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The Key, the Truth that Transforms

Read Romans 3:21-31

Those of you who have been following our series on Romans, Be Transformed, will know that we are seeking to understand what it is that we are to be transformed by and what we are to avoid being conformed to (Romans 12). We have spent most of our time this far on the things that we need to avoid being conformed to; whereas, today we will turn to the basic truth that has the power to transform our lives completely.

Many a theologian and commentator on scripture has said that Romans 3:21-31 is the very heart of the gospel. Some have gone so far as to say that this is the most important chapter in the entire Bible. The key, if you will, that unlocks all the meaning of all scripture. Having worked to describe the downfall of all people and the reason that the wrath of God is warranted, Paul turns to the good news for the first time in this letter.

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;”

Paul is picking back up the other theme laid out in parallel to the wrath of God being revealed, namely, that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel (Romans 1:17) and this righteousness is the very power of God for salvation. He makes it more explicit. The righteousness has been revealed apart from the law though the proof of it can be found in the law itself and in the prophets. Paul means to say that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very thing to which both the Law and Prophets point toward. Paul has come to understand that all the revelation that God has provided for the Jew makes sense only when viewed through the Christ event.

“for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:23)

Many people know this verse; and many people assume that the sins involved are the “Big 10” found in the law. While those are certainly a part of the problem of sin, there is much more to our sinful nature. Our fallen-shortness includes those famous “thou shalt nots” but is more inclusive. Our pettiness, our selfishness, our gossiping, and peevishness are also included. Our idolatries, manifold as they are, also keep us short of the glory of God. Still there is more, because the wrath of God is not coming for those things alone, but also because of our ingratitude.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks…” (Rom 1:21)

When my kids were younger, I would sometimes say to them “dogs gotta bark, fish gotta swim, and birds gotta fly. You need to figure out what you gotta do.” It was shorthand for do the stuff that needs to be done and learn how to be a person. When asked about it more specifically, I would tell them that everything that has been created has a purpose and a thing that marks them as different from the other things. People also have an attribute and a purpose that goes beyond what we do for a living. All of creation gives glory to God by being true to their creation and their purpose.

People are unique amongst animals because we are moral creatures with real options. We do not operate on instinct alone. As such we are able to acknowledge God as creator and render true thanks and praise.

Spoiler alert: We don’t.

No seriously, besides all the other ways in which we sin, we fail to be thankful for all the blessings that God provides for us. As Jesus himself said, the Father makes the rain to fall on the wicked and the good. The dependability of sunshine and rain, harvest time, the wonders of childbirth and parenting, the companionship of pets, the love of kith and kin, even the simple fact that there is a morning and a night every day are reason enough to praise God. Most of time we are so caught up in ourselves that we miss the chance. I live in Texas and people here complain about the heat in the Summer but beg for it in the winter. We complain that there is no rain and then grumble when the rain comes in buckets. I suspect that people are this way everywhere. Never thought of those things as elements of sinfulness, have you? Honestly, neither had I until I started studying and praying through Romans. None of us should be surprised; after all, for our fallen-shortness runs deep:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)

We have been living into this fallen-shortness since the beginning according to Genesis. Have you ever read through Genesis beyond the creation story and the flood? The story of Abraham’s family begins with chapter 12 and the whole rest of Genesis could be subtitled: As the World Turns! For those of you reading this post from a foreign country, As the World Turns was the title of a long running soap-opera on American television. To this problem of rampant sinfulness, Paul says that God has revealed His solution in Jesus Christ.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (Rom 3:21-24)

This is the gospel in a nutshell, the very gospel that Paul said he was not ashamed of because it was the very power of salvation for the Jew and the Greek. This is the good news of our God. We have been given a free and wondrous gift, a justification and redemption through Christ Jesus that is available simply because God is gracious. Let’s take a moment to break down those two terms for the fuller picture that Paul is illustrating.

Justification means that we were guilty (all have sinned) but we have been pardoned. Consider for a moment in English we say that someone can justify their actions. The notion being that when sufficient reason is given, we can understand and approve of a decision a person makes even if it caused us harm. For example, a “justified” killing might be one in which a person was defending their child from a predator. In Paul’s day, both in the Old Testament usage and especially in the context of the Roman Empire, the word had a forensic overtone, forensic meaning that it was the language of the law courts. Justification meant being decreed not guilty regardless of the truth of what you did.

