THE RESURRECTIONS AFTER THE RESURRECTION
A few years ago, I did a series on the resurrections before the resurrection of Jesus. I went back into the OT with Elijah and the widow's son and Elisha and the Shunammite woman's son, all the way up to Lazarus. But did you know there were resurrections that took place after Jesus'? Let's take a look at those incidents and see what we can take away from them.
1) The tombs broke open.
Matthew 27:50-53, "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."
We see there were some things that happened as soon as Jesus breathed his last. The curtain being torn symbolized the way being made for people to draw close to God. There would be no more separation; all followers of Jesus would have access to the Most Holy Place.
Heb. 10:19-22, "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."
Jesus' death would usher in a way to be reconciled to God and that meant the ability to enter into the presence of God would be for all who were born again instead of just the high priest once a year. Spiritually, through Christ, we have access to the throne of God; we can draw near to God and have conversations with him.
The next thing that happened after Jesus died was an earthquake; the rocks split and it caused some of the tombs to break open. Although it appears like they resurrected when Jesus died, it's likely they came to life after Jesus did and then they made their way into the city.
But regardless, what a remarkable event! Jesus' death and resurrection caused many holy people to come back to life and go into Jerusalem. Can you imagine the shock on people's faces when they saw them? It has been suggested that John the Baptist could have been one of the resurrected. Talk about doing a double take. The one who had been beheaded comes walking into town fully intact. "Hey, Herod, remember me?"
What a statement of divine power. Everyone would be asking how this could be. The testimony of the power over death that Jesus had would be seen not only be his resurrection, but also in these other people coming back to life at the same time. But not just people, holy people.
These were not randomly selected individuals-these would be people who had shown themselves to be followers of Jesus. A distinction was made. Those who were righteous would be raised to life while those who were not would be left dead. It's an indicator of what will happen to us. The righteous will have their graves broken open and come back to life; the dead in Christ will rise (1 Thess. 4:16).
And we see they went into Jerusalem. The place where Jesus was sentenced to death was the place where their presence would signify that Christ was the victor. 'Though you put him to death, he has risen, and the fact that we're standing before you now is a testimony to that'.
Jesus' resurrection was a testimony, the resurrection of the holy ones was a testimony; then there was another testimony. Matt. 27:54, "When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
This commander realized whose presence he was in. He probably heard the religious leaders hurl their insult when they challenged Jesus to come down off the cross if he was the Son of God. Perhaps before now the Roman Centurion snickered or sneered at such a statement.
But now, he was brought to the point of being not just convinced, but terrified. They may have connected what just happened to God's wrath. Darkness had covered the land for hours; which would've grabbed their attention. Then to see an earthquake happen the moment Jesus died really got their attention-to the point of terrified. "Oh, no, what have we done? We crucified the Son of God!"
The Jews should've come to this conclusion but instead it was a foreigner. Such would be the case moving forward; more gentiles would come to faith in Christ than Jesus' own people. Fourfold Gospel Commentary, "Like the centurions of Capernaum (Matt. 8:10) and Caesarea (Acts 10:1-2), this Roman surpassed in faith those who had better opportunities."
The Centurion's declaration was what all these events were supposed to produce; so it's fitting to have the passage end on that note. The earthquake, the holy ones resurrecting and going into Jerusalem, and of course Jesus' resurrection, were all meant to convince people that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.
And those in the tombs who came back to life communicate that we who trust in Jesus for salvation will live, even though we die. This is the sure hope we have.
2) Peter and Tabitha.
Acts 9:32-43, "As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.”
She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon."
To explain-both Tabitha and Dorcas mean gazelle. Tabitha is the Aramaic translation, the language commonly spoken among the Jews, and Dorcas is the Greek translation; the language the NT is written in. Obviously she was well known by both names.
Here we see the first occurrence in the NT of someone other than Jesus raising someone from the dead. Our story begins with an account of Peter healing Aeneas. Peter had done this before. In Acts 3, he and John came across a man who had been crippled since birth. Peter healed him.
This was important for people to witness. Jesus gave his apostles the ability to heal, drive out demons and perform miracles. He wanted them to do the things he was doing. This was important to establish their validity as they sought to establish and populate the church.
After Peter healed the crippled man in Acts 3, he spoke to the crowd about Jesus. Then, he and John were seized and thrown in jail. The next day, they were before the Sanhedrin and questioned. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, made his response, declaring salvation through Jesus. This was their reaction.
Acts 4:13, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
Peter and John stood out; it was evident that they were able to say and do things that defied logic. They were fishermen; they shouldn't know what they knew; they shouldn't be able to do what they could do. Not only had they been with Jesus before, but Jesus was with them now; he gave them the ability to do amazing things.
