A Real Resurrection

Day 152: John 20:1-31

“Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” - John 20:8-9 ESV

First of all, how funny is it that John (who is now elderly as he writes) felt the need to slip in the detail about him smoking Peter in a foot race to the empty tomb? As men grow older, their need heightens to let others know of their athletic feats.

Have you ever thought about how the early disciples of Jesus were able to help prove Jesus' resurrection via the Hebrew Bible? For the first 20 or so years of the church, the New Testament as we know it didn't exist (James and Galatians were probably written around 50 AD). Of course, having eyewitness testimony didn't hurt their ability to convince people concerning the empty tomb!

In Acts 13:32-38, the Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of the passages he used (Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, Psalm 16:10).

Jesus' resurrection is proof that the "everlasting covenant" (Isaiah 55:3) that was first introduced to the Jews is alive and well today.

This is yet another example of the commitment and investment God has made into His church today.

Jesus lives now to pray for us, to see us through to the end of our lives or his Second Coming (whichever comes first; see Hebrews 7:25).

"It is important to note the emphasis John and other NT writers place upon the importance of the empty tomb. For them the resurrection of Jesus was certainly not just ‘spiritual’ survival after death; it involved a real resurrection of the body."
- Kruse, C. G. (2003). John: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 4, p. 370)