Jesus Rises

-


Jesus Rises

On the crucifix, with the two men on either side of him Jesus says to one of them: "Before the day is over you will be with me in paradise".(Luke 23:43). Herein lies the clue to Resurrection.

Jesus is crucified. He speaks to the man next to him, the man who said to him " Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). About three hours later Jesus surrendered his soul unto the Father. Three days later he rose from the dead and emerged from the tomb.


The resurrected body of Jesus was the same which was taken down from the cross, with all the wounds and marks. The body was physical and could be touched, although we do not know  if Thomas actually followed the instructions from Jesus in John 20:27 to tocuh his wounds, something Mary of Magdalene was apparently not permitted to do. But, unlike Tomas, Mary Magdalene did not need to touch the body to be convinced, because she never doubted who it was. It was Rabboni. Maybe she was not forbidden to touch the body, but only told that she should wait. And yet this body could pass through a locked door (John 20:26).

How does this resurrection differ from all the resurrections from dead mentioned in the bible, especially that of Lazarus and Tabitha. No mention is made of the final end of Lazarus or Tabitha. But Luke (24:52), Mark (16:19), Acts (1:9-10) mention the ascension of Jesus into heaven.(Mark).


For one thing the rising of Lazarus and Tabitha involved a physical invocation by a human agency ( Jesus and Peter). The New Testament is silent about the last moments of Lazarus and Tabitha, whether they uttered any words and if so what.  In the case of the crucified Jesus there were two humans crucified along with him. One reviles Jesus, the other begs him to remember him once he is joined with his father. At this point Jesus assures him that before the day is over he will be with Jesus in paradise (apparently this is not the same as heaven, as a friend of mine pointed out Jesus spent time in the hell for forty days-why does forty keep recurring?).

From the time Jesus said this till the time he passed away there was darkness. He, by his own words went to his Father. The father is God. God is in his kingdom. And the kingdom of god is "within you"(Luke 17:21). Therefore Jesus went into the hearts and souls of men, as he told the good man crucified along with him. For "you shall be with me" is the same as "I shall be with you".  The cave in which he was buried is the heart of man. He spent the next three days (or forty days), inspiring goodness in the heart of men, all men because he did not go into just one man. Once the heart is cleansed and the soul is wiling to accept the Christ, he resurrects.

This resurrection is not merely the resurrection witnessed by Mary of Magdalene. The resurrected Yeshua is the spirit dwelling within the cleansed soul of men. This is a spiritual resurrection of the soul of every man and woman who accepts the spirit of the son of man within himself. And it occurs every day, every moment. Resurrection is the rising of one's own soul from the depths of darkness after Jesus has cleansed it.

The two days he spent within the grotto of our soul is eternity. For if it terminates, then goodness ends. The Resurrection is an everlasting promise by the son of man that the True Follower  will never be abandoned by God. You shall be with me before this day is over. This day could be any day, for death hides behind every moment. And Jesus says he shall be with us before our day is over. Not His day, for that day can never be over. The Word which was from the beginning can never cease to be. There Jesus cannot ever cease.

The Resurrection is the message to all men that if only you would accept the son of man, he would gladly dwell in your soul. He would gladly partake of your mortality. And be not afraid, because before this day is over you shall be with me. As I am within you always.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the passing of millennia and the literal reading of the holy scripture, the spiritual meaning of Crucifixion and Resurrection has been lost in the drama of a physical resurrection. (explain Rabboni).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Resurrection.

-
Today you rose from the tomb. How you rose must forever remain a mystery unless you choose to tell me Rabbi,  "for as yet they did not yet understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead" John 20:9. Neither do I. However from my background, life after death, resurrection and journeys to heaven and hell are not strange. But I still am baffled by Resurrection. However that might be, you chose to re appear in the same body which had been scourged and crucified. That must have a terrible sight and yet Mary Magdalene had no hesitation. She believed. As did John. They did not need proof. Not so the others. Thomas was not alone in this disbelief. I do not ask what you did from the time you gave up life till the time you came back again. But I do ask of you, Brother and Teacher, why did you resurrect yourself? What is the point? Your teachings stand by themselves, they do not need this. And yet I rejoice along with all those who do believe. This is the day our mothe
Read more

The word came and dwelt among us

-
Today I wanted to ask you something, Rabbi, but you threw this one at me : "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us".John 1:14. This is a simple and powerful statement. In John 1-1 the Word is not actually named. It is however described as coincident with the Lord and Creation."The word was with  God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:3. One must therefore presume a simultaneous dichotomy as well as unity of the Word with  the Creator. "Word was with God, and the Word was God."  And this Word became flesh and dwelt among mortals. Being confined to a mortal frame He had to choose a time and space for the incarnation.  Why should the Word come and dwell among us? Are we worthy of such close attention from God ? Close enough to send part of Himself (. Apparently we are. "He who has ears, let him hear" says Mat11:15. Revelation 2:7 goes further - "'He who has an ear
Read more

The Lost Sheep

-
The Lost Sheep Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a shepherd. And he had one hundred excellent sheep. One of the sheep though good and obedient Was deaf and blind. Whenever the shepherd took his sheep out to graze The poor blind sheep would get lost And the kind shepherd would pet him And tell him it's all right. This went on day after day after day And the shepherd finally lost his temper And cursed the sheep Which was blind and Deaf The curse was that from now on You, miserable creature, From now on You are on your own. And little blind sheep was sad He couldn't hear the words He couldn't see his Master But he could feel the anger in the air. And the anger made him sad He thought it must be his fault. Being deaf and blind And forever wandering off from the flock. And the shepherd was happy With his nine and ninety sheep That were perfect in eye and ear And never gave him much bother. Next day when they went to graze The master n
Read more