The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Resurrection - a Personal Matter"
"Eternity will not suffice in the discovery of all our Savior's resurrection means. Of this, however, we can certain: it was personal."
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was a personal matter.
"God… raised up His Son Jesus" (Acts 13:26).
Think of Abraham, who expected to kill his son in accordance with God's command, and who also anticipated the Lord to resurrect Isaac (Hebrews 11:19). This did not occur, as God mercifully provided a ram to substitute for Abraham's beloved son of promise. "Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son" (Genesis 22:13). Thus, God spared Abraham the untold agony that would have shredded a father's heart were it not for the divine provision of a substitutionary offering.
No one stayed God's hand from sending His Son to the cross of Calvary. Human beings escorted Him there, impaling His feet and hands after having tortured Him unmercifully. Far more, however, the Father of Heaven not only led the Son of Heaven to earthly suffering and death. He also smote Him with His wrath against sin, forsaking Him to suffer and die alone as the bearer of our iniquities, and even more, as the pristinely holy One who somehow was "made to be sin for us" (Isaiah 53:4; I Peter 2:14; II Corinthians 5:21). No ram caught in a thicket substituted for the Lamb of God nailed to His cross, and smitten with more loss than any other conscious being will ever being to suffer. Indeed, His "visage… marred more than any man" reflected the greater agony of a heart far more broken than all others. "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46).
In this solemn and holy light, the glory of the Father raising His Son from the dead brightly shines as a - the - most personal of matters. Can any heart or mind begin to fathom what it meant when God called the Lord Jesus from death unto life again, indeed, to an eternally undying Life beyond life? Eternity will not suffice in our discovery of all our Savior's resurrection means. Of this, however, we can certain: it was personal. It was joy in the triune heart of God. It was love.
Scripture records no human or angel as having witnessed the resurrection in the moment of its occurrence. The Father and the Holy Spirit alone convened in this most sacred of events wherein God raised His beloved Son from the dead. As I write these words, a great sense of stillness enters my heart and mind. Indeed, I have seen evidence of the resurrection more times in nearly a half century as a believer than I can begin to remember or report. However, to even imagine the moment when the Lord Jesus arose seems futile in the very least, and forbidden at most. In the moment, the resurrection involved three glorious Persons who comprise the one living and true God in a relationship that has forever been, and will forever be. Yes, our Lord arising from the dead concerns more than we will ever begin to fully know. But of this we can be sure: it was a personal matter.
"The Father loveth the Son."
(John 3:35)
Weekly Memory Verse
"By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."
(Hebrews 13:15)
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