Chapter X1.1 - RESURRECTION
RESURRECTION
There is progression in the teaching of the Word of God relative to resurrection. Prior to the resurrection of Christ there was mention only of the resurrection OF THE DEAD. Greek: "anastaseos te nekron"; translation: "and of resurrection of dead ones" (Hebrews 6:2). This is the teaching of the kindergarten, primary but elementary. As the Lord was coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration He charged Peter, James and John not to mention the experience till Christ had risen out from among the dead. These disciples who had heard only of the resurrection OF THE DEAD could not understand what Christ meant by the expression THE RISING FROM AMONG THE DEAD. Greek: "ek nekron anaste"; translation: "out from among the dead ones should be raised" (Mark 9:9-10).
Paul in the letter to the Philippians describes his sole-ambition, the burning desire of his heart, his magnificent obsession, and calls it "the out-resurrection from among those who have been raised from among the dead ones" (Php 3:11). Greek: "ek-anastasin ten ek nekron"; translation: "the out-resurrection (further selection) from among those who have been raised from among the dead ones." Paul was assured of rising from the dead in case he died; he was assured of being raised from AMONG the dead in similar circumstances; but he was not sure of a further rising or selection after being raised from among the dead, because further selection was DEPENDENT upon faithfulness, obedience, and had to be attained, earned, merited and won as a PRIZE. So Paul said, "THIS ONE THING I DO." He would do all in his power to win the prize of the out-calling from among those raised from among the dead ones and thereby rule and reign with our Lord in His coming kingdom.
Note the progression: First, all the dead will be raised. Second, the dead in Christ will be raised from among the lost dead ones before the Tribulation begins, the Old Testament saints will be raised at the end of the Great Tribulation, and the rest a:f the dead will not be raised for a thousand years. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Daniel 12:1-2, and Revelation 20:4-6. Third, after the resurrection of the Christians and their elevation to the judgment seat of Christ in the heavens THERE IS A FURTHER RISING OR SELECTION on the basis of works, possession of the wedding garment which will constitute one a member of the Bride of Christ, the Church, and the privilege as well as responsibility of reigning with Christ.
All Christians will be raised from among the lost dead, but only those who are further selected will receive rewards and reign with Him. THE RESURRECTIONS
Throughout the Old Testament there is the apparent teaching of a general resurrection. The truth of several resurrections did not come to light until the experience of our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. In Mark 9:9, the Lord speaks of the Son of man rising from among the dead. Verse 10 reveals that the disciples did not know what He meant when He spoke of rising from among the dead. In Hebrews 6:2, the resurrection of the dead is spoken of as one of the principles of the doctrine of Christ from which they were to go on to perfection. And perfection, so far as the doctrine of the resurrection is concerned, is grasping the truth of several resurrections rather than believing in a general resurrection. Before enumerating the different resurrections, let us define the word resurrection. Webster says it is "a resumption of vigor; restoration; revival, which means to live again." Man is body, soul and spirit. When a man dies only his body dies; therefore, all that can live again or be resurrected is the body of the one who dies. In Job 14:14, the question is asked, "If a man die, shall he live again ?" Technically speaking, this means if a man ceases to have a physical existence of flesh and bones, will he in the life to come, have a physical existence of flesh and bones? That question is answered in Job 19:25-27. Job, through the Spirit of God, says that though he dies and the worms eat his body, yet in his flesh shall he see God, and he will see Him with his own physical eyes. In order for Job to do this, his body must come back from the dust and exist again in flesh and bones. The present body of man is called a natural, or soulical, body because it is animated by the soul, that is, the blood. The resurrection body of man will be a spiritual body, that is, a body of flesh and bones animated by the Holy Spirit. See Luke 24:39 where we learn that Christ’s resurrection body consisted of flesh and bones animated by the Holy Spirit. He Himself was not a spirit, neither is God a spirit, though both are Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:50 tells us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; but Scripture is at one in teaching that flesh and bones are to inherit the kingdom of God. Blood is corruptible and cannot enter into the kingdom of God, but the bodies of resurrected flesh and bones, given life through the Holy Spirit, will enter into the kingdom of God. The entire fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians sets forth the fundamental truth that the bodily resurrection of Christ is the foundation stone of Christianity. The truth is also given that because Christ’s body of flesh and bones arose from the dead, so too shall all mankind arise from the dead in their bodies of flesh and bones. (See 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.) The desire to disbelieve in the physical resurrection of the dead is based upon the pagan philosophy that matter is evil. But such is not the truth, for God created matter and saw that it was good. It is the abuse of matter which produces evil.
I. The first resurrection is made up of three phases:
A. Christ, the firstfruits. 1 Corinthians 15:23 tells us that each man is to be raised in his own company, and that Christ is the firstfruits. According to the laws of the harvest in the Old Testament, there are three aspects: firstfruits, harvest and the gleanings. The firstfruits is plural. In Matthew 27:51-53, the graves of many were opened at the time of the rending of the veil of the Temple, but the bodies of the saints stayed in the graves three days and three nights. They did not come out until after the resurrection of Christ. Since they were restrained until after His resurrection, we can only conclude that they came forth in their resurrection bodies, never to die again. Others in both the Old and the New Testaments were raised from the dead prior to this, but they had to die again. Ephesians 4:8 says that when Christ ascended on high He led captivity captive. This could well be those saints who arose immediately after His resurrection and who ascended with Him, comprising the firstfruits. Manifestly, this is the firstfruits.
