And as they were
speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the
Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them
and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But
many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came
to about five thousand (Acts 4:1-4).
Something in the message Peter and John shared
with the crowd that gathered after the miraculous healing of a lame man incited
the Sadducees and other Jewish leaders. It was the disciples’ “teaching
the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead”. Why
should such good news attract five thousand men and at the same time provoke
such a hostile reaction in others? Isn’t the fact that death is not the final
word on our life good news? Apparently, it’s not good news to everyone. When we
consider the implications of life after death we begin to understand why there
are various reactions to the truth of the resurrection. Jesus taught that there
are two sides to the resurrection… “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is
coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those
who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to
the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). We eagerly anticipate the
day when we are raised with Christ because we know and understand the
blessings and the consequences of the resurrection.
The resurrection means judgment. This
truth scares the unbeliever. The truth that we must face the consequences for
our sin after this life is frightening. Unbelievers deny the resurrection in
order to pacify their fear of judgment. In the face of this kind of fear it’s
comforting to the unrepentant sinner to believe that at the conclusion of this
life there is nothing more. The Holy Spirit uses our message of hope, expressed
in the gospel of Jesus Christ and our anticipation of the resurrection to
disturb the unbeliever’s false security and cause them to consider the claims
of Christ… “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and
righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no
longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John
16:8-11). Through God’s grace, many will come to believe In Jesus Christ as
we share our hope in the resurrection, while others will be quite disturbed.
The resurrection means life. Apart from
the gospel we have a very limited understanding of life. We believe in and
cling to this material existence as if it’s all there is, but because we are
created in the image of God we live on like He does… “So we do not lose
heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed
day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal
weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are
seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are
transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians
4:16-18). Hope in the resurrection means this temporary life is preparing
us for eternal life.
The resurrection means restoration. Living forever sounds pretty incredible, but
as we see in today’s text, for unbelievers it will be eternal torment, away
from the presence of God. The most exciting truth about the believer’s eternal
life is our restoration to fellowship with God… “And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will
dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them
as their God’” (Revelation 21:3). God is light, life, hope, love, and
so much more. In His presence there is fullness of joy… “You make known
to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your
right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). When we pause to
spend time in His presence here on earth, we catch a glimpse of the hope of our
resurrection, the full restoration of eternal joy in His presence in heaven.
As we grow up into Christ, our anticipation grows as we learn more about…
The Blessings and Consequences of the Resurrection.
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