The Impossible Life - Part 3
Read: John 11
No wonder He died…
The miracle with Lazarus foreshadows that which is swiftly coming for Jesus – His own death and resurrection. Following the miracle, many come to believe in Jesus, but there is still a faction that feels threatened by Jesus – the chief priests and Pharisees. The high priest Caiaphas prophesies that Jesus will die, saying, “‘…You are not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish’” (John 11:51). Jesus’ death accomplishes far more than this, but they are not to know this. Instead, they are motivated to arrest and kill the Son of God (John 11:53).
God can and will use all things to work together for His purposes – even the evil plotting of legalistic religious leaders. There is one inescapable fact that the religious leaders knew but could not even begin to fathom as applying to Jesus: “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Way back at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist proclaimed: “‘Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29). According to Mosaic Law, the atonement offerings could be a bull, a goat, or a lamb (depending on who was offering and for what purpose). The Passover ceremony required the offering of a lamb as a reminder of the blood that protected Israel during the final plague of Egypt. Jesus’ title as the Lamb of God directly references His role as our atonement sacrifice. Hebrews says, “Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (10:11-12). Jesus’ death was necessary, and by it, we are saved.
No wonder He lived again…
Jesus’ death was not the end of the story. C.S. Lewis’s excellent book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has a scene near the end where the lion Aslan is sacrificed and returns to life. I love how Aslan describes his resurrection:
“‘…though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.’”
While a fictional imagining of resurrection, there is truth to be found in the telling. The consequence of sin is death, and blood must be spilled for our redemption and freedom from sin. And when the sinless Lamb of God is ransomed in our place, a deeper truth is revealed – we die with Him. Paul, writing to the Romans, says:
“Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him” (6:4-9).
Christ’s resurrection breaks the stranglehold death has over us. Will we still physically die? Yes. However, we now have the promise of eternal life with Christ, forever reunited with God. These verses in Romans help us understand that for us to experience a new spiritual life in Christ, our old self, our sin nature must be put to death. This happens with Christ’s death for us on the cross.
As He revealed in John 11, Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus’ death accomplished much, but the fulfillment of all Christ promised is seen with His resurrection. Paul clearly states how foundational Jesus’ resurrection is to our faith: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). Paul does not tend to mince words; he will tell it to you straight. Christ’s resurrection was as necessary as His death was, and Paul tells us why, “For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). Our new creation identity is only possible with Jesus’ resurrection. This life was unimaginable before Jesus. After Jesus, we are now living an impossible life.
No wonder He lived…
when He longed for renewed communion with us.
No wonder He loved…
when the only way to restore us to grace was to offer Himself in our place.
No wonder He raged…
when we sorrowed over the futility of life always ending in death.
No wonder He cried…
when our burden of grief touched His heart and overflowed His eyes.
No wonder He shouted…
when His power burst forth, overthrowing death and gifting life once more.
No wonder He died…
when only His atonement would grant us access to eternal grace.
No wonder He lived again…
when He is the I Am who lives and reigns forever.