B. The main harvest has its counterpart in those who are Christ’s at His appearing (1 Corinthians 15:23). This group is divided into two sections as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. (1) The dead in Christ. (This is a new Testament experience and can therefore mean only the New Testament saints who have died in the Lord); (2) Those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord. Both of these groups will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This takes place at the time of the appearing of the Lord, and it precedes His return to the earth by about seven years. The expression in Christ is not an Old Testament expression at all; so this main harvest at the resurrection does not include the Old Testament saints.
C. The next in order of the resurrections is Old Testament and the great tribulation saints. Daniel 12:1 tells of the great tribulation and describes it as a time of trouble for his people Israel. (Do not try to get the church in the great tribulation because it is the time of Jacob’s trouble and not Christ’s bride.) In verse 2 we see that following the great tribulation there is a resurrection of Old Testament saints, or Daniel’s people. The tribulation, as such, lasts for a period of approximately seven years, and the main harvest resurrection takes place when the Old Testament saints plus the tribulation saints are resurrected at the end. (See Revelation 7:14; Revelation 20:4) This is the third phase of the first resurrection, and is the fulfillment of the type called "The gleanings." To recapitulate, the first resurrection is comprised of the firstfruits - Christ and some of the saints who arose just after He did; the harvest, which includes the dead in Christ and those who are alive at His return. This takes place about 2000 years after the firstfruits. About seven years later come the gleanings, or the resurrection of the Old Testament and the tribulation saints.
II. The second resurrection is described in Revelation 20:5-6; Revelation 20:11-15. This is called the resurrection of the dead, for all who appear before the Great White Throne are dead physically, and they are dead also because of their separation from God. They are separated from God because they did not receive Christ as Saviour. This takes place at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ, and since they are already lost, the purpose of their appearing before the Great White Throne to be judged out of the record books is to determine the extent of their punishment and suffering in the lake of fire where they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (See Revelation 20:10; Revelation 20:14-15; Revelation 21:8.)
"Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection"-either among the firstfruits, the harvest or the gleanings!
THREE RESURRECTIONS In developing the doctrine of the resurrection there is a progression in the Word of God from a general teaching to specific doctrine. Of course, when I mention resurrection, I mean that which the Bible teaches-the resurrection of the physical body of one who was alive but died. Resurrection cannot apply to soul or spirit since neither dies. The first teaching pertaining to the resurrection was what may be termed a general resurrection OF all of the dead. There seemed to be no discrimination between saved and lost. This is brought out in the conversation between Jesus and Martha in John 11:23-24 : "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." When Jesus speaks of Lazarus’ resurrection, Martha expresses belief in the resurrection at the last day. Up until this time, Jesus had not introduced the teaching of selective resurrection - that is, some being raised and others left in the graves. The teaching of a resurrection FROM AMONG the dead is introduced in the experiences on the Mount of Transfiguration. In Mark 9:9 Jesus speaks of the Son of man to be raised FROM AMONG the dead. This was so contrary to the thinking of the apostles that in verse 10 the disciples continued to discuss possible meanings of the Lord’s statement "rise FROM AMONG the dead." In Hebrews 6:1-20, as the Spirit of the Lord encourages believers to go on from drinking milk to eating of meat - to go on to full maturity in Christian growth-we read in verse 2 that they are to go on from the doctrine of the resurrection OF the dead. The only progression to be made from the doctrine of resurrection OF the dead is from the teaching of the general resurrection to selective resurrection. This selective resurrection is stated again in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, which states "the dead in Christ shall rise first." Those not in Christ shall not rise for a thousand years. "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection" (Revelation 20:5).
There is still a further step in the progression of the teaching pertaining to resurrection. In Php 3:11 Paul says, "If by any means I might attain unto the OUT-resurrection FROM AMONG the dead." Here Paul uses a word for resurrection that is not used any other time in the entire Bible, just here in this one place. The immediate context of this particular resurrection truth is that Paul is saying that he knows he is going to be raised with all Christians at the time of the translation and rapture of the saints, but he is looking forward to a further separation FROM AMONG the risen saints, which he calls the OUT-resurrection. This OUT-resurrection is the prize which Paul mentions in verse 14-a prize for which he is working and toward which he hopes he is moving-a prize dependent upon and conditioned by his faithfulness as a Christian.
Whereas many types of the Bride of Christ reveal them being chosen FROM AMONG the families of the bridegrooms, the Bride of Christ, in the antitype, is chosen OUT FROM the family of God, the Body of Christ. The very word CHURCH (which means "called out from," or "chosen out from") emphasizes the fact that she is chosen OUT FROM the family of God. Just as there are numerous scholars who refuse to move on from the truth of the general resurrection OF the dead to that of resurrection FROM AMONG the dead, so are there very few, who appreciate the truth of the resurrection FROM AMONG the dead, who have any appreciation of the OUT-resurrection FROM AMONG those who have been raised FROM AMONG the dead.