Many years ago, OJ Simpson was found not guilty by a court of law for a double homicide. Most of the world was convinced that he had in fact murdered the two people in question. Point of fact a civil trial later held him liable for damages caused by the deaths. This civil trial judgment had no bearing on his freedom because the trial court had declared him not guilty. Not declared him innocent mind you, but not guilty. This was his status before the magistrate. No matter what anyone else thought, no matter whether or not he had committed murder, he had the status of a free man. This is the exact thing that Paul is saying is true for all of us because of Christ. Thoroughly guilty (all have sinned) and ongoingly guilty through our fallen-shortness nature we are in fact justified(!) declared to be free from the guilt of sin before an Almighty God through what Christ has done. For those who thought OJ was a murderer, the verdict not guilty was a scandal. Welcome to the scandal of you! God, the Almighty, Just Judge of all has declared your status to be not guilty. You are in fact righteous (in right standing) before God when you believe in Jesus Christ. It was a scandalous idea then, and it is equally scandalous now.

Redemption is a different thing altogether. For years when I taught young people about redemption, I used the example of redeeming a used-up glass bottle for five cents (ten in Michigan) or how a coupon is redeemed for something that you purchase for all or part of the total cost. After working through that concept, I would tie the concept to Christ’s blood being the means of redemption. His blood pays a price that you owe. I am not going to now say that this isn’t true. I am going to say I had a very narrow idea of what redemption meant.

In the Old Testament, redemption is used to describe deliverance from the bondage in Egypt, from the captivity in Babylon, from evil, and the ultimate setting to right of the world for the people of God in the eschatological future. In short redemption meant freedom from current enemies and the ultimate total freedom that is promised when God brings in the new creation at the end of time. Truth be told, in my coupon illustrations, I had short-shifted the meaning of the word making it synonymous with justification when in fact Paul was declaring two very different very grand accomplishments of God through Jesus Christ.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (Rom 3:21-24)

What Paul is saying is that because of Jesus Christ, those who are sinners can be granted the status of innocent before God, not only this but that they are also set free from the bondage of the great enemies of sin and death. Many first century Jews believed that at the end of time there would be a general resurrection of all, some to eternal life and some to final judgment. You can see this in Martha’s response to Jesus (John 11) that she knows her brother will rise on the last day. This general resurrection is also mentioned in Daniel. Paul believed that the resurrection of Jesus was proof that this event would happen. God had brought the not yet of the future resurrection into the now of the first century and demonstrated the faithfulness of God to his eternal promises. When you read Romans the passage carefully you can see that the last phrase (being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus) is explaining what Paul means in the first clause (here and in Romans 1:17) that the righteousness of God (his unending, eternal faithfulness, has been manifested in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Our translations start a new verse in Romans 3:25, but the opening of that verse is actually the completion of the sentence begun in the passage above and when you put them together Paul explains how the justification of the sinner is accomplished in Christ dying on the cross. Together it reads this way:

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith.

That word propitiation is crucial. Propitiation is the word that the Greek translators of the Old Testament used predominantly to translate a particular Hebrew word kapporet. The word literally means lid, derived from the root word “to cover” or “to make atonement” and is used to describe the lid over the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat. The mercy seat was where the presence of God was present in the tabernacle and later in the first Temple until the Babylonian exile. The mercy seat was where the High Priest would (once a year on the Day of Atonement) sprinkle the blood of an unblemished lamb to take away the sins of Israel. The lamb’s death and blood were symbolic of the payment of death that the people of Israel were due because of their sins. That action occurred in private as the High Priest was the only one allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and stand in the presence of God as the representative of the people.

“But now”, Paul writes, God has acted in full view of everyone by lifting Christ up on a cross where his blood is the final sacrifice for the sins of the entire world (as John the Baptist prophesied when he called Jesus the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world) and Christ himself is now the very mercy seat. The High Priest having completed the action would declare the people righteous before God. In Christ, through faith, anyone can now be declared righteous before God. A new, permanent status of not guilty (justified) is available to all.

When you put all of this together you can understand the gospel as Paul understood the gospel. The final judgment of God, expected on the last day, has been rendered now in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And all who have faith in Jesus, and what he accomplished, have access right now to a judgment of not guilty and eternal life. The future is now, in other words, for all who believe.

As I write this the Christian world is preparing to celebrate Easter 2026. This passage in Romans is what Good Friday and Easter are all about. Christ Jesus has done the one thing that we all need, paid the wages of sin (death) through his blood, and his resurrection is proof that God vindicated him; and will vindicate all of us who cling to the promise of the faith of, in, and through Jesus. Because of Christ’s shed blood we can be declared righteous right now by God. Because of his resurrection we can live in a certain hope of our own resurrection to eternal life in the last day.

