Puttin Jesus on Trial (Part 7)

Today we arrive at the end of this series, Putting Jesus on Trial. We have journeyed together for seven weeks, and for those who have plowed through all seven weeks, you should reward yourself with a cookie, or a bowl of ice-cream. Beginning with Jesus’ arrest in the garden we have:

seen Jesus before the Sanhedrin
seen Jesus before Pilate
seen Jesus carrying his cross from the sentencing to Golgotha
seen Jesus being crucified
seen the enemies of Jesus and the disciples as Jesus lay in the tomb
seen Jesus rise in triumph over death and the grave

This final week, we are going to answer the question, “So what?” Why does any of this matter. Sure it’s a cool and fascinating record of events, but why should I care? What does any of this have to do with me?

Identity Validation

The Jews of Jesus’ day were constantly asking Jesus to validate his authority to say and do the things he was saying and doing. “By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you this authority?” Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrated and claimed that he was/is God incarnate, God in human flesh and bone.¹ It is not the intent of this blog posting to argue that point, but to state that Jesus rising from the dead is the ultimate demonstration of that truth.

Repeatedly they demanded…

“What sign do you give…”
“Show us a sign…”
“What sign do you do that we may believe…”

Jesus was having none of it.

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
– Matthew 12:39-40, ESV

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is far more than a great miracle. It is the ultimate validation of who and what he is. Through the advancement of medical arts, humanity can cure many ills, but we have no cure for death. Death is the ultimate equalizer. Each of us will experience it, and none of us can overcome it on our own. But Jesus did precisely that. He laid his life down, voluntarily, and he took his life up by choice.² Jesus is the Author of life.³ He is the Creator.⁴ He is God.

The resurrection proves that.

The Last Enemy

Jesus destroyed every enemy…every rule and principality and power.⁵ The final enemy to put down was death itself,⁶ humanity’s greatest enemy and, for those outside of Christ, one of humanity’s greatest fears. But for those of us who are in Christ, death is not a finality, but a transition. In the resurrection of Jesus, we have redefined the entire concept of mortality.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O Death, is your victory?
Where, O Death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

– 1 Corinthians 15:54-56, ESV

Seven Truths

The apostle Paul dealt masterfully with the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. There, he even speculated on it saying, essentially, “Okay, I’ll play along. What if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, or more generally, if the dead are not raised at all? What happens then?”

If it is true that the dead are not raised, that the dead are just dead and that’s all there is to it, seven truths slide into view:

… then not even Christ has been raised.
… our gospel message is worthless.
… our faith is worthless.
… we are exposed as false witnesses about God (liars).
… we are still in our sins.
… those who have died have perished.
… we, of all humanity, are to be pitied.

That’s a pretty depressing message. But that message is a lie, because the dead are, in fact, raised.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
– 1 Corinthians 15?20-22, ESV

Resurrection and Life

Jesus made an exceedingly strong atatement in John’s gospel regarding the resurrection, saying, not that he would oversee the resurrection, or that he would pass around the resurrection. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life.”⁷ Jesus does not simply give life. Jesus is life.

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
– 1 John 5:11-12, ESV

If there were one specific thing I would want you to take away from this series, Putting Jesus on Trial, longest blog series I have ever done, it is this one brief statement from Jesus. Read it. Ponder it. Memorize it, and live victoriously because of it.

Because I live, you also will live.
– John 14:19b, ESV

1. John 1:1, 14, 5:18 8:58, 10:30, 8:44, 14:9, 20:28 and more, but these suffice.
2. John 10:18
3. Acts 3:15
4. John 1:3, 10, Colossians 1:16, 1 Corinthians 8:6
5. 1 Corinthians 15:24, Colossians 2:15
6. 1 Corinthians 15:26
7. John 11:25