It seems recently, there have been a lot of funerals of people somehow connected with me. My grandfather passed away a little over a week ago. My friend’s grandmother passed away this week. Also, a couple people who are connected with my church have died recently. Funerals are sad times as we miss the loved ones that we have lost. They are also a time to remember a life and how it was lived.
I wonder what Jesus’ disciples said about His life as they laid him in the tomb. They would have had many good times and miracles to celebrate. There also may have been a feeling of disappointment. This man who claimed to be God and Savior was gone. Peter was obviously disappointed and went back to what he knew best, fishing. (John 21:3)
Thankfully, we don’t have to conjecture about what Jesus’ disciples had to say about His life. Their thoughts and writings have been preserved in the books of the Bible’s New Testament. This post will examine what they said about the life of Jesus and their claim that His life didn’t end at that tomb.
Like all of us, the story of Jesus' life on earth starts with His birth. However, Jesus' birth is incredibly unique. As was prophesied in the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:14), Jesus was born of a virgin. (Matthew 1:18-23) Both Matthew and Luke 1:35, explain that this virgin birth was accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit impregnating Mary. As was discussed in the last post, Jesus is divine, He is God. This virgin birth, which is called the Incarnation, allowed Jesus to fully keep his divinity but yet become fully human through Mary and a human birth. Also, Jesus’ lack of a human father allowed Him to have no sin nature, inborn propensity to rebel against God, and thus allowed Him to live a sinless life.
On a side note, there are some controversial beliefs related to Jesus’ birth. The Miraculous Conception is the belief from Catholic tradition that Mary was also miraculously born without a sin nature. However, there is no support for this in the Bible. Mary is presented as a normal, humble Jewish woman. Also, there is a teaching that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life. Again, the Bible does not support this. Multiple times Jesus’ brothers are mentioned (John 7, John 2:12) and there is no evidence to lead one to believe these were not Mary's children.
Back to Jesus' life. As mentioned above, Jesus had no sin nature and, thus, never sinned during His life. Hebrews 4:15 explains that, during His earthly life, Jesus did face temptation just like we face it today. Because of His divinity and lack of a sin nature, however, Jesus never gave into this temptation nor could He have sinned. Both aspects of this passage are extremely important. First, His ability to be tempted allows Him to relate to the struggles we face today in trying to be obedient Christians. Second, His sinlessness allows Him to be the atonement for our sin, as will be discussed below.
So, Jesus was born by a miraculous virgin birth, lived a miraculous sinless life and also performed many miracles for others during His life. The Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; are filled with miracles performed by Jesus. They speak of the blind, lepers, and cripples being healed; water turned to wine; storms stopped by a word from Jesus' mouth; and, most incredibly, people that had died brought back to life. These show Jesus’ love and care for men and women, especially the needy, but also show that He was God and the savior prophesied in the Old Testament. When John the Baptist asks Jesus, through John's disciples, if Jesus was the prophesied saviour, Jesus points to the miracles He had done as fulfillment of prophecy and affirmation that he is savior. (Matthew 11:2-6)
Even with all these miracles, Jesus’ earthly life would eventually end. Most of us have probably heard the Easter story. Jesus is arrested while He is in the garden with His disciples. He would face a sham of a trial and eventually be brought before the Roman leader Pilot. Pilot would find no guilt in Jesus but would bow to the pressure of the public, who cry for Him to be crucified. Jesus is then beaten and executed in what is possibly the most excruciating method of death devised by men, crucifixion. However, this again was all prophesied in the Old Testament hundreds of years before Jesus’ life. (Isaiah 53)
The death of Jesus was not just foreseen by God but also incredibly important for God's plan. It accomplished three things for those that would believe and follow Jesus in the years to come. First, Jesus’ death was substitutionary. He took the punishment that was due to man for man’s sins. (Isaiah 53, 2 Cor 5:21) Second, Jesus’ death brought redemption for Christians. Man’s sin has separated him relationally from God but, through Jesus’ death, men can now have a renewed relationship with God. (Romans 5:10) Finally, Jesus’ death was a propitiation. This means it was a payment to fulfill God's righteousness and justice toward sin and appease God's wrath. (Romans 3:25) Jesus’ death on the cross was the means by which God chose to use to open the door of salvation to all men who would put their faith in Jesus. This salvation will be discussed in more depth in a later post.
This brings us back to where we started. Jesus is dead and in the tomb. The disciples are dejected. However, this is not where the story ends because three days after Jesus’ death another miraculous thing happens. Jesus rises to life again. It's important to note that Jesus doesn't just come back as a ghost or spirit but with an actual physical body, renewed and perfect. (Luke 24:36-43) This gives Christians hope that though someday they will die, they will also receive a new resurrection body.
The resurrection is probably the most highly disputed of all the aspects of Jesus’ life. It is also the most crucial because, if Jesus is still dead. than He is a failed savior and the Christian is without hope. (1 Corinthians 15:17-19) While there are multiple proofs used to validate the resurrection, I’ll just mention three here. First, the tomb was empty. This seems pretty simplistic but is a valid proof. There was no body in the tomb. If Jesus’ disciples stole it, then how did they get past two Roman guards protecting the tomb with their life? If Jesus’ opponents stole it, then why didn’t they show people the body? Second, Jesus appeared to over 500 people after the resurrection. How could this many people agree to perpetuate a lie? Third, the lives of the disciples were transformed and they started the church. This is probably the most convincing for me. Before the resurrection, the disciples were timid and had even gone back to their normal occupations after Jesus’ death. After the resurrection, these men were on fire to tell people about Jesus, the church was created and experienced rapid growth, and many of Jesus followers were killed for their faith. The disciples were evidently thoroughly convinced of the resurrection because no one would show this level of passion and commitment for a known lie.
Finally, after appearing to His disciples and many other people, Jesus ascended into heaven. Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:9 all tell of this miraculous event of Jesus rising in His resurrected body to heaven. He is now seated at the right hand of God and is interceding with God on behalf of those that follow Him. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Overall, the life of Jesus was pretty unique and incredible. This is the most amazing story in history. God becomes a man and suffers and dies in order that those who have wronged Him can have a relationship with Him. What other God has done that for His people? What other God knows from the personal experience of being human the temptations and struggles His followers face? Jesus had an amazing life and continues to be an amazing savior and God.
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