Here is the summation of the Bible doctrine of resurrection: 1. There was revealed first to the people of God that there would be a resurrection OF the dead (John 11:24). 2. Christ revealed that there would be a resurrection FROM AMONG the dead (Mark 9:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:5). 3. The Holy Spirit revealed that there would be an OUT-resurrection FROM AMONG those who would be raised FROM AMONG the dead (Php 3:11).
There is for every Christian the privilege and opportunity to strive, as did the Apostle Paul, to attain to the OUT-resurrection. If you are interested, study carefully Php 3:7-14.
IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION The Alpha and Omega of the gospel of the apostles was that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. When one must need be chosen to take the place of Judas they said, "One must be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection." On the day of Pentecost Peter, preaching to the multitude, spoke of this resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh. Peter and John were taken before the council and tried because they taught the people and preached through Jesus Christ the resurrection from the dead. When they were set free it was with great power that they gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all. At Athens Paul preached that Jesus Himself was raised from the dead and they mocked and laughed at this teaching and preaching of the resurrection of the dead, saying, "We will hear thee again of this matter." Paul stood before the council of the Pharisees and Sadducees and said, "Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am called in question." And in that great, incomparable chapter of 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 Paul says, "If Christ be not risen from the dead, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is vain and ye are yet in your sins." Concerning the importance of the resurrection of the dead, read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 : "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
There were those at Corinth who believed in the resurrection of Jesus but denied the ascension of His body into heaven. They denied all future resurrection. I must call to your attention once again that here Paul and the apostles and others, treating of the resurrection, do not speak, do not think, do not talk of the immortality of the soul. The soul is not mortal; the spirit is not mortal, that is, subject to death; only the body is mortal and only the body can put on immortality. God’s witness is that the whole man-body, soul and spirit-shall yet be restored. You will remember that when God created Adam in the garden of Eden body, soul and spirit, Adam was to eat of the tree of life and be preserved eternally in that body, soul and spirit. That was God’s original plan and purpose and that has not been changed. The redemption of God includes the body, includes the soul, and includes the spirit; and for that Paul prayed in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Look at our Lord Jesus Christ when He died. He yielded His Spirit to God the Father; His body went into the mausoleum and His soul went down into Hades. In the death of the Lord Jesus Christ the three component parts-body, soul, Spirit-were separated and went into three different places. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ involved the bringing back of the Spirit, the bringing back of the soul, and the putting of them in the body and the raising of the body once from the dead. And when we talk about the resurrection, that is what we mean: body, soul, and spirit.
Here Paul is contending that if we preach that Christ rose from the dead, how can anybody say then that there is no resurrection of the dead, because if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ did not rise from the dead; and if Christ did not rise from the dead, He is still in that tomb, and that tomb is not an empty tomb. The greatest testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the empty tomb. One day I asked a brother minister (who was denying the resurrection of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ), "Where is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ?" (And my beloved friends, you who deny the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, this same question is asked you which I asked this minister, "Where is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ? Where is that body that was born of the virgin Mary, that walked the shores of Galilee; where is that body that suffered and bled, hung on Calvary’s cross, died and was buried; WHERE IS THAT BODY?") After a moment’s hesitation he said, "Well, I guess it went back to the dust." Imagine, Beloved, someone preaching the so-called blessed hope and telling us that our Hope has dissolved and is in the dust and that our Hope is in the grave. No wonder so many people are buying burial lots, building fallout shelters, looking for a hole in the ground. The Hope of the Christian is in the heavens, from whence we look for Him and from whence we shall see Him.
Continuing in 1 Corinthians 15:13 : If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ did not rise; and if Christ be not risen, then we who preach the resurrection of Christ are preaching in vain, and you who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ have believed in vain; you have wasted your time, energy and efforts; because the Word of God is that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that Jesus is the Lord and believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Weare told that unless you believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, and unless you believe that Jesus Christ is coming again in the flesh, you are of the spirit of anti-christ. Paul says, "If Christ did not rise from the dead, I am a false witness, I am preaching falsehoods, I am preaching lies, I am misrepresenting God’s truth to you because I have testified of God that He raised up Christ from the dead."
You may wonder why the emphasis here is upon the name Christ rather than the name Jesus. It is significant that the name Christ is used here, lest someone should deny that Jesus and Christ are the same-God manifest in the flesh. It was Christ who took a body, it was Christ who died in that body, it was Christ who rose in that body, it was Christ who ascended in that body, it is Christ who is present at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us, it is Christ who is coming again-the Man Christ Jesus. Do not try to separate Jesus and Christ and make two persons because they are not two persons, they are one Person. And here in this fifteenth chapter we have the emphasis on Christ that you may know He who was God from eternity became flesh and dwelt among us . . . Christ.
