(John 2:22)
�When therefore he was raisen 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.�
This, the cleansing of the Temple, was not a small incident. Neither was this a small thing to the religious leaders who heard Him say this. This statement of His was tossed in His face during His crucifixion. �And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buldeth it in three days.� (Mark 15:29)
This would have been a very audacious statement except for one tiny detail. It was a true statement. Mohammed Ali, the boxer, once said, �It ain�t bragging if you can do it.� I�ve got to agree. The statement of Jesus that He would rebuild the Temple of His body in three days was neither brag nor offhand comment. It was the Words of Prophecy from the Architect of Prophecy.
The old commercial said that we could trust our cars to the man who wore the star. We can trust the Words of the Man from Galilee. He is the Lord of All. His Words are secure because He is completely in charge. Even when we look about and wonder how it can all come out as He said, we have the guarantee that all things will be as the prophetic Words of God have said that they will come about.
God is of eternity. He stands outside, and above, this little thing we call time. He knows the beginning from the end because it is already as accomplished within His will.
We can stand in wonder as we see even current events as setting the stage for those last day prophecies that the skeptics have discounted. God�s Word is perfect and it is eternal.
We can look in history past and see the Resurrection proof of the Words of God. �When therefore he was raisen from the dead��
Jesus had given a prophecy that He would die. He strongly suggested that these same religious leaders would be a moving force behind His death. He said, in verse nineteen - just a few verses before today�s text verse, �Destroy this temple�� He said this to these religious leaders; this was, by implication, a prophecy that they would be involved in His death.
While we know that it was the sins of all humanity which were the reason that Jesus chose to go to the cross. It was not the �fault� of these religious leaders. We know this on theological terms.
But, humanly speaking, it was these religious leaders who led the charge to put Jesus to death. We know this from history, and from the Scriptural record.
This was a simple fulfilled prophecy. There was an even more remarkable fulfilled prophecy uttered by Jesus on this day. He said that when, I do not believe that an �if� was ever implied or considered, they did put Him to death, and He would rise from the dead on the third day.
In point of historical fact, Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
The Gospel records, as well as the rest of the New Testament canon, were of early composition. The Revelation which John received on the Isle of Patmos was completed by around 95 A.D. It is a fiction that the various Books of the New Testament were of late authorship. In 157 A.D. the New Testament was translated into the Syrian language. It is obvious that there was an earlier template, completed and accepted as Scripture, from which this translation was made.
No matter what anyone may attempt to tell you, the Scripture was of early authorship and composition. Early on those Books were accepted as fully inspired Scripture. Again, there would have been no Syrian translation in 157 A. D., is this were not fact. True, some people accepted some writings which the Holy Spirit later weeded out of His churches. True, some people did not immediately accept all the Books of the Bible. But, by and large, the New Testament was a completed volume quite early. It was also an accepted volume by the various churches in concert with the leading of the Spirit.
An aside, that Syriac volume very closely follows the base text of our King James Bible�s of this day. There was no �revision,� no �lost� Books, no �pure early text� to be discovered in the nineteenth century. God inspired, and God preserved, His Words to mankind.
When we speak of an early date for the writing of the Gospels, especially, we are speaking of memoirs which were written while there were still people alive who knew the truths which were recorded in those Gospels. Both Friend and Foe, alike, were alive with the ability to confirm, or dispute the facts as presented in the Gospel accounts.
President John Kennedy was killed in 1963. That is forty-five years ago as I write. If I were to write that he came, suppose, to my home town and did some miraculous, or notorious, act, would I be believed? Some might believe me. But, others would say, �I was there. That did not happen.�
That is the situation of these Gospel accounts. There were people who could have �sunk� the creditability of those Gospels had they not be true. Even in Jerusalem, the site of many of the events recorded, this was not done.
The truth is that Jesus Christ did die at the hands of Roman executioners. He also rose again the third day. This event so energized His small band of disciples that they went into all the world with the message that Jesus Christ died in time so that others could live in eternity.
This is simple fact. We also understand that Jesus rewards those who serve Him. He gives us salvation. This is the greatest reward! This salvation is necessary before we can even begin to serve Him. Romans 5:8 informs us that, �But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.�
That is a wonderful verse! While we were yet in our sins, while we were disposed to reject Him and all He stood for, He loved us so much that He died in our place, taking the punishment for sin which should have been ours. He then calls us to repentance and offers us full salvation without any cost to ourselves.
I�ve often said that my wife was an amazing, brilliant woman. She made only two major mistakes in her life. She said, �Yes.� Then she went through with the wedding ceremony. Love is an amazing emotion. It makes us do things we sometimes regret, and often cherish. Linda said, �Yes.� For more than thirty years, until her death, we were man and wife.
Suppose she had said, �No.� That marriage would never have occurred.
There is another verse in Romans. Romans 6:23. �For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.� Jesus rewards us with eternal life when we say, �Yes,� to Him.
Not all will say, �Yes.� To them He has no reward except that which they have earned. He has the gift of salvation, which only He could have earned, for all who would accept Him. Those who refuse to accept Him do not receive this great salvation. Their only �reward� is that which they have earned. It is eternal death in an eternal Hell.
