|
Resurrection, Anticipated and Foretold
Reprinted from The Carolina Messenger
David R. Pharr
It may seem a strange paradox that the
enemies of Jesus understood his predictions of
his own resurrection while his apostles did not.
Jesus explained to the twelve that he would be
killed and after three days would rise again, "but
they understood not that saying, and were afraid
to ask him" (Mark 9:31-32; cf.
Luke 9:44f). It happened, though, that when
the Pharisees appealed to Pilate for a guard for
the tomb, they explained, "Sir, we remember
that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive,
After three days I will rise again" (Matt.
27:62ff). The fact is that Jesus often spoke
in anticipation of his approaching death and
resurrection. This he depicted sometimes in
figurative terms and sometimes in specific
statements.
The Temple of His Body
In the early days of his ministry on the occasion
of Passover, Jesus dispersed the livestock dealers and
broke up the money changers. Challenged by the Jews to
show a sign to certify his authority,
| "Jesus
answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and
in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews,
Forty and six years was this temple in building, and
wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of
the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen
from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had
said this unto them; and they believed the scripture,
and the word which Jesus had said" (John
2:18-22). |
It is fitting that Jesus used
"temple" in that the temple of the old system was the
dwelling place of God.
This was not understood by his critics. In fact,
his words were misapplied at the trial before Caiaphas
as if he planned to destroy the Jerusalem temple, and
again at the cross (Matt. 26:61; Mark 14:58; Matt.
27:40). Further, it was only after "he was risen
from the dead" that his disciples understood.
The metaphor, however, is one which we can
appreciate. We know that the spirit is the real person
and that the fleshly body is only its temporary abode.
Paul spoke of this in terms of the "outward man"
and the "inward man" (II Cor. 4:16).
Then in terms similar to the figure Jesus used, he
spoke of our earth life as being in "our earthly
house of this tabernacle" (II Cor. 5:1). It
is fitting that Jesus used "temple" in that the temple
of the old system was the dwelling place of God. Jesus
is God. When he came in the flesh, it was God dwelling
in a fleshly body (John 1:14). He knew the
temple in which he dwelled would be "destroyed,"
killed. But he also knew that in three days that body
would be alive again.
The Sign of Jonah
There was no shortage of miraculous evidence of his
Messiahship, but the Pharisees asked for another (Matt.
12:38). Because he knew nothing he did would
convince them, Jesus refused the demand, saying:
| "An
evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign
of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of
man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth" (Matt. 12:39f; cf. Matt. 16:4; Luke
11:29f). The remarkable repentance that resulted
from Jonah's preaching is explained in part by Jonah
himself (or what happened to him) being a sign. Jesus
said, "For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites,
so shall also the Son of man be to this generation"
(Luke 11:30). We have no details, but in some
way the people of that wicked city were aware of
Jonah's "three days and three nights" experience and
it served as a sign to convince them of the warning
the prophet preached. The ultimate sign, the sign
which would be adequate to convince all mankind (if
they would accept it) is the sign of Jesus's
resurrection (Acts 17:31; Rom. 1:4). |
Three Days & Three Nights
As Jonah was "in the
belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah
1:17), so Jesus foretold he would be for such a
time in the tomb. When Paul said that the resurrection
on the third day was "according to the Scriptures"
(I Cor. 15:4), the scripture he had in mind
must have been Jonah 1:17.
The question that has
puzzled many is how to reconcile "three days and three
nights" with the facts of a Friday crucifixion and a
Sunday resurrection (Luke 23:52-24:3). At issue
is whether this required a full 72 hours or whether
the expression merely denotes events over a three day
period. A case can be made for the Jewish custom of
counting part of a day as a whole day. The matter is
easily settled, however, by other statements of
scriptures. Seven times the Bible tells us that Jesus'
resurrection was on "the third day" (Matt.
16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Luke 27:7, 21, 46; I Cor. 15:4;
plus parallel texts). Simple reflection should be
sufficient to show that if 72 hours had to transpire,
it would have been on the fourth day! The meaning
understood by the Pharisees was not that it would be
72 hours (Matt. 27:63), therefore they asked
for a guard only until the "third day" (Matt.
27:64).
Specific Predictions
It was not until the third
year of his ministry that Jesus began to speak to his
disciples specifically concerning his coming passion
and resurrection. Immediately following the occasion
at Caesarea Philippi when Peter confessed Jesus to be
Christ (Matt. 16:16), we find:
| "From
that time forth began Jesus to show unto his
disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and
suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third
day" (Matt. 16:21; cf. Mark 8:31; Luke
9:22). |
Impetuous Peter typified
the confusion of the twelve. He seems to have been
much more attentive to the prediction of Christ's
suffering than he was to the assurance of the
resurrection. "Then Peter took him, and began to
rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this
shall not be unto thee" (Matt. 16:22).
Jesus said to him, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou
art an offence unto me: for thou savoriest not the
things that be of God, but those that be of men" (Matt.
16:23). Peter's motives were doubtless sincere,
but his objections to Jesus' words came from the
fleshly mind. On the one hand, it was unthinkable that
the Master might become such a victim. On the other
hand, the possibility of arising three days after
being murdered was contrary to all human experience.
After the Transfiguration
Coming down from the mount
of Transfiguration, he told Peter, James and John to
tell no one what they had seen until after "the Son of
man were risen from the dead." Again, the significance
was not appreciated, because "they kept that saying
with themselves, questioning one with another what the
rising from the dead should mean" (Mark 9:10).
A later occasion shows the same failure to grasp the
significance of the Lord's words on the part of all
the apostles. "And they understood none of these
things: and this saying was hid from them, neither
knew they the things which were spoken" (Luke
18:33f; cf. Matt. 20:19; Mark 10:34).
With the Eleven
While at the Passover
supper or along the way to Gethsemane Jesus prepared
them for the dreadful hours that would follow by
promising that sorrow would be turned into joy. The
sorrow would be through the hours of his passion and
entombment. The joy would be when they would see him
again (John 16:16-22). These promises embraced
more than just the resurrection, because they pointed
to all the blessings of the gospel age. They were
predicated, however, on the fact that they would see
him when he was raised from the grave.
In Gethsemane
In Gethsemane he tried to
prepare them for the distress of the coming hours by
assuring, "But after I am risen again, I will go
before you into Galilee" (Matt. 26:32). The
women who came to the tomb also knew this promise and
were reminded by the angel:
| "Be
not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was
crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the
place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into
Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you"
(Mark 16:6f). |
Luke adds, "And they
remembered his words" (Luke 24:8).
Conclusion
Two points stand out:
First, that Jesus was always confident that he would
be raised. Second, the disciples were never confident
of it. The first point is further proof of Jesus being
truly the Son of God, not only in his being raised,
but also in his perfect foreknowledge of it. The
second point is proof of the apostles being unbiased
eyewitnesses of the resurrection, because it was not
something they expected or thought possible.
Back to Articles Menu
Carolina Messenger
Spiritual Sword
|