This is the most glorious truth ever; a truth that proves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. A truth that enables us to be acceptable to God, a truth that when believed is our act of spiritual service of worship (Romans 12). A truth that is transformative.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah! Amen.

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The Martha Moment

Read John Chapter 11.

The eleventh chapter of John outlines the raising of Lazarus from the dead, an act that is the final straw for the Jewish authorities who are threatened by the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. After this miracle we are told that the powers that be make the decision that the Jesus movement must be stopped.

John sets the stage quickly for us. He tells us that a certain man named Lazarus, loved by Jesus, has taken deathly ill. Lazarus has two sisters well-known to NT readers, Mary and Martha. When word reaches Jesus he intentionally delays his journey back to Bethany by two days. There is a discussion amongst Jesus and the disciples about the wisdom of going back to Judea especially to a town so near to Jerusalem given the heightened tensions between Jesus and the authorities. Jesus and the twelve return and Jesus confronts death with victory to reveal the glory of God.

Why does Jesus delay?

Chances are good that your Bible has a subtitle to this chapter like “the death of Lazarus” or “the raising of Lazarus”. Because of this it is easy to miss out on something profound. I want to suggest to you that this is really a story about Martha.

We are told that Jesus loves Lazarus and his family. John actually tells us this in two different ways and the difference is significant. When the message is sent to Jesus about how sick Lazarus is the wording is “Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.” (11:3). The word for loved used her is philo, the Greek word that describes the bonds of fidelity and friendship that yokes people together one to another. It is a word for love that captures that connection but can also be used for the love that is appreciative. In the United States, the city of Philadelphia, gets its name from this Greek word: hence, “the City of Brotherly Love”. In verse 5 though a different word is used, “Now, Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus.” Agape is the word used here. Agape is the word for the sacrificial love that renders itself selflessly for the other. This is the love that exists regardless of the worth of the other; love that continues regardless of the response of the other. It is the love that God shows in John 3:16 and the love that Jesus commands for us to show one another in John 14:34.

Two things have been revealed in verse 5. The depth of the love Jesus had for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; and that Martha is mentioned first. This is our clue that the story is about her.

Jesus delays his return for two days and then sets out for Bethany and arrives too late. Lazarus has been dead for four days. When he arrives, he remains on the edges of town. The community and the family are gathered together in mourning. Today we would say that they are sitting Shiva, a designated week of mourning, to show respect to the deceased and their loved ones. Martha receives word that Jesus has arrived and goes out to greet him. They have a terse exchange. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died” (verse 21). I cannot help but think that she has an anguished, perhaps even accusatory tone. Her brother, whom she loves is dead, and the one that she knows could have done something to prevent it has not acted.

You know this feeling.

All of us have lost a loved one to death. All of us have known a tragedy where we had hoped and prayed that God would change the outcome. All of us know this pain.

Some will say, but wait, Martha also indicates that even in this pain she knows that Jesus can do something. She is not angry she is simply stating the obvious and asking him to act now. While I can see that in the rest of the verse as well, the fact that Mary says the same thing a few verses later tells me that the recrimination is there. Also, it is human nature. Grief is deep pain. I think the story speaks more truthfully when we hear it with all the angst we know she must have felt. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not be dead”.

It is useful to compare verses 20 and 32. Martha we are told went out to Jesus and spoke to him. Mary when she goes out “quickly” to meet Jesus she falls at his feet and says the very same words “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died”. See the distinction? Martha confronts Jesus. Mary takes a prostrate position, a worshipful stance. Mary’s response reads more like the lament of the faithful, seeking to understand God’s inaction.

Before we go on a reminder of what else we know about Martha and Mary. In Luke’s gospel we have a short story about a time that Jesus stayed in the sisters’ home. Mary remains at the feet of Jesus neglecting the usual hosting duties of a Jewish woman. Martha is left to handle all the details. Remember Jesus has an entourage of disciples there were likely a great many people about the house that day. When Martha asks the Lord to tell Mary to help Jesus replies “Martha, Martha you are worried and bothered by so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part which shall not be taken from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

Back to John chapter 11. We might say that Martha and Mary are still “on brand”.

Why did Jesus delay? Because this story is about his love for Martha. This is Martha’s moment. This is when she will be moved from an understanding of who Jesus (knowledge) is into a relationship with Jesus (knowing). To put it a different way, Jesus has delayed so that he can reveal the truth about himself in such a way that Martha will no longer just have a faith that is all in her head but a faith that is mind, heart, and soul.

