The Resurrection Promise

The Resurrection Promise

Read: Mark 9:30-32

“The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”

Mark 9:31

“Death died when Christ rose.”

—Anonymous

IN WORD Death surrounds us. It is on our TVs and in our newspapers. It has taken family members and friends. It will come to each of us. For all who are crushed by the reality of the Fall, Jesus gives this promise. There is a resurrection.

Perhaps we have heard this from the pulpit so often that we have lost a sense of amazement over this impossible claim. But think about it. This just does not happen, at least not visibly. Most religions have some concept of an afterlife, but a man being physically raised from the dead? No one ever made such a claim. Except Jesus. Even His disciples, who had seen Him raise Lazarus, a widow’s son, and a little girl, were dumbfounded (v. 32). They didn’t know what to make of this prediction, because it was beyond the realm of possibility. People die and they are buried. Period.

But Jesus erased the period. His resurrection, far from being an exclusive privilege of the Son of God, means everything for us. It reversed the curse of death that we brought upon ourselves at the Fall. It is the re-genesis—the beginning of a new creation. And we are invited to be a part of it.

IN DEED The promise of this resurrection is astounding. Every privilege of the risen Jesus, in all of His glory, is offered to us to partake in. It is the reality of the eternal promises of God. In His resurrection, He intercedes for us at the right hand of God (Hebrews 7:25); He lives in us (John 14:20; Galatians 2:20); and He exercises all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Not only is He exalted, but we are seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6); we are fellow heirs of His inheritance (Romans 8:17); and we have eternal life (John 6:40).

These are magnificent and astonishing truths. We could spend a lifetime—make that an eternity—letting them sink in. Today, meditate and marvel at the promise of the Resurrection.