Exquisite Proof
Acts 1:3 - To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs...
For over three years the man they called, Yeshua, walked the countryside of Israel and greater Palestine. He had done many works of majesty and wonder, but many had not seen Him and still were unaware of both Him and His claims. And even His closest and most loyal friends could never imagined what His divine mission would entail. Death and humiliation were not the stuff of kings as generally understood, and furthermore no one wanted to risk their own life, they desired to bask in His power. But we know that the road to eternal glory and human redemption led straight through Golgotha, a very strange journey indeed.
Think on this, the sufferings of Jesus bore no outward divine imprint and to the natural eye His death was a mirror of thousands of Jews who died before Him at the hands of the Romans. The blood and sweat had nothing outwardly supernatural, and in fact when He voluntarily succumbed to death many of His hopeful followers became disillusioned. It surely appeared as if this “Yeshua” was nothing more than some kind of prophet in the line of Moses, human and now dead.
So what should they make of some of the subtle and open references that Jesus made concerning His own resurrection? If He now is dead and gone all His words about some kind of resurrection were either wishful thinking or metaphors meaning something quite different. Time would tell and life must now go on without Him. But He had also spoken about redemption and forgiveness and even made some extraordinary overtures during the Passover meal that now seemed to lose the luster that had permeated that upper room. Many had suggested He was one of the prophets and yet Peter claimed He was the Messiah and Jesus Himself blessed Peter’s confession. But He could not be the Messiah being now dead and gone.
He had generated such hope in His listeners and His followers had left all to walk in His steps. So they now faced the prospect that they had left all for nothing. The journey was over and they were now worse off than when they had started, it was all so depressively confusing. They were now sought as trouble makers and followers of the “pestilent fellow”. Do they start over, and if so, with whom as their leader? This definitely was the low point in their lives.
So if indeed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, how could He now prove it with a universally accepted proof? Just as there did not seem to be any divine essence to the cross in the natural, Jesus would have to prove His claims by something in the natural, tangible and apparent to the human senses, so there would be no argument about His authenticity. Listen now, and move closer in the Spirit, because Jesus was going to provide an exquisite proof that revealed an incredible victory of life over the victory of death He had just won. Can you process that? In order to substantiate His claims of divine incarnation, He would have to overcome what men had seen as a defeat and do it without removing the eternal victory hidden at the cross. He could not undo what He had accomplished at Calvary, He would have to prove it and Him by something that would reflect gloriously upon the cross and yet defeat a portion of its death.
So on the morning of firstfruits the dead body of Yeshua lay upon that cold slab in Joseph’s borrowed tomb, and all Jerusalem were quickly going about their business to forget Him. But God had a plan, He always does. This plan would take all of history by surprise, only equaled by the surprise of the death of God’s Son. On the day of firstfruits, the celebration of the first harvest, the Son of the Living God would rise from the grave and conquer death forever. And without detracting from His death He added to the victory that was won on that cross, and in reality, He substantiated it and gilded the atonement forever with the revelation of Who He was. Who was that Jew upon that cruel cross? That was the King of Glory, the Eternal Word who has now established His kingdom of the living faithful.
To embrace the cross is to embrace the resurrection and to embrace the resurrection is to embrace the cross. Life and death simultaneously made available by faith to even the vilest of sinners which by definition is every one of us. He died - He lives. We die - we live - in Him. So the victory over death is the same resurrection that substantiates that death, because without a full and complete death there can be no resurrection. Look and see, the King of Life has carried those death wounds with Him and if you look through the eyes of faith you will see the coming entourage of believers who will rise from the dead upon the power of His resurrection. He is the firstfruits and His harvest of life will by faith feed many who will rise up from this earthen death and bear the resemblance of the corn of wheat that was planted for them.
Gather around all you demons of hell, all you angels of heaven, all you scoffers, and all you worshipers and cast your gaze upon the exquisiteness of this proof for which you clamor. It is exhibited not be dossier and not by mere words, no, this evidence is brought forth in the Person of the Risen Christ Himself. Look and admire all you angels, look and fear all you demons. Behold He ever lives as the exquisite proof of His power over death and hell, but look further and see He does not slumber nor rest. He makes intercession for all those who by faith trust and believe in Him as the Lord and eternal proof and by Him they are saved to the uttermost.
Lift up your heads O ye gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in! And in He has entered and the gates remain open to welcome all His blood washed sons to dwell eternally with Him and worship around His majestic throne. And they, the Bride of this Great Bridegroom, stand as another exquisite proof of all Christ has done. Oh yes, we will forever be His reward and reflect His victory as an everlasting proof that He alone has triumphed.
The unassailable evidence, the exquisite proof that Jesus was the eternal Word and Savior of the world is the resurrection and His glorified Risen body. That is why He did not just rise in spirit, secretly and away from earthly eyes, no, He rose bodily and made an open show over all His enemies and death itself. And the mystery of His eternal body will forever be the exquisite proof that God has triumphed, Jesus has risen, and we are now safe by faith in His victory over death. The Risen Christ Himself is indeed the exquisite proof that will redound to God’s glory for eternity. With every song of worship before His throne we again lift up that which proves Him worthy and us His grateful servants forevermore. His death has conquered sin and His life has conquered death.