Allow me to show you what I mean. There is a pattern in John’s gospel wherein conversations with Jesus result in statements and questions geared toward bringing the person into a deeper faith and understanding about who Jesus truly is (Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman for example). When confronted by Martha, Jesus responds saying “Your brother will rise again”. Martha says “Yes, Lord, I know that he will arise again in the resurrection on the last day”. Good theologian, Martha, she knows the facts about the resurrection on the day of Judgment when some are raised to eternal life (second life) in the kingdom come and some are raised to judgment and damnation (second death).

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

Even in English we can see the distinction that is present. Martha says that she knows that her brother will rise for the judgment at the end of the age. Jesus wants to take her into a deeper understanding. Knowledge alone is not good enough. He is asking about belief, about faith. Not to get too granular in detail but know that there are two different verbs at work in this exchange. There is a different Greek word Martha has used for knowledge than the Greek word that Jesus has answered back as belief.

Jesus question is a next-level question. He wants to move Martha past an understanding of who he is based on knowing the “right” answers into a relationship with him that produces a living faith. He wants her head knowledge to be strengthened by heart knowledge that renders a faith that produces trust. Jesus wants to help Martha reach the sort of faith that is found in the greatest commandment: “you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Martha’s answer reveals that she isn’t quite there yet. “I have believed that you are the Christ, the son of God, the one coming into the world.” Don’t get me wrong, this is a strong statement. Everything that she says of Jesus is true; and she uses the same Greek word in response to Jesus that gets translated as belief. All this is good, but her answer does not answer the question Jesus asked.

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). The question that was asked was not does she believe that he is the Christ, the son of God. Jesus knows that she knows this. The question being asked is does she believe in him; does she trust him?

Martha has the right knowledge, but it hasn’t moved from things that she knows like other stuff that she knows into something that changes the way that she lives. There are literally millions of Christians just like her. Perhaps you are one of them.

Have you ever heard a sixth-grade band concert? It is a painful experience. Why? Besides the fact that some of the kids are just there because they didn’t want to use athletics as an elective the concert is painful because the notes are just being performed as the individual notes. Each player of each instrument is remembering the difference between a quarter note and a dotted quarter note and where that note is on the staff to produce a sound. In other words, they are beginners. They have knowledge but they do not have the heart component yet. They are not feeling the music.

Some of those young players will go on to be pretty good at their instruments and some will play in a stage band. Here you will begin to hear real music. The players have moved passed the basic understanding of notes into feeling the rhythm and movement of the song. They have made a step passed simple knowledge and it has impacted their musical talent and results of their playing.

Now, contrast that with a professional jazz trio or quartet. Here you see something altogether different and wonderful. These players work off of one another and are able to seamlessly perform solos and improvisations of the theme and melody of the music. They have something beyond simple knowledge of music theory they have a trust in the theory and in each other. They become limitless as musicians when they achieve this level.

Do you see how this can be compared to the believer that learns to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength? Those believers know how to trust in the Lord in every season and in every instance. Likewise, they also are able to learn how to love their neighbor in all instances because they have integrated their head and heart knowledge to Christ.

Lest you think that knowledge–belief–trust is a continuum, I want you to picture it more like this:

This is not the best rendering (figuratively and literally) but the point is to not think that you start with knowledge and go into belief to get to trust. A person can start with either belief or knowledge, but what the Lord desires is for them to develop trust. Martha’s sister, Mary, seems to be on the belief side of the equation. This is seen in that although she comes out to greet Jesus with a worshipful stance she still says, “Had you been here my brother would not have died”.

Some readers may not be convinced about these assertions, but they do continue playing out in this story about Martha. They arrive at the tomb and Jesus tells them to unseal it. Martha questions the wisdom of this because of the stench that is sure to be unleashed. Head knowledge, again. Her brother has been dead for four days. Note the response that Jesus says to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you will see the glory of God?”

(I was today’s years old when I learned that in John 11:4 when Jesus says that the sickness of Lazarus is not unto death, but that God will be glorified that this is the message that he sent back to the sisters and not something that he said to the disciples when he received the message.)

Jesus had told Mary and Martha that their brother’s illness would not be unto death. This is why the conversation about him being the resurrection and the life happens. This is why the recrimination in the statement ‘had you been here my brother would not have died”. This is why the delay. Jesus has not only created the conditions for the great sign-act of raising Lazarus from the grave, but he has also created a moment to draw Martha deeper into faith.

