The Triumph Of The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”John 10:17-18.

Recently, I perceived in my time of prayer that I have to re-examine, from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the significance of the resurrection in  His life; this is clearly unveiled through His Gospel. There was a word that the Spirit of the Lord laid on my heart: that before the throne, there was the cross.

I would like to take this time to share a word of the Holy Spirit that was brought forth into a small gathering of believers: “ I walked upon the earth, My children, I walked upon the earth to give you life, I walked upon the earth to do the will of My Father, I walked upon the earth to give My life.

When I walked upon the earth, I saw the cross. The cross stood before Me, but with faith and assurity in My Father’s Word, I was confident that no matter what became of Me, I wanted to do the will of My Father, and I saw the cross and I knew the consequences of laying down My life.”

This has brought me to the place where I need to have a personal reappraisal of this tremendously important revelation in my life.

For The Joy That Was Before Jesus.

The Holy Spirit brought to my attention a word that was proclaimed to the early believers in that for the joy that was set before Jesus Christ, He endured the cross, His cross, He despised the shame, meaning He thought it a little thing to suffer, so as to be set down at the right hand of the throne of His Father. ( Hebrew 12:2)

The Foreshadowing Of The Resurrection.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was typified through His baptism by John the Baptist. There is the laying down of life and experiencing a resurrection to newness of life.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptised by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptised by You”, but Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

When He had been baptised, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”Matthew 3:13-17.

As believers, we are admonished to follow Jesus Christ in identifying with His dying for our sins and in our being raised to newness of life. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28.19.

Jesus Prepared The Disciples Concerning His Resurrection.

Jesus, on at least four occasions, pre-empted the disciples that He would be raised up from the dead. The first time was just before the commencement of His public ministry, when Jesus and His disciples went up to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days? But Jesus spoke of the temple of His body. When, therefore, after Jesus was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.John 2: 19-22.

On another occasion, after He was transfigured, Jesus again declared to the disciples that He would be betrayed and be killed, but He would be raised again on the third day. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. Matthew 17:9

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceedingly sorry. Matthew 17:22-23.

Finally, as Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem in the last week of His ministry, He unveiled that He would be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests, He would be mocked, scourged and crucified. And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day He shall rise again. Matthew 20:17-19.

In the mind of the world, there would be many who would consider the crucifixion a defeat. As believers, we must at all times proclaim the triumphant victory of the cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; no man took Jesus Christ’s life; He voluntarily laid it down, to die our death, to give us His life.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

“Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”John 10:11-18.

Jesus’s Resurrection Released The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit.

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this glorious salvation wrought through His sacrificial death, which is offered to humanity, would be incomplete.

Without the resurrection, there would have been no sending forth of the presence, the power and the person of the Holy Spirit, the accomplishing of the ministry of Jesus Christ, including His resurrection ushered in the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

I am reminded of the words that Jesus Christ declared to His disciples then, and these words still speak for everyone today. If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39.

Jesus is revealing that He would undergo a change of location or position in His communion of prayer that He had with His Father. No longer would He be praying from this earth to heaven, but He would be right in the presence of His Father, right before the throne of Heaven. His petition would be granted because of His victorious resurrection.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18.

But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:5-11.