For over three years the man they called, Yeshua, walked the countryside of Israel and greater Palestine. He had done many works of majesty and wonder, but many had not seen Him and still were unaware of both Him and His claims. And even His closest and most loyal friends could never imagined what His divine mission would entail. Death and humiliation were not the stuff of kings as generally understood, and furthermore no one wanted to risk their own life, they desired to bask in His power. But we know that the road to eternal glory and human redemption led straight through Golgotha, a very strange journey indeed.
Think on this, the sufferings of Jesus bore no outward divine imprint and to the natural eye His death was a mirror of thousands of Jews who died before Him at the hands of the Romans. The blood and sweat had nothing outwardly supernatural, and in fact when He voluntarily succumbed to death many of His hopeful followers became disillusioned. It surely appeared as if this “Yeshua” was nothing more than some kind of prophet in the line of Moses, human and now dead.
So what should they make of some of the subtle and open references that Jesus made concerning His own resurrection? If He now is dead and gone all His words about some kind of resurrection were either wishful thinking or metaphors meaning something quite different. Time would tell and life must now go on without Him. But He had also spoken about redemption and forgiveness and even made some extraordinary overtures during the Passover meal that now seemed to lose the luster that had permeated that upper room. Many had suggested He was one of the prophets and yet Peter claimed He was the Messiah and Jesus Himself blessed Peter’s confession. But He could not be the Messiah being now dead and gone.
He had generated such hope in His listeners and His followers had left all to walk in His steps. So they now faced the prospect that they had left all for nothing. The journey was over and they were now worse off than when they had started, it was all so depressively confusing. They were now sought as trouble makers and followers of the “pestilent fellow”. Do they start over, and if so, with whom as their leader? This definitely was the low point in their lives.
So if indeed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, how could He now prove it with a universally accepted proof? Just as there did not seem to be any divine essence to the cross in the natural, Jesus would have to prove His claims by something in the natural, tangible and apparent to the human senses, so there would be no argument about His authenticity. Listen now, and move closer in the Spirit, because Jesus was going to provide an exquisite proof that revealed an incredible victory of life over the victory of death He had just won. Can you process that? In order to substantiate His claims of divine incarnation, He would have to overcome what men had seen as a defeat and do it without removing the eternal victory hidden at the cross. He could not undo what He had accomplished at Calvary, He would have to prove it and Him by something that would reflect gloriously upon the cross and yet defeat a portion of its death.
So on the morning of firstfruits the dead body of Yeshua lay upon that cold slab in Joseph’s borrowed tomb, and all Jerusalem were quickly going about their business to forget Him. But God had a plan, He always does. This plan would take all of history by surprise, only equaled by the surprise of the death of God’s Son. On the day of firstfruits, the celebration of the first harvest, the Son of the Living God would rise from the grave and conquer death forever. And without detracting from His death He added to the victory that was won on that cross, and in reality, He substantiated it and gilded the atonement forever with the revelation of Who He was. Who was that Jew upon that cruel cross? That was the King of Glory, the Eternal Word who has now established His kingdom of the living faithful.
To embrace the cross is to embrace the resurrection and to embrace the resurrection is to embrace the cross. Life and death simultaneously made available by faith to even the vilest of sinners which by definition is every one of us. He died - He lives. We die - we live - in Him. So the victory over death is the same resurrection that substantiates that death, because without a full and complete death there can be no resurrection. Look and see, the King of Life has carried those death wounds with Him and if you look through the eyes of faith you will see the coming entourage of believers who will rise from the dead upon the power of His resurrection. He is the firstfruits and His harvest of life will by faith feed many who will rise up from this earthen death and bear the resemblance of the corn of wheat that was planted for them.
Gather around all you demons of hell, all you angels of heaven, all you scoffers, and all you worshipers and cast your gaze upon the exquisiteness of this proof for which you clamor. It is exhibited not be dossier and not by mere words, no, this evidence is brought forth in the Person of the Risen Christ Himself. Look and admire all you angels, look and fear all you demons. Behold He ever lives as the exquisite proof of His power over death and hell, but look further and see He does not slumber nor rest. He makes intercession for all those who by faith trust and believe in Him as the Lord and eternal proof and by Him they are saved to the uttermost.
Lift up your heads O ye gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in! And in He has entered and the gates remain open to welcome all His blood washed sons to dwell eternally with Him and worship around His majestic throne. And they, the Bride of this Great Bridegroom, stand as another exquisite proof of all Christ has done. Oh yes, we will forever be His reward and reflect His victory as an everlasting proof that He alone has triumphed.
The unassailable evidence, the exquisite proof that Jesus was the eternal Word and Savior of the world is the resurrection and His glorified Risen body. That is why He did not just rise in spirit, secretly and away from earthly eyes, no, He rose bodily and made an open show over all His enemies and death itself. And the mystery of His eternal body will forever be the exquisite proof that God has triumphed, Jesus has risen, and we are now safe by faith in His victory over death. The Risen Christ Himself is indeed the exquisite proof that will redound to God’s glory for eternity. With every song of worship before His throne we again lift up that which proves Him worthy and us His grateful servants forevermore. His death has conquered sin and His life has conquered death.
Halleluiah,
the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ!
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