At the tomb, there is a representative of all of us. There is Martha, full of knowledge, worried about a great many things but lacking the deeper move into the trust that that knowledge should lead. There is Mary who believes in Jesus but also still needs to go deeper into trust. There are folks in the crowd that want to wait and see what will happen. There are some in the crowd who believe in Jesus but who still doubt what he can do. Finally, there are those who do not believe at all and are even antagonistic to the whole thing.

If you find yourself in the latter groups, the time is now for you to start a relationship with Jesus. Do not delay.

Scripture warns that we are to seek out the Lord while he may be found. While the good news is that Jesus comes to us, through the Holy Spirit, calling us both into faith and into faith deeper still, the admonition to seek while he may be found reveals that there is a time when it will be too late.

John has recorded for us Martha’s moment. For all of us there will come a time, maybe even several moments, when the Lord is going to call us into a deeper trust of who He is. How we respond will make all the difference. For even Jesus himself warned there will be those who will insist that they called him Lord and he will reply that he never knew them.

Have you had your own Martha moment? Ask the Lord for eyes to see and ears to hear so that you do not miss the next one.

Feel free to use this Bible Study for your own groups or discussion.  It is freely given. If you do I merely ask that you acknowledge where you got it and if you find it useful that you encourage others to seek it out. It is freely given and written with fear, foreboding, and prayer by a fellow hypocrite who is simply trying to figure out the road ahead.

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The Most Significant Day Ever

What is the most significant day in history?

For Americans, there are lots of contenders whether it be the day the towers fell or the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Other Americans might choose the moon landing or the day the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan show. July 4th,1776, makes a strong case for the most significant day in history.

Other countries and nationalities would have their own days of significance. Days of foundings, of significant battles fought, of independence from colonial powers, all special days awash with extra meaning for those peoples.

Then there are the individual days people might choose when asked the question. The day they were married. The day a loved one died. Maybe even the day that they won the lottery. The least humble among us might suggest their own birthday!

There is only one day in all of human history that is so significant that it is literally celebrated around the world on every continent not just annually but every single week. That is the day Jesus rose from the dead.

Read Mark 16: 1-8

We do not know the exact date with any certainty. We can do a little historical triangulation and narrow it down to a year within the range of 30-34 CE (the renamed A.D.) and we know that because it was around the celebration of Passover we are in the Springtime of year in Jerusalem.

Ancient burial practices being what they were it was common for a body to be buried in a cave in those days and for loved ones and family members to bring spices and anoint the body. This was done to help cover the smells associated with decomposition. Eventually, the bones of the person would be collected and stored in a stone box called an ossuary. This is precisely what Mark says the women were heading out to the tomb to do in the early hours of the morning.

This is one of the ways in which this story with an incredible ending rings true. First, the suggested task of the women is precisely what we would expect to be going on based on what we know about 1 century burial practices in Jerusalem. Secondly, it rings more than a bit true, that none of the men are there because they have left this important yet menial task to the women. No doubt this anointing would have been followed up by going to the well for the daily water supply, getting the “kitchen” fire started for the days cooking and all the other never-ending tasks that fell on their shoulders.

They must have been experiencing a swirl of emotions. Jesus was dead. They had followed him and hung on his words, wondered what it might all mean, worried that they or their husbands, brothers, and friends might also experience retribution at the hands of the Sanhedrin or the Romans. Maybe they felt some resentment that they were having to “fit” this task into the rest of an always busy day. The only thing we do know for certain is that they wondered about how they were going to get into the tomb because there was the matter of the large stone that sealed the entrance.

This is when the story turns to the unexpected.

The stone is already moved away from the entrance! Mark notes that it was extremely large. Now, the ladies are probably thinking that someone else has come to anoint the body. They may have reasoned that one of the disciples had come to pay respects. They may even have considered the possibility that someone was coming to take the body away.

They mustered up the courage to go into the cave without knowing who was in there ahead of them. They were unprepared for what they found.

In our day, the idea that the tomb is empty that Jesus rose is so ingrained in us that we are inoculated from the sense of fear, trembling, and awestruck wonder those women experienced.

“Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right wearing a white robe and they were amazed. He said to them ‘do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here; behold, the place where they laid him.’“

The word translated as amazed gives the sense of awestruck wonder or befuddlement. It is like the time my son came home from school around the age of 8 to learn that we now had a Wii. His young brain could not wrap itself around what was happening at all. He had gone to school like any other day and when he came home it was now a home with a Wii. What was this new world he was in that something like this could happen.

