God Still Raises The Body Of Jesus

Today, we return to a Bible text which was discussed some time ago. Is this not wonderful and most marvellous, how we can be taught from one text and receive so much satisfying and filling food? Resurrection comes in many ways through our Omniscient Lord, who delights in imparting wisdom to us. He who raised the body of Jesus, will also raise our mortal bodies in Christ Jesus, who abides in us.

Here is our today’s Scripture Passage.

But God raised him from the dead. Acts 13: 30.

In Paul’s message of encouragement to the people at Pisidian Antioch, on that Sabbath morning, he told them about Jesus. They knew the God of their Fathers. They knew Abraham’s God. All their lives, they were schooled in law and lived by the laws of Moses, given to him by God the Father.

Paul told them of God the Son and how God brought to Israel, through King David, Israel’s great King, the Messiah, the Saviour Jesus. He informed them, both Jews and God fearing Greeks, that the people of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise Jesus. They had him executed through sheer ignorance. They had done all kinds of wicked, scheming, cunning things to ensure that they had false evidence against Jesus. And even when Pilate could find no proper grounds for a death sentence, they demanded that Jesus be crucified. He told the people how Jesus’ dead body was taken down from the tree of crucifixion and laid in a tomb.

Have you ever thought of this? The dead body of Jesus was dealt with by human hands. These hands could only take the dead body of Jesus down from the cross and lay it in a tomb. Yes, that was, and still is, the extent of what human hands can do with the dead body of Jesus.

Now listen and see! The dead body of Jesus was dealt with by Divine Hands, as God raised Him from the dead. God dealt with the dead body of our Lord and Saviour and look at what God did!

We would hear this in deeper, more informed and strikingly life-changing tones. Jesus is dead. His limp, cold, dead body lies on that tree. His friends use their human power and strength on the dead body of Jesus. They do all that they can do to aid the dead body of their Saviour. Human hands take the dead body of their Saviour and bury it. On the other hand, The Father of Jesus takes the dead body of His Son and raises Him.

The Church, the Bride of Christ is the Body of Christ. Still, ignorant, hardened, stubborn, deceived hearts, make helpless the Body of Christ - the Church - and crucify her in many ways. The friends and followers of Jesus, the Body of the Church, will not be able to stop the injustice. They will not be able to stay the “Course of the Cross,” where death takes place. These friends, saddened by all the events that have taken place, disheartened and discouraged even, still take the Body down from the cross of crucifixion and they lay it to rest.

When the Church, the ‘hurt’ Body of Christ, is taken by your hands, lovingly, all you can do is put her away, hide her and try to protect her, as one helpless and ‘dead’. She is entombed very respectfully, solemnly and sorrowfully. The human hands of the friends of Jesus hold the dead body of Jesus and bury her in the best and most honourable ways.

But God comes! God always comes! The Spiritual Hand of the Father of Jesus, holds the dead Body of Jesus and brings her to life. He raises the Body, the Church and the evidence is seen by all.