Jesus Had to Rise

Psalms 16:10

This prayer of David is a Messianic prophecy, meaning that it is speaking of the Messiah, who we know to be Jesus. This prayer is being offered by David, but it is a double reference to how Jesus would be dealt with by His Father. From this verse we gather that Jesus descended into the heart of the earth sometime between His death on the cross and His resurrection. This place in the earth is referred to as hell, but not all of it is full of torture and flames.

Jesus spoke of hell as having two compartments. One side was a place of torment where unbelievers were confined to flames of woe. The other side was called Abraham’s bosom, and it was a place of rest and peace for the souls of those who had died in the faith. Jesus shares this information with us in His story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

Psalm 16:10 says nothing of Jesus suffering in hell’s flames. The latter part of the verse says that the Lord will not allow His Holy One to see corruption, meaning that God would not allow Jesus’ body to lay in the grave long enough to rot. Both of these prophesies came to pass as Jesus resurrected after only three days in the tomb and the New Testament gives us insight into what Jesus was doing during His trip into hell.

The Apostle Paul spoke of every believer as having received grace “according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). This categorizes grace as a free gift coming because of the work of Jesus, and that it was offered in a specific manner.

“Wherefore he saith, ‘When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.’” (Ephesians 4:8)

We see Jesus ascending to heaven and leading “captivity captive” before giving us the gift of grace, among other gifts. Then Paul explains who the captive are in the next verse:

“(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:9, 10)

Christ’s arrival in heaven caused Him to “fill all things”. He arrived with a captive group of captives, which He got when He descended first into hell. In Abraham’s bosom were the souls of all that died in the faith prior to the cross. They were not allowed access to heaven because the blood of Jesus Christ had not yet taken away their sins. The blood of bulls and goats could only cover sins, but it would take the perfect sacrifice to remove them. Jesus took the captives, as well as His blood back to the tabernacle of heaven and offered it upon the mercy seat.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:11, 12)

Christ did all of this and then rose from the dead. His resurrection was God’s stamp of approval on all that He had just accomplished. He had to raise, to show you and me that we can live also!

Spiritual Heartburn

Luke 24:32

On the day of Christ’s resurrection, He appeared to two disciples while they walked the 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Their eyes were withheld by God from knowing who Jesus was (Luke 24:16), so they spoke to Him as if He were any ordinary stranger making the journey. As they told Him of the events of the past three days, they revealed their doubts about the rumors of resurrection that they had heard and they appeared as if they were ready to abandon all hope. Christ speaks to them, and in doing so, shows each of us how we too can see Him now that He is alive forevermore.

Jesus could have simply revealed themselves to Him by speaking to them as old friends and by showing them His hands and His feet, but this gives you and me no help in having our own personal revelation of Jesus Christ. To reveal Himself, He begins at Moses and all the prophets and “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). This means that Jesus opened the Old Testament up to them as a way of finding Christ. Hidden in the codes of the Law and the symbolism of the Tabernacle and the prose of the Psalms was the Savior of the world.

If this is how Jesus preached in a post-resurrection world, perhaps we should take note! He ministered of Himself in all of the Old Testament, giving us a preaching template. We should shine the light on the hidden mysteries of the Bible, finding Jesus in every possible place. This journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus would have taken several hours by foot, so one can imagine all of the fascinating things that Jesus brought out of the scriptures in this amount of time.

Still blind to the fact that they were walking and talking with Jesus Himself, the two disciples beg Him to abide with them for dinner. They do not ask because they think He is Jesus; they are not yet aware of this, but they desire to be around Him because He has revealed Christ to them through the scriptures. This method of winning men still works. Show men Jesus in the Bible and they will want to be around you; saints and sinners alike. People love to have Christ revealed to them when He is “altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16).

As soon as Jesus breaks bread with them “their eyes were opened, and they knew Him” (Luke 24:31). When Jesus body is broken before our spiritual eyes, they are opened to great revelations of His love and grace. As we present a crucified Jesus; broken for the sins and sicknesses of man, we provide people with the opportunity for powerful revelations of Jesus Christ. When we feast on this type of bread (revelation) we too will say as these disciples, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

Spiritual heartburn is the only kind of heartburn that you never want to get rid of! When you eat of His grace and glory, your heart burns with the warmth of His love for you. As you feast on the crucified Lamb, your spirit man longs for more and more of His saving knowledge. This is a longing that is the ultimate paradox in the universe: it provides you with absolute satisfaction while never leaving you satisfied.

As you feast on His goodness today, see Jesus in every little corner of your life. Notice the burn down in your heart as you have fresh revelations of His love and favor. Savor this moment, for Jesus paid a great price for that burn.

Jesus Had to Rise

Psalms 16:10

This prayer of David is a Messianic prophecy, meaning that it is speaking of the Messiah, who we know to be Jesus. This prayer is being offered by David, but it is a double reference to how Jesus would be dealt with by His Father. From this verse we gather that Jesus descended into the heart of the earth sometime between His death on the cross and His resurrection. This place in the earth is referred to as hell, but not all of it is full of torture and flames.

Jesus spoke of hell as having two compartments. One side was a place of torment where unbelievers were confined to flames of woe. The other side was called Abraham’s bosom, and it was a place of rest and peace for the souls of those who had died in the faith. Jesus shares this information with us in His story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

Psalm 16:10 says nothing of Jesus suffering in hell’s flames. The latter part of the verse says that the Lord will not allow His Holy One to see corruption, meaning that God would not allow Jesus’ body to lay in the grave long enough to rot. Both of these prophesies came to pass as Jesus resurrected after only three days in the tomb and the New Testament gives us insight into what Jesus was doing during His trip into hell.