That is the befuddlement of joy. I think you will agree with me that there was a not inconsiderable amount of fear wrapped up in the astonishment that the two Marys and Salome were experiencing. Angels have this effect on people. American culture pictures angels as beautiful, serene women, who are dressed in white and gold. Oh! and they have wings. Angels, based on scripture, may resemble humans but there must be something fearsome about them because everyone is either astonished or scared in their presence. It must be that they are obviously other-worldly at the sight. We know this because the Angel always has to remind the persons that they manifest before to not be afraid.

Angels do a great many things in the scripture, but when the Angel appears as a herald it is always to clarify that God is acting in the current event. The Angel is there to assure the witnesses that any other “rational” explanation will not do. The Lord God has raised Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified from the dead.

In Greek, like English, the verb to rise has many meanings and connotations. It is used for a person getting up in the morning or for the sun at dawn. It is used for the bringing forth of something new. Just as we might say a new generation is rising. Or in our culture we speak of rising freshman or rising seniors as the students of one year of school matriculate to the next year. Normally in the New Testament the verb is coupled with the word for dead body to indicate someone being raised from the dead, like the times Jesus brought a dead people back to life. The word for dead body is not present here. Not to get too far into the weeds the verb tense is Aorist Passive. That’s fancy talk for something was done to Jesus between the Crucifixion and the Empty Tomb. The one whom Jesus referred to as Father raised him from the dead.

In terms of the meanings of the word Jesus is risen and something new is afoot in the world. Later Christians would come to understand that a new Age was also rising with Jesus. An Age that included Jesus as Lord and Savior for all who would put their faith and trust in him. An Age where salvation is promised to all who profess with their mouth and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord. This Age lasts until the God appointed time when Christ returns and the “Age of the World to come” begins. You can read all about the future glories of that Age in Revelation 21 and 22.

The women are told to go and tell Peter and the others to meet Jesus in Galilee. Mark records that they fled with fear and trembling and told no one because they were so afraid and astonished. An empty tomb will do that to you.

They eventually told someone. No doubt later the same day. Maybe it was the second person that asked them what was wrong, maybe the third. Most likely they talked it over amongst themselves and decided that they best do what the Angel told them to do!

The most significant day in the History of the world. Why you say? Two reasons really. One, it is the only day that is both significant for the entire world. If Jesus Christ walked out of the grave then everything that he said about himself is true. It means that when he says that “all power and authority on heaven and earth have been given to me” that that is true. It means that he is the only true Lord and Savior. It means he reigns as the true ruler of every nation and all peoples. It means that there is no other God besides the One.

Two, it means that the day is significant for every single person who hears the story. For if Jesus Christ walked out of the grave then you have a decision to make. Do you believe the story? If so, then there exists roadmap on how to live in the teachings of Jesus. It means you can experience the fruits of the Spirit and life in the Kingdom of God. You can live in the sure and certain hope of the life of the world to come. If you believe, you can trust in the promise of Jesus that he is “the resurrection and the life, those who believe in me though they die yet shall they live.”

But it is a truth that demands a choice. And that makes the day even more significant. Anyone can ponder the day that Battle of Hastings was fought and go on about their lives without making a decision. It matters not what I think about the day Julius Ceasar crossed the Rubicon. The day that Salk perfected is vaccine has no claim upon me to make a decision. The Resurrection does demand a decision.

There is no half-way here. Its either true or it is not. If it is true then time is short for you to decide if you will proclaim Christ as Lord and experience renewal in this life and everlasting life one day. If you choose not to then this life is all there is and to paraphrase the Apostle Paul you will be the most to be pitied.

There is no halfhearted believing either. You cannot simply rely on the historical record and go to Church on the regular and try and be a good person and hope for the best. It is not enough to understand the faith and its ways. It has to be believed. The faith must be lived.

The Christian life is not about knowledge it is about a relationship with a living savior. “He is going ahead of you to Galilee there you will see Him.” Christ is always and forever on the move. God is waiting for you to find him.

Just as there are 2 possible lives (the present one and the prooffered eternal one) there are 2 deaths. The one that ends this life and in the last day the one that is everlasting separation from God.

If you have never called upon the Name of the Lord, do it today. Do it now.

Feel free to use this Bible Study for your own groups or discussion.  It is freely given. If you do I merely ask that you acknowledge where you got it and if you find it useful that you encourage others to seek it out. It is freely given and written with fear, foreboding, and prayer by a fellow hypocrite who is simply trying to figure out the road ahead.

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