Resurrection Lessons
John 20:1–9
He saw and believed. John 20:8

There are a few lessons that arise out of the narrative of the empty tomb. The first is that God has provided perfectly adequate evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The evidence consists of the claims of those who saw Jesus between the day of his resurrection and the day of his ascension into heaven, the empty tomb, the changed character of the disciples, the authenticity of the records, and the evidence of the undisturbed burial garments. The evidence is there, and the evidence of the grave clothes alone was sufficient to quicken faith in John. We conclude that if men fail to believe, it is because they will not believe, not because the evidence is lacking.

Second, the experiences of Peter and John at the tomb indicate that the body of the Lord was glorified. It was sown a natural body and was raised a spiritual body. In this body Jesus lives, seated at the right hand of God where he intercedes for his own until the moment when he will return again in judgment. Today we need not think of Jesus as the vulnerable Jesus of history. Jesus died but he died once for all. He was buffeted and spat upon and cursed, but that will not be repeated. We pray today to a powerful Lord, to an exalted Lord. This Lord will return one day to take his own to be with him in glory.

Finally, the transformation of the body of Jesus Christ points to a new mode of life for all believers. He is the first fruit. We, the harvest, shall be like him in our bodies as well as in his traits of character. Our resurrection bodies will be better than our old physical bodies. They will not be our physical bodies resuscitated. Our bodies hamper us. They tie us to earth, to habits, even to traits of character that we have inherited from our parents through their genes. They slow our thought processes. When we are sufficiently tired, they carry us away in sleep. Eventually they die. But we are to gain by death. The resurrection body will not hamper us. The body of the risen Christ is the forerunner of our bodies, and it was and is wholly subservient to his wishes. It did not hamper him. It freed him. In that body he knew no pain, no suffering, no want. For us there will also be freedom. There will be no want. There will be unlimited wakefulness and unlimited opportunities for service.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.