THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
Part I
It was the express command of God, under the Old Testament dispensation, that all the males in Israel go up three times each year to take part in the feasts. Especially, at the feast of the Passover, the trumpet was blown, and then all Israel remembered how God had delivered them out of the house of bondage—Egypt, and had led them forth with a mighty arm, and a stretched-out hand. It appeared as though Egypt would become the grave of Abraham’s seed, but God remembered His covenant, and delivered them. God’s elect people had also corrupted themselves in this strange land, but God had thoughts of peace, and not of evil towards them, from all eternity. The ground and basis for this deliverance was the blood of the lamb, and this referred to Christ. To this Paul refers in Ephesians 1:7 when he exclaims:— “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
This is the eternal foundation upon which the spiritual seed of Abraham is delivered from the dominion of sin, satan and death. And if there was abundant reason under Israel to be glad, and extol the Name of the Lord, no less now, for the Church of the new dispensation, for they may exclaim: “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” The blood of bulls and goats could not atone for sin, or bring deliverance. Year after year it was necessary for Israel to offer sacrifices, but when Christ came, He made atonement in one day, for by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
He gave His soul to be a ransom for many, and exclaimed:—I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And the Father was completely satisfied with the finished work of His Son. Of this He gave witness by the resurrection of Christ, granting Him full acquittance, that the debt was paid, and the law fulfilled.
By His resurrection, Christ also triumphed over the powers of hell, as He already triumphed when He cried out:—”It is finished”. We wish to consider with you the glorious resurrection of Christ, according to the words which you may find in Psalm 78:65-66.
“Then the Lord awaked as one of out sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. And He smote His enemies in the hinder parts: He put them to a perpetual reproach. “
“The resurrection of Christ—the theme-song of the Old Testament Church.” This resurrection was:
1. An awakening out of death
2. It was attended with great joy
3. It certified a complete victory
In this seventy-eighth psalm the wonders and judgments of God are brought to remembrance by Asaph, who lived in the days of David. The personal experiences of the poet are not related, or brought to the foreground, but only that which God performed in the days of old, which was to the glory of His Name, and the deliverance of His people. God’s Sovereignty, His Righteousness, His Truth and His Mercy, are clearly revealed therein.
But these deliverances of His chosen people, also point to the Great Deliverer and Saviour—Christ Jesus, and to the deliverance wrought by Him in the fulness of time.
That portion of this psalm wherein our text is found, calls to remembrance the dark days of Samuel’s youth, when the judgments of God lay as a shadow of death over Israel. The people had sinned very grievously, and every one did that which seemed right in his own eyes. God’s laws were scorned, His ordinances trampled under foot, the abominations committed were terrible, and there was no man to reprove them. God could not do otherwise, but reveal His displeasure and justice.
The tabernacle of Shiloh was forsaken, the Ark which was the revelation of God’s might and majesty, was carried away into captivity. It was the day of God’s wrath, when the ark was carried away by the enemies, and this caused the dying wife of Phinehas to name her new-born son—Ichabod—the glory is departed from Israel.
But still the Lord could not, neither did He desire, to forsake His people forever. He would again be merciful to them, by destroying their enemies and dwelling among them.
And now the poet exclaims in our text:—”Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep,”—thus as it were out of a long and deep sleep. God did hide Himself and kept silence as though He did not behold the groaning of His people, and it appeared as though the heathen would continue to bear the rule over the Lord’s inheritance.
But as one that awaketh very suddenly, and as a man of courage who arises unexpectedly, thus did the Lord arise to deliver His people and abase their enemies. And behold, this is clearly and unmistakably demonstrated in the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
According to the eternal counsel of God, then Christ had to die, for He was ordained to be the Surety and Mediator of the covenant. He was chosen by the Father to be His Servant, who would perform all his pleasure. Listen to Him when He speaks in eternity:—”Lo, I come, to do Thy will, O God.” And in Gethsemane, He agreed to the justice of God when He said:—”Not My will, but Thine be done. ‘ ‘ However, this was not the end of His suffering, neither was God’s justice satisfied.