If the dead do not rise from the graves, then Christ did not rise from the dead. We cannot imagine the results, the consequences, had not Christ risen from the dead! In the 17th verse Paul says that if Christ did not rise from the dead, your faith is nothing and you are still in your sins. That peace that you imagine you have because of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the result of self-hypnosis, your sins are not forgiven, you have no peace, you have no joy, you have no happiness, you have no hope, you have no prospects unless Christ rose from the dead. You are still in your sins, you are lost, doomed, damned, you are on your way out into oblivion-a land from whence there is no return, from whence there has come no word, an experience of which nobody knows anything-unless Christ be risen from the dead. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Jesus are perished, the dead in Christ shall not rise if the dead rise not, and all of your loved ones, all of my loved ones, all of the Old Testament saints, all of the New Testament saints who died in the faith are perished, gone forever, doomed, never again to be seen or known by anyone else-unless Christ rose from the dead. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, if Christ just means a little peace and a little joy, a little forgiveness and quiet of conscience in this life, if that is all there is to Christianity, then we are of all men most miserable. But the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is for eternity; and our hope, our prospect is in heaven, is in the future and is wrapped up and bound up in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." But Paul does not allow and I am not going to allow this message to come to a close on that note. Look at the first part of the next passage: "BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN FROM THE DEAD." It is an established, historical, documented fact that Christ arose visibly, bodily, literally, tangibly from the dead and ascended into heaven in that same way; and from thence we look for Him in that visible, bodily, literal, tangible return when He comes to claim His own.
WORD BECAME FLESH
We are continuing the study of the resurrection of the body, of life beyond the grave in a physical nature. The proof of God Almighty that such is the case is in the physical, literal, visible, tangible resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. I want to write of the incarnation of the Lord, about our Lord taking unto Himself a body of flesh, blood and bones, of His presence on the earth in that body, of His ministry in that body; and then in days to come we will discuss the death of that body, the resurrection of that body, the ascension of that body, the presence of that body in heaven and the return of that body to the earth. When the Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh, He had a body, He received a body, He took a body that is to be His forevermore. That body was seen in heaven by Stephen; that body was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus; that body was seen by John on the Isle of Patmos, and in that body Jesus reached out and touched John with His right hand. When the Lord returns to the earth, the nation of Israel shall see Him coming in that body; and the startling thing of that revelation shall be that as He approaches earth, they shall see that their Messiah has wounds in His hands and shall cry out, "Lord, whence receivest Thou Thy wounds?" And He will reply unto them (now mind you, this is still in the future), "These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."
Notice now John 1:10-14 : "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made (or better still, the Word became) flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That was necessitated by virtue of the fact that He was in the world and the world knew Him not. All of the theophanies, all of the manifestations of the Godhead in the Old Testament were in the Person of Christ. The first mention we have of that is that He appeared in the garden of Eden unto Adam and Eve and the serpent. It was He who covered their nakedness with the coats of skins. It was this Christ, the Jehovah, who later became Jesus. . . or let us say, was revealed as Jesus the Christ. He appeared unto Abraham, accompanied by two angels: He appeared again an- nouncing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was this Christ, Jehovah, who appeared as the mysterious man to Jacob and wrestled with him at Peniel. It was as the Angel of the Lord that Christ appeared unto Moses in the burning bush. It was this same Christ who guided the children of Israel in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. It was this same One who appeared unto Joshua, captain of the Lord’s hosts. It was this same One who appeared unto Manoah and his wife and told them of the approaching birth of Samson. It was this same One who appeared unto Isaiah, who caused him to cry out, "Woe is me." It was this same One who appeared unto Ezekiel; it was this same One who appeared unto Daniel. All of the manifestations in the Old Testament were the second Person of the Godhead. No man hath seen God the Father at any time. It is the Son who has revealed Himself. He was in the world and the world knew Him not; He came unto His own and His own received Him not, and because of that, we read that the Word became flesh. The Word became flesh.
We read in Hebrews 10:5, "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me." This body was prepared for Him that He might atone for our sins. This body was prepared for Him that in the flesh He might sit on David’s throne. Acts 2:29-31 : "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell (or ’Sheol’ as the Old Testament expresses it; ’Hades’ as the Greek in the New Testament expresses it; that is ’His soul was not left in Hades’), neither his flesh did see corruption.;’ The Lord God Almighty promised David that He would raise Christ from the dead, that He in the flesh might sit on David’s throne; and for that reason (along with other reasons), the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ did not see corruption.
Again, concerning the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we read in Romans 9:4-5, speaking of the brethren of Christ according to the flesh: "Who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever." This One born of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, of Judah, of the seed of David, of the children of Israel. . . mind you, this One born in the flesh of that lineage is Christ, God blessed forever. In Luke 1:30-31 we read, "And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS." Now the name "Jesus" is all important and we are going to devote much time to this name "Jesus." The name "Jesus" is the name of His body of flesh; the name "Jesus" is the name of His humanity. If this One called Jesus the Christ does not have His body of flesh in heaven today, then He is not Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between God and man. If this One called Jesus is not in heaven in His body of flesh and bones, you cannot call Him Jesus, there is no Jesus. Jesus is the name of His flesh, His humanity. Christ is the name of His deity. God manifest in the flesh is Jesus Christ, other times called Christ Jesus; and there is a reason why those names are alternated, one coming first and then the other, at various and sundry times.
