If the resurrected Christ couldn’t be found in the tomb, WHY would a child of God want to linger there today?
WALK with the little band of heartbroken women early Sunday morning as they make their way to the place of interment (Mk.16:1-2). In their final act of tender homage, the ladies hope to anoint the deceased body of Jesus with spices and fragrant oils (Lk. 23:55-56; cf. Jn. 11:39).1
WORRY with the women as they grapple with who might maneuver the heavy stone and grant them inner access to the tomb (Mk. 16:3). Surprisingly, when they reach their destination, they discover that the stone has already been rolled aside (Lk. 24:2).2
WATCH with the women as they enter the sepulcher and begin their astonishing survey. There are linen burial garments, but there is no crucified Savior (Lk. 24:3; Jn. 20:7). There are two angelic pallbearers arrayed in shining apparel (cf. Mat. 17:2; Acts 1:10),3 but the sinless One who briefly lodged there is conspicuously absent (Jn. 20:12; Mat.12:40). Had His body been stolen by enemies (Jn. 20:2, 13; cf. Mat. 27:64)?
WONDER lastly—and listen as the angels speak to the frightened women. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” (Mk. 16:5-6; Lk. 24:5b-6a).4 It is irrational for the women to be looking for the Resurrection and the Life in a place reserved for a corpse (Jn. 11:25; Rev. 1:18).
Good Christian, you’ve no doubt retraced this wondrous journey many times in your mind in the context of the Lord’s Supper (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-25), and/or the death of Christ. You too have walked, worried, watched, and wondered with these very same women, but have you considered the personal and practical side of his inspired narrative—especially as it pertains to the empty tomb and your own life in Christ?
Think about it. Why were the women in these gospel accounts searching for the living Lord in a grave…? Jesus had predicted His resurrection on multiple occasions (Mat. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:2; 27:63), so the women should have been expecting it, right (Mat. 12:20; cf. 27:63; Mk. 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34)? For that matter, knowing that truth, why did they even bring spices to anoint Him in the first place?
But revisit the question posed by the angels, “Why do you seek the living (Jesus) among the dead (in a tomb)?” Since the women knew that Jesus would be raised, and since the tomb was vacant, it made no sense for them to be looking for Him there.
Here’s the point. If the resurrected Christ couldn’t be found in the tomb, WHY would a child of God want to linger there today? To borrow from Paul, “How can [a Christian—mb] who DIED to sin STILL LIVE IN [sin]?” (Rom. 6:2b ESV; cf. Rom. 13:14; Eph. 2:3). The obvious answer is, “He can’t” (1 Jn. 3:9). When a person dies to self, is buried in the watery grave, and then RAISED to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4; 17-18), wouldn’t you agree that it’s incongruous for him to later be found lingering back in the old grave of sin and death (1 Jn. 2:15-17; cf. Col. 3:5-10)? “Why seek the living among the dead…?”
A raised person simply doesn’t dwell in, live or abide in, or make his home in the tomb. “He is not here!”
A raised person won’t be found in the tomb of addiction. “He is not here!”
A raised person refuses to lie down in the dark sepulcher of fornication. “He is not here!”
He doesn’t wander around in the cemetery of deceit, lies, or dishonesty. “He is not here!”
He doesn’t lodge in the spiritual death-sphere of gossip and backbiting. “He is not here!”
A raised person refuses to settle near the cadaverous realm of anger, wrath, and hatred. “He is not here!”
He doesn’t dwell in tomb-gutter of filthy language and blasphemy. He is not here!”
He won’t sit in the putrefying seat of the scornful. “He is not here!”
He refuses to tarry in black hallows of worldliness. The angels proclaimed, “HE IS NOT HERE!”
That was all in the past, back at the grave—but the grave is empty now (Col. 3:1; Rom. 6:4), and the sinner has conquered the black abyss of sin through obedient faith and the resurrection power of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:3-4).
Lovingly but firmly, may I ask, dear brother, “Where is your habitation at this moment? Are you walking with the risen Christ, or are you still lingering back at the tomb?” Think about it.
1 Joseph and Nicodemus had initiated the preparation of Jesus’ body on Friday by wrapping it in linen (Lk. 23:50-53), and now Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and other women seek to finish this ministry on Sunday (Lk. 24:1, 10).
2 The woman may not have known about the Roman detachment assigned on the Sabbath by Pilate to watch the tomb (Mat. 27:62-66). The guards, terrified by the great earthquake and the appearance of angels, fled their post, returned to the city, and then reported their experiences to the Jewish leaders (Mat. 28:2-4, 11).
3 Reminiscent of the winged cherubim separated by the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant (Mat. 28:2; Mk. 16:5; Lk. 24:4; Jn. 20:12; cf. Exo. 25:10-22).