This is sad. But, it is true.
There is another thing that has been prophesied about Jesus. He will return.
When we look about us and see the sin and evil in this world our souls should be weary with the depth of sin. There is crime. There is legalized crime. Just a few years ago our Supreme Court, in this nation, decreed that any municipality could confiscate private property for nearly any reason they deemed proper. That someone may be rendered homeless by the official avarice of elected office holders is not their concern.
That is evil.
Nearly forty years ago our same Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to kill their unborn children for any, or for no specific, reason.
That is evil. Not �choice.� Evil.
We could, I suppose, go on and on with example of private and public evil. There is no point in condemning. We, with the message of hope in Jesus Christ, can go out into this world and change it for the better by reaching one soul at a time.
That we are so slack in doing so is just another evil added to the list.
Our hope is that Jesus is going to return. I don�t mean �hope� as in, I hope He comes. I mean �I hope He comes soon.�
The prophecies of His first coming, His death and His resurrection were certain. When God pronounced the prophecies, those things became fact even though they had not yet come to pass in time.
So is His return. It is a fact that has not yet come to pass in time.
There is a problem in this blessed event. There are so many to whom we should have witnessed. There are so many to whom we have never even considered the prospect of witness.
I see a picture of God sitting in Heaven. He has given us the duty to go into all the world. He is saying, �What part of �all� did you not understand?�
In this text verse Jesus has spoken of Resurrection proof. He has also spoken of Relationship proof. ��his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them��
Another reason we have for understanding, not just �believing,� but �understanding!,� that Jesus has risen from the dead is that He is alive in the world today.
I was watching a news story about the tidal wave that hit the Southeast of Asia a couple of years ago. People would say, �It was something that I�ll never forget.�
They might not forget the tidal wave. They, after all, experienced it. But, for the rest of the world there are other news stories that now keep us occupied. When I said, �a couple of years ago,� I�d be willing to surmise that you had to stop and think just how many years ago this great tragedy came upon the scene.
It is hard to understand how such a news story could drop from our consciousness so quickly. Yesterday�s tragedy, it seems, is often no more than today�s historical footnote. We see reference made in the �almanac� section of our newspapers and recall the event. But, we never really consider it anymore. It�s old news.
Jesus, however, is unforgettable. I seem to hear the strains of the old �Nat King Cole� song as I say this. How many are there today who have no idea just who �Nat King Cole� was? A new generation of artists are now plying their craft. The songs, and personalities, my generation grew up listening to have been relegated to a few �oldies� radio stations. These stations once played the music of my parent�s generation; now they play the songs of my youth. �Oldie.� That phrase has come to describe me!
Jesus remains on the �front burner.� I would be willing to hazard a guess that every single one of you who are Christian can remember the day that you accepted Jesus as your own Savior. You might not remember the date. You may even have trouble remembering the exact year. But, you certainly remember the day, the incident, don�t you?
The impact that Jesus has upon our lives, the joy that comes when we realize that our sins are gone as far as the East is from the West, is unforgettable. I love that term, �as far as the East is from the West.� It is a term of David, the Psalmist. �As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgression from us.� (Psalm 103:12)
If one went far enough to the North he would reach the point where all directions would be South. If one went far enough South he would reach the point where all directions would be North. North and South meet at the poles. But, East and West are continually running away from each other. They never meet. That is what God has done with the sins of the Christian. He has placed those sins so far away that they are no longer an issue. That is the glory of Salvation in Christ.
�Unforgettable.� Yes; Jesus is unforgettable. But, He is also unfathomable.
We understand that Jesus is God. We know this from our catechism classes and doctrinal studies. But we cannot understand all the glory that this means. Jesus is the Lord of the Universe. Jesus is the Creative Agent of the Godhead. �For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.� (Colossians 2:9)
Look back at John 3:13 for just a minute. �And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.�
Look again at the verse. It is so easy to miss what Jesus said. He said that, while He was speaking with Nicodemus in the Middle East of about 30 A.D., He was in Heaven. We adore the fact that He came to earth in Bethlehem. We are enthralled at His teachings as He walked this earth. We are overwhelmed with the thought that He died on a Cross for our sins. We are joyous that He rose from that grave in three days.
But, we often do not consider that while all this was transpiring, He was in Heaven with the Father. The world could not contain the glory of the One and Only Christ. The body of a human encased Him. But in some way that is too wonderful to understand, too far above our intellectual capacities, He is the Eternal and Omnipresent God of the Bible.
The unfathomable glory and riches which are Jesus. I cannot continue on this point because the thought is too far above my capacity to understand, let alone explain. I am given a great gift from Him in that I may worship He Who is life eternal.
You, all who have been washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb, have that same right!
The old song says that �Jesus is all the world to me.� He is so much more!
Jesus is also unfailing in all His promises and prophecies. If He has made a prophecy, we can consider it a �done deal.� All of His prophecies will come to pass because He is God.
He prophesied salvation for all who would accept Him as Savior. That salvation is certain and eternal. His Word is His guarantee. His guarantee does not expire.