"Thou shalt call His name Jesus." He is never called "Jesus" as spirit or soul. The name "Jesus" belongs to and pertains only to His body of flesh. And if there is no one with this body of flesh, then there today is no Jesus. But praise God, Paul, in writing to Timothy, says there is now, today, this very moment, one Mediator between God and man, the MAN (that’s His humanity) CHRIST (that’s His deity) JESUS (that’s His humanity again) - the Man Christ Jesus. If Jesus is not present in His body of flesh in heaven today, we have no Mediator between God and man, we have no go-between, we have no one to bridge the gap, we have no one to intercede for us, we have no salvation, we have no hope and, as Paul said, "we are of all men most miserable."
Back to Luke 1:31-33 : "Thl;)u shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. "And the Word became flesh." There must be a voluntary, sacrificial offering; there must be the shedding of blood; and since the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, since only the sinless, matchless, perfect, pure, holy, righteous blood of One could atone for sin, God Himself must come in the flesh. God Himself must take upon Himself a body of blood and flesh, that blood must be shed as an atonement for our sin, and the manifestation of God in the flesh is in the Person of the second individual of the Godhead - the Christ become Jesus Christ. See John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh (ASV), and dwelt among us." The coming of Christ IN THE FLESH was for the purpose of atoning for our sins and of redeeming us.
We will show as we further study this particular truth that it was in the flesh that He appeared, that He was born, that He lived, that He served, that He ministered; it was in the flesh that He died; it was in the flesh that He was nailed to the cross; it was from His body of flesh that the blood flowed; it was that body of flesh that was placed in the tomb; it was that body of flesh that arose; it was that body of flesh that appeared unto the women, to the disciples and others; it was that body of flesh that the women handled; it was that body of fl~sh that ate fish and honey; it was that body of flesh which He challenged the disciples to come and handle and see that He was not a spirit; it was that body of flesh that arose, ascending on high; it was of that body of flesh of which the two men from heaven said, "This same Jesus, THIS SAME JESUS, shall come in like manner." He is coming back just like He ascended. And it is in that body of flesh that He is interceding for us. The Word became flesh, the Word is flesh, and the Word shall return in flesh. FROM THE CROSS TO THE TOMB The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the central doctrine of Christianity. In the early days of the church, one of the heresies that developed concerned the humanity of our Lord. The contention was that His body was just a phantom - not a real, literal, actual body of flesh, blood and bones; therefore, His death was not real.
There are few today who deny the humanity of Jesus, but many spiritualize the facts of His life. At the present time there are many who are treating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the same way in which the early heretics treated His death - as a figure of speech and not to be understood literally. You can imagine the astonishment with which I read in the publication of a great denomination that "Jesus is no longer in the flesh." Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote against such heresies; and now the question arises, "Who is Christ, and what is Christ?"
How can you offer salvation to a lost world in, through and by a Saviour who is nonexistent? The Christ of the Scriptures was with God from the beginning; the Christ of the Scriptures BECAME FLESH and dwelt among us; the Christ of the Scriptures died for the sins of the world; the Christ of the Scriptures was raised from the dead; the Christ of the Scriptures ascended on high; the Christ of the Scriptures is at the right hand of God the Father; and only the Christ of the Scriptures could bring the salvation of the Scriptures. I want to show you that the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead in His body of flesh and bones, ascended on high in that same body, is present in heaven in that same body, and shall return to the earth in that same body.
Consider the body which Christ received from the virgin Mary. Luke 1:35 : "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." That holy thing, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ was not a created angel. Nor was He a created man; He was begotten of God from the seed of the woman, by and through the Holy Ghost. That which was begotten was not a person, but a nature...a human nature. That human nature was holy, that human nature is still holy. The Scripture calls it "that holy thing." This holiness was produced by and out of the Holy Ghost; it was produced by and out of God. It is the quality of the holiness of God; and since this human nature is of the quality of the holiness of God, it could not sin. It was holy, sinless human nature, indissolubly joined to the eternal personality of the Son of God. His human nature could not have sinned because He was very God of very God.
Now, because He had a human nature that could not sin, His body was not subject to death. We read in John 10:18, speaking of His life that He would lay down: "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself." No man could take His life from Him. He was immune to death and only when He willed it could He experience death. In Romans 6:23 we read that "the wages of sin is death." And because He had no sin, He had no wages, death was not His, death had no power over Him, death had no control over Him, and the ravages of sin and death did not manifest themselves on His holy body. Ofttimes during His lifetime they sought to take Him and to slay Him; but we read that they did not, they could not, because His hour had not yet come.
Now, let us go with Him to the cross. There we find the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, suffering beyond the comprehension of man. And as we contemplate that suffering, we remember that many volumes have been written, trying to account for His death. And that is not difficult at all. The Scriptures read simply that when His hour had come, and when that moment-decreed from before the foundation of the world in the eternal council chambers of God that He should die. . . when that moment came He turned His face toward heaven and said, "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit," and with that He yielded up His spirit. It was a voluntary death; and until He voluntarily chose to surrender His life, no one, nothing could take it from Him, because He was sinless.
He died sinlessly upon the cross; that is, there is no sin within Him, though all of the sin of the world was put upon Him. It was a sinless body that experienced death. Since that body was sinless, that body would not-yea, that body could not - undergo the processes of death. Had He not risen from the dead when He did but continued in the tomb until today, that body would be today as it was then, because it was a sinless body and the forces of death had no power over, in or about it. You should keep that in mind in order to understand and appreciate the fact that "a body Thou hast prepared for me."
