The death of Jesus Christ was not something that was shocking to the father, neither was it shocking to Jesus Himself. The death of Jesus Christ was not an “untimely death” as we love to call it in our clime. You know that there is an expectation we have about death, that even though we know that one day or the other, everyone would taste of death, but at least, people should die at a full old age. But Jesus didn’t die at a full old age, Jesus died at the age of 33 years plus and it is not anything close to an untimely death. If you read John 10:17-18, Jesus Himself said:

 

“Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again…” here, Jesus is showing us the reason why there is so much love between Him and the Father. The love is as a result of the father asking the SON to die for the sins of mankind and the SON simply obeying. The basis of this love is on the altar of obedience. God loves us when we obey Him. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself….” Now, somebody may be wondering here: but His life was taken from Him now, He was killed. No, His life was not taken from Him. Jesus surrendered Himself to be taken and captured. If you read Isaiah 53:7-11, Isaiah prophesied about it this way:

 

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.

 

So, what we saw happen to Jesus over 2020 years ago, was a prophecy of prophet Isaiah being played out before humanity. Now, I did a little research about the timeline between Isaiah’s prophecy here and the time of Jesus’ death, it was about 700 years before Jesus showed up on the scene. Now, don’t forget the same Isaiah prophesied about His birth in Isaiah 7:14 (Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel) and Isaiah 9:6. So, Jesus’ death was not a coincidence, it was a deliberate plan of God to liberate mankind from the pangs of sin and death. So, Jesus said: “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

 

If you jump to Acts 2:22-24, 36, see what apostle Peter said after they had received the Holy Spirit: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

 

The Significance of Jesus’ Resurrection

 

#1. The resurrection is one of the proofs that we have that Jesus Christ is the authentic Son of God [Romans 1:1-4]. Now many religious leaders in the past have claimed that they are God sent, many of them have claimed that they are even the original son of God. However, many of them have died and have remained in their graves till tomorrow. There was no resurrection story accredited to anyone of them. Only Jesus Christ is the true Son of God and the resurrection of Christ is a testament to the fact that He is the only Son of God.

 

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God ² which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

 

#2. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a pointer to the fact that physical death is not the end of those who believe in Christ Jesus [1 Corinthians 15:20-24]. For believers, physical death is a means to an end, physical death is not the end in itself. When anyone dies having Christ and is in Christ, there is promised a hope of resurrection.

 

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep...” Why does the Scripture actually treat death as sleep? The true sense of this is that believers don’t die. Yes, the physical body dies, and that is what is buried. But when we became born again, we have what is known as eternal life already. Eternal life is not what we would receive, eternal life is what we already have, we possess it. 1 John 5:13 says: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” Also, John 5:24 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

 

²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.”

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 also says:

 

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

 

#3. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that Christ will judge the world in righteousness [Acts 17:30-31]. Through the resurrection of Christ Jesus, there is no way the world can escape the judgement of God. As a matter of fact, the Bible makes it clear that the resurrection is a proof that God is going to judge the world.

 

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

 

#4. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ brought us Justification [Romans 4:23-25] Justification talks about being declared just and righteous. The righteousness nature of God that we enjoy through Christ Jesus was delivered to us, signed and sealed; because Christ resurrected

 

“Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

 

#5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives Christians a living hope [1 Peter 1:3-5]. What we brag about in Christianity is not falsehood, it is a living hope. We know and we are assured of our confidence in God. Many religions that are in the world today and in which people practice doesn’t commend anyone to God. But we know that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross brought us a living hope, it brought us to a place where we can brag about God.

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

 

How to Maximize the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 

#1. You have to be Born Again! As a matter of fact, this is all that the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus came to facilitate. Except you are born again, you may not be able to fully maximize this death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. In John 3:3-6, Jesus said to Nicodemus:

 

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

 

#2. We have the power of resurrection at work in us and therefore, we can make use of that power. Paul was talking about this power of resurrection in Philippians 3:10-11, it says: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” What would bring about that attainment is simply knowing Him and laying claim to that power.

 

May the Lord help us in Jesus’ name!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

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