He promised that He would return to this earth. Look up. He�s a coming! Ain�t no doubt about it! We do not know when He is returning for us. We just know that He is coming. That it has been nearly 2000 years since He made this promise does not mean the promise has failed. It just means that He is nearly 2000 years closer to appearing.
We know He�s coming. In the meantime He has given us a task upon this earth.
�And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.� (Luke 24:46-47)
These things happened so that He might be the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins. Because of this we are able to fellowship with Him. Because of this we are guaranteed a home in heaven.
Oh, one more thing, lest we forget.
�And ye are witnesses of these things.� (Luke 24:48)
There are others who need this great salvation. Someone spoke to us about Jesus. Some prayed for our salvation. Someone, humanly speaking, led us to the Savior. Now, it is our turn to do the same for others. While Jesus waits to return to earth, we have a job to do. This job is eternally important for the souls of others. We are to be witness of these things.
Do it for Jesus! Do it for others. Do it for your own soul�s enrichment.
We also see the Recorded proof of the resurrection of Jesus. ��and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.�
Notice what was just said. ��they believed the scripture��
We can prove the resurrection of Jesus because the event is recorded. He is recorded as having risen from the dead in the pages of inspired and preserved Scripture.
Back in my early college days I went to a church where the �pastor� was not a Bible believer. I can still hear his words blazing in my ears. He started his �sermon� by reading a few verses from the Bible. Then he said, �Some people call this the Word of God. I don�t know. I suppose if there is a God He might have written it.�
In those eloquent words of Charlie Brown: �Good grief, Snoopy!�
Why was this guy involved in any type of �church� work? Why would any church choose to employ him as their spiritual guide? I just do not understand!
Personally, I believe that the theist, one who believes in God, is on a much more secure philosophical footing in his belief than is an atheist is in his non belief. Still, if one wishes to be an atheist, I would suppose that is his right. Actually, I would say it is his folly.
But, my point is, why would one so disposed ever consider even spending an hour of his time each week at a church? �Preaching� at a church in such a state completely dumbfounds me. I can not see the logic or purpose therein.
With Paul I can say that ��I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.� (II Timothy 1:12b)
I know this because we have a Word which we can trust. This is not the word of man. This is not the word of �maybe.� This is the eternal, secure, unbreakable Word of God. It is not the �maybe� of the modern critic who argues that the true Words of God were lost to history. This Bible I hold in my hand is founded upon the eternally inspired and eternally preserved Words of God. This is the Message which He has given to me.
�It is written,� is the strongest surety we have. This is the eternal Word of God. Why do we believe that Jesus has risen from the dead? God said so. The Book of God says so. And, Jesus is alive within my heart!
He is received by the Christian. His witness is within the heart of the Blood bought believer. Jesus speaks to us through circumstance when we are walking in His will. He speaks to us through His Word when we prayerfully read the pages therein. He speaks to us in that still, small voice when we listen for His leading.
I believe that Jesus is risen from the dead because I have met Him at the cross and received Him as my personal Savior. Have you? If you have, you know exactly what I am talking about!
Jesus is also rewarding. We have some great �perks� as Christians. First, we know the end. Battered and tossed by the winds of adversity, we have a sure anchor which holds our soul. We have an ark that raises us above the waters of storm and daily turmoil. We have a Savior Who hold us in His outstretched hands.
We understand that all the trials of today will seem as nothing compared with the glory of His welcoming, �Well done, thou good and faithful servant.�
He understands our sorrows. He understands our temptations. He understands our weaknesses. His power within will cause us to be more than we could possibly be without Him.
He empowers our witness. He leads our lives. He gives true meaning to the meaninglessness of life.
Men work for fifty weeks to get a two week vacation. Then they do it over again. They cash their pay check and wonder where it all all gone. Worse than that, they wake up one day at my advanced age and wonder where all the time has gone.
One day their father took them to visit their grandfather. Now they are the grandfather visiting their grandchildren. One day they were the �young lion� on the job. Now they are the �old geezer� who holds up others with his slowness. One day they had a future before them. Now they have a past behind them.
The enduring truth one realizes when he reaches old age is that life goes by so quickly. Where did it go? To access another of those �oldie� tunes, �What�s it all about?�
The Christian, however, realizes that this life, even the �tag end� of it, is meaningful. It is preparation for the life to come. A more abundant life is awaiting us. We�ll meet that �old� grandfather. We�ll talk to our own father in that land beyond the river. As all the old songs say, �It�ll be a grand reunion day!�
And it will.
But, nearly as important is that the Lord has given us meaningful work. I was in a Sunday School class recently with a man in his late eighties. He has said, �I really didn�t know how to witness until I had my heart attack. I was certainly able to talk to some of the doctors and nurses.� He is enjoying a useful life. He realizes that the things we do for Christ are fulfilling. He isn�t �out to pasture.� He�s out to see souls �pasteurized� by the refining warmth of the Son of God.
Don�t you want that same joy and purpose in your own life? Come to the risen Savior. Accept Him as your own personal Savior. You will be very happy you have done so!