Some thoughts on the doctrine of belief without baptism.
HE HAD BEEN studying the Bible with a member of the church for a few weeks. Even though he was brought up in a religiously devout home, and even though he sincerely believed for many years that he was saved, in light of his recent examination of the Scriptures, he’d come to the unsettling realization that he was, in fact, never saved at all (cf. Prov. 14:12; Jer. 10:23). Yes-he had been sincere, but no-he’d been wrong (cf. Acts 26:9).
He was on his way to the church baptistry to be immersed in accordance with the pattern set forth in the New Testament (Rom. 6:3-4; Acts 8:36-38), but as he was driving down the highway towards his destination, a truck suddenly pulled out in front of him, the two vehicles collided, and he was hurled out of his car and killed.
This is a very popular scenario among our religious friends. Whenever a child of God refers to the necessity of baptism, some antagonists unfurl this revered storyline as though it were Scripture itself. “Are you telling me that Almighty God would consign him to eternal hell just because he wasn’t immersed in water?!”
On the surface, this emotional tragedy-narrative sounds reasonable,but does it, and can it withstand the test of the Word of God (cf. 1 Jn. 4:1; 1 Thes. 5:21; Acts 17:11)? Please consider the following:
God wants EVERYONE to be saved. If you think about it, this oft-told fictional tale is actually an indictment not only of the Word of God, but against God Himself. The under-the-surface theology goes something like this: 1) You claim that God requires baptism, BUT since 2) He didn’t protect this imaginary believing-seeker on his way to the water and allowed him to die in the car accident, then 3) not only is your understanding of the nature and necessity of immersion flawed, but your view of Jehovah is flawed as well.
What our friends fail to realize is that the scenario actually pits God against His own doctrine of baptism–even though immersion was His idea (Mat. 28:19-20), even though He cannot lie (Tit. 1:2), and even though immersion in water is specifically commanded in the New Testament (Acts 10:48) in order to put one into the body Christ (Gal. 3:27; cf. Eph. 5:30).
The truth is, God desires ALL to be saved, and His plan (Eph. 1:4) to save involves an active faith (Jas. 2:14-26) that moves believers to submit to the action of baptism (Acts 22:16)1:
“For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Himshould not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16; cf. vv. 14-15; Num. 21:4-9).
“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live…” (Ezek. 33:11a).
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish…” (2 Pet. 3:9a).
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires ALL MEN to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4a).
God tells everyone through Scripture exactly HOW to be saved. The inspired Psalmist asked, “How can a young man cleanse his way?” and then answered, “By TAKING HEED to Your (God’s – mb) word” (119:9; cf. Heb. 5:8-9).
This passage implies at least two things: 1) A man can/does sometimes sin and spiritually defile himself (cf. Mat. 15:10-20; Mk. 7:20-23), 2) that faced with this awful dilemma (cf. Isa. 59:1ff), he can go to the Bible (2 Pet. 1:21), be taught (Mat. 28:20; Acts 8:30-31), understand and know (Eph. 5:17), and then submit to (i.e. “take heed to”) God’s gracious will (Tit. 2:11), and in so doing (Acts 2:37ff), be purified by the Lord from his iniquity (cf. Col. 2:12-“working of God”; Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 2:37-38; 16:31-34; 22:16).
Now ponder Psalm 119:9 and then ask yourself one essential question: Can God ever save an individual who never learns, or is taught, Whom to believe in (i.e. Jesus), or how, or what to believe about Him(Heb. 11:7; John 8:24)?
Imagine that a Christian is scheduled to teach a series of five Bible studies to a very moral,2 albeit aged man who has been recently diagnosed with a serious heart problem. In the evening just before their second lesson together, when teacher and student are set to study the subject of faith (cf. Jn. 20:30-31), that elderly man suffers a massive heart attack and dies–without ever having the opportunity to hear the story of Jesus and believe on Him (cf. Acts 11:17; 8:34-39; 16:31). Yes, he learned in the first lesson that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that the New Testament is the final and only authority (Mat. 28:18; Col. 3:17) in all matters of life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), but no–he wasn’t taught in that initial study the identity or deity of Jesus Christ (cf. Isa. 53:3ff; Acts 8:37) and therefore never had the opportunity to believe on/in Him because his faith was contingent upon hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17; cf. Heb. 11:4, 6-7, 8ff).
Question: Since some take the liberty of removing and omitting BAPTISM from the plan of salvation in order to save the sincere individual who was killed in the car accident, then by this same logic are they not also permitted to remove FAITH from that very same divine plan since the sincere, moral man in the second scenario died of a heart attack before his belief in Jesus? If not, why not? If it’s possible for the Lord to arbitrarily save one man without full obedience (cf. 2 Kgs. 5:9-14)3, then why isn’t it also possible for Him to save another man without any obedient faith (Heb. 11:6)? Ironically, I’ve never heard anyone use the old sincere, moral man scenario and then argue, “What if a sincere, moral person is not yet taught the Whom, what, and how of faith in Jesus,4 but then he dies from a heart attack? Do you mean to tell me God would send this man to eternal hell for not believing?!”
