter and said,  Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Matthew 26:53-54 A Roman legion consisted of 6,000 soldiers. Twelve would be 72,000 mighty angel warriors. If one angel can buckle the knees of the guards, imagine what 72,000 would do?  So, as Jesus was being scourged and nailed, as he hung on the tree, all He needed to do was say the word and the angels would have rescued Him. But He didn’t.  Can you imagine that? Can you imagine how easy it would have been in the midst of all of that pain and suffering to call out for rescue and relief? To just say the word and all the misery of that moment goes away? But no, He didn’t. It was our sin and His love that held Him there—denying Himself for our sake.  The angels who filled the sky with praise and glory at His birth are now held in check, silent at His death. The earth spoke, yes, but the angels remained silent. But! On the 3rd day, all that changed! The angels are released and silent no more. They announce the News of News—“He is not here! He has risen just as He said!” Yes, if Jesus rose from the dead, then the angels would have been there to announce it. You could not have kept them away. He is risen indeed! [previous] [next]
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