The Apostle Paul spoke of every believer as having received grace “according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). This categorizes grace as a free gift coming because of the work of Jesus, and that it was offered in a specific manner.

“Wherefore he saith, ‘When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.’” (Ephesians 4:8)

We see Jesus ascending to heaven and leading “captivity captive” before giving us the gift of grace, among other gifts. Then Paul explains who the captive are in the next verse:

“(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:9, 10)

Christ’s arrival in heaven caused Him to “fill all things”. He arrived with a captive group of captives, which He got when He descended first into hell. In Abraham’s bosom were the souls of all that died in the faith prior to the cross. They were not allowed access to heaven because the blood of Jesus Christ had not yet taken away their sins. The blood of bulls and goats could only cover sins, but it would take the perfect sacrifice to remove them. Jesus took the captives, as well as His blood back to the tabernacle of heaven and offered it upon the mercy seat.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:11, 12)

Christ did all of this and then rose from the dead. His resurrection was God’s stamp of approval on all that He had just accomplished. He had to raise, to show you and me that we can live also!

Spiritual Heartburn

Luke 24:32

On the day of Christ’s resurrection, He appeared to two disciples while they walked the 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Their eyes were withheld by God from knowing who Jesus was (Luke 24:16), so they spoke to Him as if He were any ordinary stranger making the journey. As they told Him of the events of the past three days, they revealed their doubts about the rumors of resurrection that they had heard and they appeared as if they were ready to abandon all hope. Christ speaks to them, and in doing so, shows each of us how we too can see Him now that He is alive forevermore.

Jesus could have simply revealed themselves to Him by speaking to them as old friends and by showing them His hands and His feet, but this gives you and me no help in having our own personal revelation of Jesus Christ. To reveal Himself, He begins at Moses and all the prophets and “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). This means that Jesus opened the Old Testament up to them as a way of finding Christ. Hidden in the codes of the Law and the symbolism of the Tabernacle and the prose of the Psalms was the Savior of the world.

If this is how Jesus preached in a post-resurrection world, perhaps we should take note! He ministered of Himself in all of the Old Testament, giving us a preaching template. We should shine the light on the hidden mysteries of the Bible, finding Jesus in every possible place. This journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus would have taken several hours by foot, so one can imagine all of the fascinating things that Jesus brought out of the scriptures in this amount of time.

Still blind to the fact that they were walking and talking with Jesus Himself, the two disciples beg Him to abide with them for dinner. They do not ask because they think He is Jesus; they are not yet aware of this, but they desire to be around Him because He has revealed Christ to them through the scriptures. This method of winning men still works. Show men Jesus in the Bible and they will want to be around you; saints and sinners alike. People love to have Christ revealed to them when He is “altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16).

As soon as Jesus breaks bread with them “their eyes were opened, and they knew Him” (Luke 24:31). When Jesus body is broken before our spiritual eyes, they are opened to great revelations of His love and grace. As we present a crucified Jesus; broken for the sins and sicknesses of man, we provide people with the opportunity for powerful revelations of Jesus Christ. When we feast on this type of bread (revelation) we too will say as these disciples, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

Spiritual heartburn is the only kind of heartburn that you never want to get rid of! When you eat of His grace and glory, your heart burns with the warmth of His love for you. As you feast on the crucified Lamb, your spirit man longs for more and more of His saving knowledge. This is a longing that is the ultimate paradox in the universe: it provides you with absolute satisfaction while never leaving you satisfied.

As you feast on His goodness today, see Jesus in every little corner of your life. Notice the burn down in your heart as you have fresh revelations of His love and favor. Savor this moment, for Jesus paid a great price for that burn.

Jesus Had to Rise

Psalms 16:10

This prayer of David is a Messianic prophecy, meaning that it is speaking of the Messiah, who we know to be Jesus. This prayer is being offered by David, but it is a double reference to how Jesus would be dealt with by His Father. From this verse we gather that Jesus descended into the heart of the earth sometime between His death on the cross and His resurrection. This place in the earth is referred to as hell, but not all of it is full of torture and flames.

Jesus spoke of hell as having two compartments. One side was a place of torment where unbelievers were confined to flames of woe. The other side was called Abraham’s bosom, and it was a place of rest and peace for the souls of those who had died in the faith. Jesus shares this information with us in His story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

Psalm 16:10 says nothing of Jesus suffering in hell’s flames. The latter part of the verse says that the Lord will not allow His Holy One to see corruption, meaning that God would not allow Jesus’ body to lay in the grave long enough to rot. Both of these prophesies came to pass as Jesus resurrected after only three days in the tomb and the New Testament gives us insight into what Jesus was doing during His trip into hell.

The Apostle Paul spoke of every believer as having received grace “according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). This categorizes grace as a free gift coming because of the work of Jesus, and that it was offered in a specific manner.

“Wherefore he saith, ‘When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.’” (Ephesians 4:8)

We see Jesus ascending to heaven and leading “captivity captive” before giving us the gift of grace, among other gifts. Then Paul explains who the captive are in the next verse:

“(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:9, 10)

Christ’s arrival in heaven caused Him to “fill all things”. He arrived with a captive group of captives, which He got when He descended first into hell. In Abraham’s bosom were the souls of all that died in the faith prior to the cross. They were not allowed access to heaven because the blood of Jesus Christ had not yet taken away their sins. The blood of bulls and goats could only cover sins, but it would take the perfect sacrifice to remove them. Jesus took the captives, as well as His blood back to the tabernacle of heaven and offered it upon the mercy seat.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:11, 12)

Christ did all of this and then rose from the dead. His resurrection was God’s stamp of approval on all that He had just accomplished. He had to raise, to show you and me that we can live also!