By the breaking of the Covenant of Works, Adam, and all his posterity came under the curse of temporal, spiritual, and eternal death. God cannot renounce His justice, but maintains His justice, to the praise of His eternal virtues. For this reason Christ must drink this cup of suffering to the very last drop and be obedient unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
He died as Surety under the Holy justice of God. When He had fully satisfied this justice and atoned for the guilt of His elect, then majestically, Christ entered into death—He bowed His head and gave up the ghost. Christ died a spiritual death, which consisted of a separation from God’s favor, but the results of this death, such as losing the image of God and the slavery of sin and satan, were not found in Christ. But still He was forsaken of God. He was placed under the undivided wrath of God against the human race, and under the weight of sin and oppression from Satan. He died the temporal death, for soul and body were separated, although He did not see corruption, Psalm 16. He was subjected to the punishment of eternal death before He died, although He never became the object of God’s wrath, but remained God’s Beloved Son. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Him in a new grave that was hewn out of a rock. There lay the greater than Jonah, in the belly of the earth, but Who had removed the curse of the law.
There, the second Adam sleeps, while His Bride is being created out of His side. There, lies the greater than Joseph, in prison, before He is led forth to glory. Behold, the mightier than Samson confined to the Gaza of the grave, ere He could carry victoriously the gates of hell.
Jews and heathens endeavored to keep the Lord of Glory in death. Even before He died, the enemies parted His raiment, as if to say:—”Never, no never, will He wear these again.” And after Christ was buried, they sealed the stone at the mouth of the grave, but also placed a “watch” by the grave, to make sure that He would not arise or that His body would be stolen. What a deep humiliation, namely from the highest glory, and now lying in the dust of death.
For the friends of Christ, this was a bitter disappointment, for although He had often spoken to them of His deep humiliation and His burial, still they had not taken it to heart.
Their eyes were shut to the necessity of His suffering and death as their Surety. Their expectations of Christ were so entirely different. The prophets of the old dispensation and all the ceremonies of the law had pointed to the death of Christ, but they did not receive any light upon these matters. After His resurrection, He would tell the two disciples who were traveling to Emmaus:—”Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” Yes, beloved, the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, but we cannot understand these things with our intellect. The Spirit of God must give us light, before we can understand aright. Thus it was with the disciples; with the women; and also with us. While Christ lay in the grave, it appeared hopeless and lost for the disciples and the women. What a long day that must have been, namely the last Sabbath of the Old Testament, to the sorrowing disciples and the grieving women. Christ had the largest place in their heart and He was the object of their faith, hope and love. He was everything to them, and now, it all appeared to be cut off.
Now the time had arrived that the Bridegroom was taken away from them and this filled their heart with such grief and sorrow as they had never experienced. Would they never see Him again? Must they now pine away for ever? Has Satan now gained the victory? Would the enemies now rejoice and they sink away in despair? Would all the promises of God lack fulfillment? Nobody can express what fierce storms did blow in the hearts of the disciples and women. But God does not permit His people to be in sorrow forever.
Then the Lord awaked, as one out of sleep. God the Father demanded full satisfaction for the violated virtues, but He also gave Christ the full acquittal by raising Him up from the dead. Now the Father fulfills the promise made in the Counsel of Peace and which the Son demanded before He died.
At Christ’s baptism and also on the mount of transfiguration, the Father gave witness, but also now in the glorious resurrection of His Son.
On the morning of the third day, Christ arose as the One who had power to lay down His life, but to also take it again. Sisera, the captain of the hosts of Jabin, the King of Canaan, lay himself down in the tent of Jael, the Kenite, but never arose. He was slain and put to death so that his mother waited in vain for his coming. But this was not the case with the Lord Jesus. He awoke as one that sleepeth. On the cross He already triumphed over the powers of hell, and now the death of Christ is as a sleep. He conquered death and arose to the honor of His Father and the justification of His people. Majesty and glory were revealed in His resurrection, for through sin the entire creation lay under the curse, but now in the resurrection of Christ, this curse is removed. The earth quaked, hell trembled and shuddered. An angel came down to open the door of the sepulcher of Zion’s King, and behold, He arose victoriously. The sealing of the stone was of no account, and the watch which they had set could not be found. The angel sat upon this stone as a symbol of the victory gained by Christ over Satan, world and death.
Indeed, the resurrection of Christ was as one that awaketh out of sleep. Thus it is in the hearts of God’s people when God arises and Christ glorifies Himself in the power of His resurrection. When He visits them in the hour of love, then it is—thus far and no farther, and they humble themselves in the dust. O, this Almighty and irresistable power of God cuts down the sinner so that he cries out—”God be ‘merciful to me a sinner.” His arrows are sharp and they strike at the heart of the King’s enemies, so that they fall to the ground, mortally wounded.
(to be continued)
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Bekijk de hele uitgave van dinsdag 1 april 1980
The Banner of Truth | 20 Pagina's
Bekijk de hele uitgave van dinsdag 1 april 1980
The Banner of Truth | 20 Pagina's