Now, when that body had yielded up the spirit according to the will of God Almighty, we find a number of things taking place. First, we find two men coming to claim that body. In John 19:38-42, notice the preparation by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ for its burial. Nicodemus came with a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes and he, along with Joseph of Arimathaea, had the linen cloth with which to wrap the body of Jesus. The best I can explain it: The application of the myrrh and aloes with the linen cloth is similar to the application of a plaster of Paris cast today. Myrrh is a kind of resinous gum and the aloes is a powdered wood; and the mixing of that gum and the powdered wood together made a sticky substance which was spread on the cloth as it was wound around the body of Jesus, similar to the plaster of Paris cast, starting at the toes and continuing up to the neck. Thus, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ was enclosed, was incased in that myrrh, aloes and linen cloth to the weight of one hundred pounds or more. This mixture of myrrh and aloes would harden and set, even as does plaster of Paris. Keep these facts in mind if you want to understand and appreciate the significance of the fact that Peter and John did not believe in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ until they saw those undisturbed graveclothes.
While Joseph and Nicodemus were preparing the body of our Lord for burial, the Lord’s enemies were seeking to eliminate any possible resurrection teaching. Matthew 27:62-64 : "Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first." Pilate then gave them a Roman watch, a minimum of sixty-six men, to stand guard over that tomb and see that they did not steal away the body of our Lord and claim that He had risen from the dead.
Keep these two major facts in mind as you meditate on the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. First, a body is incased in a cast of myrrh and aloes of about a hundred pounds’ weight which would become hard as a rock. Second, Pilate grants them a Roman watch with a minimum of sixty-six men to guard the tomb. Will they be able to keep Him in that tomb?
GRAVECLOTHES In our last meditation the Lord Jesus was in a tomb. His body, from whence He had voluntarily released His spirit Himself, was taken by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus and wrapped in linen cloth with a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes spread in and through the cloth in which it was wrapped, making a cast about His body which would harden. Not only was His body incased in that cast and laid in the tomb, but the enemies of Jesus, who believed His statements far more readily than did His disciples, had obtained from Pilate a Roman watch, which was composed of not less than sixty-six men. This guard was to be set over the tomb to see that no one would steal away the body of the Lord and then claim that He had risen from the dead. Not only was the body incased in this cast weighing a hundred pounds or more (according to the weight of the linen cloth), not only was there a Roman guard with not less than sixty-six men, but there was also a Roman seal on the door of the sepulchre. They imagined that the body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was in the tomb to stay; and one marvels at the teachers of the Word of God today who have no concept whatsoever of the power of God as manifested in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 20:1-10 we read: "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and that other disciple (which was John) did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home." When Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre she found the stone had been rolled away. She then went and told the disciples, and Peter and John left the group and ran to the tomb. John, being the faster of the two, reached the door of the sepulchre first. He had not the bold, brash nature of Peter and he paused at the door. After a few moments Peter arrived and went right on into the sepulchre, and John soon followed. When they saw the graveclothes, they believed.
Here is what happened. In Luke 24:12 we read, "Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves. . ." But the literal translation is: "lying by themselves." Then he "departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." Now this expression "beheld the linen clothes lying by themselves" is a very singular expression. Oh, that man would give attention to the words which our Lord uses and study them and ascertain the meaning of them. Here the Word states that Peter saw the linen clothes lying by themselves. This does not mean over, apart and separate from something else, but he saw them lying of themselves; he saw them resting and maintaining the shape of the contour of the body of our Lord; he saw them being upheld of and by themselves. As previously explained, the cast of myrrh, aloes and linen cloth, about a hundred pounds’ weight, would of necessity be several inches thick. And when Peter entered the tomb and saw the graveclothes hardened and maintaining the shape which they had when the body was in them-they had not collapsed, they had not been cut, they had not been broken, they had not been unwrapped-he belived. In raising Lazarus from the dead, the Lord commanded some to roll away the stone from the sepulchre. God Almighty Himself rolled the stone away from the sepulchre of Jesus. Jesus had to call to Lazarus to come forth. When Lazarus came forth bound by the graveclothes, the Lord commanded those that stood by to unwrap the linen cloth from the body of Lazarus. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ it was not necessary to remove the stone from the door nor to remove the graveclothes. He passed through the cast which enclosed His body and out of the tomb without benefit of the door. His entrance into the locked room in which the disciples were waiting is conclusive evidence that in His resurrected body He could pass through walls of substance. The linen clothes-this cast of myrrh and aloes-was lying there as it was when the body of Jesus was present. . . undisturbed, unbroken, uncut, unwrapped. . . but empty. Prior to His resurrection He was lying there incased in that cast of myrrh, aloes and linen cloth and this napkin, or cloth was placed over His face. Now, when the Lord arose and His body went out of that cast and out of that napkin, the napkin simply collapsed-it folded up in the place where it was. The Lord in His body of flesh and bones was gone. And when Peter saw the graveclothes undisturbed, when he saw the napkin had simply collapsed where it had been over the face of our Lord, he had to believe. John, seeing the boldness of Peter, entered into the tomb. As he and Peter stood there and considered the significance of the undisturbed graveclothes, of those clothes lying there-of themselves maintaining the shape of the body, and the covering of the face collapsed in folds where His head had lain-then they believed; that is, they believed that the Lord Jesus Christ had risen in His literal, physical, visible, tangible body of flesh and bones.
