Of the empty tomb; where was Jesus now?
Had He risen, as predicted to the Jews,
Or was His body stolen? If so, how?
The Sanhedrin induced the guards to say,
“While we slept, His disciples moved the stone;
They took the body and hid it away!”
That He arose, Jews wanted not be known!
When the disciples gathered that same day,
They locked the doors, fearing Jewish arrest,
Glad that in the tomb their Lord did not lay;
Through the wall He appeared and joined the fest!
They knew Him, though the fresh wounds were all healed;
Such would be those their graves would some day yield!
Scripture Quoted: John 20:19-23 (NIV)
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that, Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’ “
SPECIAL NOTEL I start my new series, GOD'S MASTER PLAN FOR THE WORLD on NOV. 17th! See how God made His entire plan for Man and his history before znything existed. Watch Him create this expanding universe, earth, and man. See Him as Adam commits the sin that changed the world, dooming all mankind to Hell. Was God's plan ruined? How had God anticipated the loss of all men and women? Don't miss even one blog. New ones posted every two days. William J. B. Crittenden
Commentary on: John 20:19-23 (NIV)
There were approximately 120 disciples, men and women, in a large upper room late on the Sunday that Christ was resurrected. They were rejoicing that Peter and John told them that Jesus had risen, but they feared what the Jews might do; they had heard the rumor started by the Sanhedrin that it was they who had removed and hidden Jesus’ body. They had locked and barred the doors, which in that day were formidable to break open. They really had nothing to worry about, for their Jewish enemies had no desire to arrest them—there was no body for them to produce, and the priests knew they didn’t have it. The rumor was a lie, intended to stop any talk of resurrection. Roman soldiers didn’t sleep on watch; the penalty for doing so was death; divine power had so hypnotized them when Jesus walked out of the tomb that they saw and heard nothing; they must have been bribed to say openly they had fallen asleep.
For Jews the Sabbath day began at 6 p.m. on Friday and ended at the same time Saturday. Since Jesus arose on Sunday, the believers chose the first day of the week—that is, Sunday—on which to worship Christ. In their belief every Sunday is Easter Sunday, the day of His resurrection.
Lord Jesus Christ arose in a new imperishable body, yet He was recognizable as the former Jesus of Nazareth. To believers this was evidence of the spiritual heavenly bodies they would receive when they are resurrected at Christ’s return to earth the second time. The fresh wounds were completely healed, although He had been in the tomb slightly more than 36 hours. The “three days” are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, although the hours for Friday and Sunday are very few. Jesus Christ appeared in their midst in the upper room, having passed through the wall. He let them feel His scars, and proved to their satisfaction that He was the same as the Jesus buried late Friday.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
No comments:
Post a Comment