Linger

Do you ever read the bible and it is pretty much a dry, cerebral kind of experience? You might understand the words and the concepts well enough, but nothing is really touching your heart or taking your breath away.

The other day I was reading in 1 Corinthians 15 and I had just the opposite kind of experience. I read through verses 1-11, which talk about the resurrection of Christ. I have read these verses hundreds of times, nothing special was jumping out at me. Then I felt troubled that something as significant as the resurrection of Christ seemed so academic and dry to me. So I decided to read those verses again, but this time I wasn't going to rush, I was going to linger and ask the Lord to show me something, to take my breath away.

I read about how our resurrected Lord appeared to Peter and to the twelve disciples, but still nothing moved me. "There must be something here if I just linger and look closer," I thought. When I came to the part where it says that Jesus appeared to "more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time" something strange happened in me. Suddenly, it was like I was transported back in time 2000 years to that very moment. I felt what they must have felt. It was as if the resurrection had just occurred and I was a part of all the excitement. I found myself saying out loud what is often said on Easter ... "He is risen, he is risen!"

I don't have experiences this intense every time I read in the bible. I wish I did! I believe that if we linger, meditate and pray for "open eyes" while we are reading, we allow the Spirit of God to show us things that we would ordinarily overlook or take for granted. The bible has that kind of power, but we must situate ourselves in a way that our hearts can receive it.

I went on to read about how most of those five hundred witnesses to the resurrection were still alive when Paul was writing. Why did Paul point that out? It was as if Paul was daring people to investigate the resurrection. Was he saying, I dare you to ask around and see what they all say? That was a bold statement for Paul to make if it was all just a lie, but Paul could make such a statement with confidence because he and many others had seen the risen Christ and could testify to its truth.

I wonder if you know why Jesus resurrection is so incredibly important? Jesus resurrection is significant for a lot of reasons. You've probably heard that the resurrection verified that Jesus was the Son of God just as he said he was (Romans 1:4). We hear that one a lot, don't we?

But I want to throw out two other very important reasons for the resurrection that you may have never even considered:

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 that Jesus' resurrection was the firstfruits (a foretaste) of the resurrection that Christ followers will experience when Jesus returns. Don't miss this: Jesus has conquered death and has now gone before us into the very presence of God. He has blazed a trail to the Father that we can now follow! That is huge! If we repent, trust in his atoning death and continue in our faith we will join our trailblazer at his second coming and will receive glorious resurrected bodies just like the body Jesus had after the resurrection (we're talking walking through walls, no more pain or sickness and who knows what else)! What's the point? If there was no resurrection then none of this would be possible!

Here is one more thought to blow your mind:

Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:20 Behold, I myself am with you all the days to the very end of the age. That word behold is really significant. Did you read right past it as if it were just a filler word or some unnecessary old fashioned word? The word behold (or as some translations unfortunately render it "look") means to stop and gaze at something that is really mind blowing! What is so amazing here? The fact that Jesus is alive right now and is with you even as you are reading this! He is with his followers day after day. He goes through everything with you. Are you beholding this fact? Are you seeing the wonder of it? He is with you right now!

--Pastor Jerry