There is one eternal, God-blessed truth concerning that tomb on that morning-IT WAS EMPTY. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ was gone. The most startling question that can be asked any individual today concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is, "Where is His body?" Where is that body of flesh and bones of the Lord Jesus Christ? The empty tomb is God Almighty’s irrefutable evidence that Jesus Christ is God Almighty’s testimony to you and to me that we too one day shall live in our bodies of flesh and bones.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming" (1 Corinthians 15:21.23).
APPEARANCE UNTO MARY MAGDALENE In our last study we considered the experiences of Peter and John at the sepulchre, from whence the stone had been rolled away and in which were the undisturbed graveclothes, from whence our Lord had taken His leave. These undisturbed graveclothes resulted in Peter’s and John’s accepting the truth of the literal, physical, visible, bodily, tangible resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Now I want to consider the appearances of our Lord to various and sundry individuals and we will continue to study these appearances until we have concluded. There seem to have been some eleven separate and distinct appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ in His body of flesh and bones before His ascension, and six appearances of the Lord Jesus in His body of flesh and bones after He entered into heaven. In John 20:11-18 we read: "But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they had laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her." This Mary is the one out of whom our Lord had cast seven demons; this is the one of whom He forgave so much and it seems, therefore, He loved so much. Standing at the tomb and looking in, she sees it empty; then she sees two angels in white sitting there in the sepulchre-one sitting at the place where His head had been, the other sitting at the place where His feet had been-and she is weeping. When they ask concerning that, she inquires concerning the disposition they have made of the body of our Lord. So she turns, goes away and she sees Jesus standing there, not knowing that it is Jesus. This name Jesus. . . I am going to have occasion to refer to it again and again. You can have no concept of Christianity, of redemption, of salvation unless you understand the significance of the name Jesus. Jesus is the name of His humanity. Jesus corresponds to the name "Son of man." Christ is the name of His deity and it corresponds to the name "Son of God." Imagine anyone saying that Jesus is no longer in the flesh! If this person is not in the flesh, then He is no longer Jesus. Jesus is the name of His humanity; and if you talk about Jesus today you are talking about someone with a body of flesh and bones because that name Jesus applies only to that which was born of the virgin Mary, and that which was born of the virgin Mary was that holy thing, that sinless body, that sinless nature of the Lord Jesus Christ which is God manifest in the flesh. And today the only Mediator between God and man is the man Christ Jesus. And if Jesus is not at the right hand of God today in His body of flesh and bones, then neither you nor I nor anyone else has any mediator, we have no go-between, we have no one to stand between us and God. But, praise God, now IS Christ risen from the dead! And when Mary turned and looked and saw this One, Jesus, she was looking upon a body of flesh and bones. And so this One, Jesus, so designated, says to her, "Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" She-because of her tear-dimmed eyes, because of her unbelief in the physical, bodily, literal, tangible resurrection of the Lord -does not know that this is her Lord and Saviour but supposes it is the gardener. And so she says, "Tell me where thou hast laid Him (meaning Jesus) and I will take Him away." And then Jesus calls out her name, "Mary." The tone of the name! How oft had she heard that name before! She would never forget that tone of voice, the love, the mercy, the compassion that was in His voice as He spoke to her. And she turns and she says, "Rabboni," which is to say, "Master." And then she grabs Him by the feet, the lower limbs, and clings to Him. The King James translation says, "Touch me not." But the literal translation is, "Stop clinging to me." The Amplified New Testament brings that out very clearly: John 20:17 : "Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and tell them I am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and to your God."
She actually reached out, grabbed hold of Him and held Him. He was physical, He was corporal, He was visible, He was tangible. And she had hold of His resurrected body-a body that could be seen, a body that could be handled, a body that could be felt, a body that could be held-and He says, "Stop clinging to me." He still has a mission to accomplish: He must go to heaven, He must take His blood, He must put that on the mercy seat-according to the typical teaching of the high priest who, having offered the sacrifices, must go in and put the blood on the mercy seat in the holy of holies before coming out and appearing unto the multitudes. And our Lord Jesus Christ must do that; and that He did, as evidenced by the expression in the Epistle to the Hebrews in which we are told that it was by His own blood, it was through His own blood, it was with His own blood that He entered into the holy of holies. And He tells Mary that He must do that. But she in the meantime is to go and tell all of the brethren that He has risen from the dead and that He is ascending to His Father and to their Father and to His God and their God and that He will meet them a little later at the sea of Galilee.
