John 20:19-20
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Lazarus had died from an illness. He likely was sick and then just closed his eyes one day, like he had a thousand times before, but this time they did not open again.
There was no mistaking that he was dead.
But he was peacefully dead as it were.
An open casket wake for sure.
Jesus was tortured, beaten and punctured mercilessly.
His corpse was not merely void vessel.
It was barely recognizable as a human being, let alone Jesus of Nazareth.
It is not to say that Lazarus’ resurrection would have been less amazing in essence, however in presentation it is dwarfed by observing the man days before brutally murdered now walking around and eating fish like He's celebrating Lent.
To see that Man alive would have been a cause of terror and wonder.
To see anything you saw die now alive would be remarkable.
To see one not only die, but destroyed now alive and glorified would be beyond remark.
Jesus is alive.
He is not a walking corpse.
He is a living Christ.
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing,as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
When you see that, you worship.
Revelation 5:8-10
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
We reign because He lives.
We live because He reigns.
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