What about us? If we are followers of Jesus we have the Holy Spirit in us, enabling us to do remarkable things; things we've never done before. When people encounter us, let it be evident to them that we know Jesus. May they realize by our words and actions that we are his followers. Let them notice that our actions are not quite normal. Let them wonder how we know what we know. Let's make sure we tell them why that is.
It's interesting that when Tabitha passes away, what crosses people's mind is, 'someone needs to get Peter'. Why? She's dead; what's he going to be able to do? Obviously there were those present who felt that he was able to do something. Peter healed Aeneas and word got around. "Go get the man of God."
People still need men and women of God. Sometimes they don't call for us until they're in dire straits but call on us they do. People call on us for advice; they look to us for prayer. We need to be ready to minister to them. So they find Peter and he goes with them.
I wonder what Peter's reaction was when they told him why they were there. "I'm sorry to hear that but what am I supposed to do about it?" Or did Peter know then that he was able to raise the dead? I don't know. If he didn't know before, it looks like he believed he could by the time he told her to get up.
I don't get a picture Peter sitting there with his fingers crossed thinking, "I hope this works". Peter had the faith to do something he hadn't done before. We're talking about raising someone from the dead; that's about as big as it gets. Has God ever called you to do something you hadn't done before? How nervous were you? Stepping forward in faith means believing that God will equip you to do something you've never done before.
And the result from what Peter did was many people put their faith in Jesus. And Peter stayed in town for a while. God used Peter in Joppa to bring more people to Christ. The results from what Peter did highlights something; the miracle wasn't as much about Tabitha coming back to life as it was about people coming to Christ. We need to remember that. When God works through us, it's not really about what we do as much as it is about what happens as a result of what we do. It's about the bigger picture.
3) Paul and Eutychus.
Acts 20:7-12, "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on.
When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted."
So, we see that a church service was taking place-they met on Sunday and celebrated the Lord's Supper. And must be Paul had a lot he needed to say before he departed the next day because he was going on until midnight. I don't know what time they started but that's a long service no matter how you slice it. And you thought my sermons were long.
This young man in the windowsill probably should've sat somewhere else; especially when he realized he was starting to doze off. But then again, had he done that the people wouldn't have been able to witness a miracle that day. With that said, I'm not recommending that anyone sit in an open window looking for a miracle; especially during one of my sermons. Since I'm not Paul that probably wouldn't end well for you. You'll be lying in the walkway in pain and agony; wishing I was Paul. So the lesson is don't fall asleep during my sermons.
So this poor young man falls and dies. Paul rushed down and threw himself on Eutychus; which I'm sure seemed a bit peculiar to everyone. But this was similar to how Elisha raised the Shunammite woman's son (2 Kings 4:34). Paul gave him a big hug and Eutychus comes back to life.
We see that Peter spoke to Tabitha but Paul didn't speak to Eutychus. This shows that the same miracle can happen in different ways. Jesus used different methods when he healed people. I think the variety adds to the validity. Miracles could be viewed as tricks if they are done the same exact way every time.
Then we see that Paul goes back to preaching...until daylight! "Ok, now where did I leave off before I was so rudely interrupted?" But this shows that Paul did not allow what happened to deter him from continuing to say what they needed to hear.
The young man's peril was something Satan would want to use to wreak havoc, like stirring up anger toward Paul for going on so long, or to cause so much grief for the boy's parents that they turned away from God. All sorts of negative scenarios could've played themselves out that day that would've gotten in the way of what God was trying to accomplish before Paul left the next day.
But instead, God provided a miracle through Paul. Satan's design was thwarted. God actually used this tragedy to accomplish his purposes. He better established Paul's validity and it no doubt caused his audience to pay even stricter attention to the rest of his sermon, which lasted until daybreak!
Can you imagine the impact this event made upon the people there and the rest of the town once word got out? Think of the impression made upon the young man! After Paul left there was great comfort for the people because of this great miracle; along with the word of God Paul had spoken to them. I imagine everyone left that service a little different than how they were when they arrived.
We can be certain that Satan is going to try to get in the way of what God is doing. And when he does we need to determine how we're going to respond to it. Paul could've panicked when this young man fell. He could've concluded that all was lost and ruined. Instead, he went forward in faith by the instruction of the Holy Spirit and threw himself on the man, put his arms around him and brought him back to life.
When Satan tries to get in the way of what God is doing we need to stay calm, assess the situation and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do. We can either add to the chaos or remove it and restore order. The Holy Spirit's fire can either be snuffed out or fanned into flame; depending on how we react to stressful situations.
Paul showed that an interruption to what God was doing didn't have to put out the fire. He obeyed God and fanned the flame. The power of God working through us brings lemonade from lemons. When we keep in step with the Spirit we'll see God bring good things out of bad situations.