Here is the first appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection from the dead. It is unto Mary, the one who loved Him as few others have. Oh, my beloved friends, when you get to know Him and His love for you, and experience the forgiveness and the grace, the mercy and compassion and the love that He has for you, you too will love Him as did Mary; you too will want to grasp Him and hold Him and keep Him with you. And I praise God that when you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, when you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, He comes in the Person of His Holy Spirit to indwell you, never again to be separated from you, but to indwell you henceforth. In summarizing, please note that the Lord Jesus Christ, having risen from the dead, Peter and John having been convinced of His resurrection simply by the undisturbed graveclothes, now appears personally and visibly and bodily and tangibly unto Mary Magdalene. And as He speaks her name and as she recognizes His voice and knows of a certainty that this is Jesus, the same One who forgave her of her sins and who died for her, she grabs Him by the feet; but He says, "Stop clinging to me." Mary Magdalene testifies that Jesus Christ arose from the dead in His body of flesh and bones by grabbing it, clasping it, holding it, and clinging unto it until He bids her desist and to go and tell His brethren that He will meet them in Galilee.
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20).
APPEARANCE UNTO THE WOMEN
"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now IS Christ risen from the dead" (l Cor. 15:17-20). And with the triumphant message of Christ risen from the dead, we continue our studies and meditation in the resurrection, seeking to show, the Lord helping us, from the Word of God that Jesus the Christ rose from the dead in His body of flesh and bones-a literal, visible, tangible body-and in that body ascended into heaven and in that body is present in heaven and in that body is returning again and in that body He shall continue to live throughout eternity. Our last study told of His appearance unto Mary Magdalene, of her grabbing hold of Him and of His saying unto her, "Stop clinging to Me." Turning to Luke 23:50-53, we read that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus took the body of our Lord and laid it to rest in that incasement of linen, myrrh and aloes.
Beginning with Luke 23:55 and reading through 24:11, we read: "And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not." This expression "these words seemed unto them as idle tales" is a medical term and means that these words seemed to them as the ravings of ones who were beside themselves, who were in a delirium, screaming and crying, knowing not what they said. In connection with this, as Peter and John go running to the tomb, these women evidently follow them back to the tomb. And we read in Matthew 28:6-10 the following: "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: 10, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring pis disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." The interesting thing in this particular instance is that after the Lord had appeared unto Mary in the garden a little while before, He now appears unto all of the other women who had been at the tomb and they recognize Him. Running to Him, they grab hold of His feet and hold Him. Now from Him there is no remonstrance about holding Him as there had been unto Mary. When He rebuked Mary, saying, "Stop clinging to Me," He gave as the reason for that the fact that He had not yet ascended unto His Father and their Father, unto His God and their God. The reason for this is manifest. When the high priest went in annually to offer sacrifices, making atonement for the sins of the children of Israel, it was not sufficient that the animal be slain. It was not enough that the blood should be caught, but the blood had to be taken and sprinkled on the mercy seat. Our Lord Jesus Christ had yielded up His spirit on the cross, having cried, "It is finished," and then turning His face toward the Father, He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and with that He yielded up His spirit. That moment, His spirit took its flight into the heavens into the presence of God, His soul went down into Sheol, as the Old Testament expresses it, which was the place of the dead, that place being separated by a gulf from that of the unredeemed-a gulf which could not be crossed. See Luke 16:19-31. His body was taken by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus and placed in the tomb.
Now, the spirit of our Lord returning to heaven was not the Lord as High Priest entering into the Holy of Holies. Our Lord could not do that until body, soul and spirit were reunited and the whole Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, entered in. The apostle Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, in writing to the Thessalonians in his first epistle, chapter 5 and verse 23, says, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Some commentators contend that the minute Jesus commended His spirit into the hands of His Father, He then and there took His blood and sprinkled it on the mercy seat. Others contend that when He ascended some forty days after His death, burial and resurrection, then it was that He sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat. But there is something between these two experiences-of His meeting with Mary and then with the women-that leads me to believe that this is the time in which that was done. Because His sacrifice was not completed, the atonement was not completed until He placed His blood on the mercy seat. To delay the placing of His blood on that mercy seat until the time of His ascension is to delay the completion of His atonement until that moment.
Consider carefully. As Mary comes unto Him, she grabs Him and Jesus says unto her, "Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and to your God." When Jesus says, "I have not yet ascended," He means that "I-spirit, soul and body, the complete Jesus Christ-have not yet ascended to my Father," which reveals unto us that He did not go as a complete being to put His blood on the altar at the moment of His death.
Now, when He appears unto the women and they grab Him by the feet and hold Him, there is no rebuke. He is now willing and ready for any and all who want to handle Him, to feel Him, to see that He is flesh and bones and not a ghost, not a spirit. He permits that to be done. I think we are driven to but one conclusion, and that is that between the time of His appearance to Mary when He forbade her to cling to Him, and the time when He appeared unto the women when He permitted it, that is the time that He ascended into the heavens and put His blood on the mercy seat.
Here in these two experiences we have His first two personal appearances. First, He appeared to Mary-she saw, touched, felt, handled His actual, literal, physical, visible body of flesh and bones. Second, a little later that same day He appeared unto a number of women, likewise permitting them to handle, to feel, to touch His body of flesh and bones. We will encounter that same experience on several occasions of our Lord’s appearances unto other of His disciples when He tells them, "Handle Me, feel Me and touch Me and see that it is I, and know that I, the Lord Jesus Christ, have risen from the dead in My body of flesh and bones."
(continued 11.2)