But what did Jesus say, good reader? What did the Lord actually say in His Word about belief as it relates to baptism? NOTE: “He who BELIEVES. . .AND. . .is BAPTIZED will be SAVED…” (Mk. 16:16a). Consider that He did not say, “He who believes will be saved…,” nor did He say, “He who is baptized will be saved…” He said both are necessary (cf. 1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 19:5), and that settles the matter for all time (Psa. 119:89; 172).
God pleads with everyone NOT TO WAIT to be saved. Please pay attention to the following passages and then answer the questions which follow:
“Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38). CONSIDER: If it wasn’t urgent for the Ethiopian nobleman to be baptized, why did he command the chariot to stand still?
“And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized” (16:33). CONSIDER: If it wasn’t urgent for the jailer and his family to be baptized, why did the Holy Spirit emphasize the fact that they submitted to baptism “immediately?”
“Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!’” But he said, ‘I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.’ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian'” (26:24-28). CONSIDER: If a person is saved at the moment of belief, as some allege in their car accident scenario, then how was Agrippa able say, “You almost persuade me to become a CHRIST-ian?” Webster’s dictionary says “almost” means slightly short of, not quite. How was it possible for Agrippa to believe (v. 26) what the prophets said ABOUT Christ, enjoy all of the spiritual blessings that are uniquely IN Christ(cf. Eph. 1:1b; 3, 10, 12, 20; 2:6, 7, 10, 13; 3:6, 11; 4:15), without having first OBEYED Christ (Mat. 28:18-20), without being IMMERSED INTO Christ (Gal. 3:27; cf. Rom. 7:1-4) and therefore finally being added BY Christ to His church (Acts 2:47)?How was it possible for Agrippa to “not quite” become a Christian and still access Christ?
According to the Bible, if a sincere believing person dies on the way to the baptistry in a car wreck, he’ll still be lost (Mk. 16:15-16; cf. Jn. 7:24; Psa. 119:172) because his obedience was only partial. Then too, if a sincere, moral person dies of a heart attack before he’s taught the truth and has the opportunity to believe, he’ll also be lost. “And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes. 1:7-8; cf. 1 Pet. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Rom. 6:1-4; 17-18).
1 There is no inherit power in the water of baptism itself. Our faith is in the One (Jesus) who requires baptism, not in the wateritself.
2 Cornelius is described in Acts as a devout, just, God-fearing, generous, and praying man (Acts 10:1-2, 22), but HE STILL NEEDED to hear words (about Jesus and His will) by which he and household would be saved (11:14). What if that morally upright, religiously devoted man had never heard, believed and obeyed the gospel (10:34-48)? Would he have been saved by his own goodness alone (cf. Isa. 64:6)?
3 HOW MANY times did Naaman have to dip in the Jordan in order to be cleansed of his leprosy?
4 When the people of Israel complained against God and Moses in Num. 21:4ff, and then the Lord sent venomous snakes among the them, WHAT HAPPENED to many of those individuals BEFORE Moses constructed the bronze serpent on the pole and then told them HOW to be saved? Did anybody die before belief? Was any snake-bitten person saved by believing without the action of looking (cf. Jn. 3:14)?
Were the infirmities of 1 Cor. 11:30 figurative or literal?
I CAN’T SAY that I’ve given a great deal of thought to this particular passage until a recent Lord’s Day.
The brother presiding at the table brought it to my attention.
Paul wrote, “Many are weak and sick among you, AND MANY SLEEP” (1 Cor. 11:30 – emphasis mine, mb).
What exactly did the apostle mean when he said, “and many sleep?”
It is possible that he was speaking figuratively.
The brethren at Corinth had merged a common “love feast” covered-dish fellowship meal with the communion (cf. 2 Pet. 2:13).
Yes, their eyes were open, but their hearts were dull and closed – in essence, asleep.
It was a sort of congregational epidemic, kind of like what I heard about years ago in the Knoxville, Tennessee area with the flu more than a half a decade before Covid struck the U.S..
Brethren couldn’t shake hands or hug lest they spread the rampant, life-threatening virus.
Well, members at Corinth could shake hands and hug, physically and metaphorically speaking, but evidently they didn’t.
On the contrary, they divided and separated (vv. 17-19; cf. 1:10-12) and failed to exhibit brotherly love, care and affection.
What the Lord had initially intended as a feast for the soul had been incrementally warped and twisted into a gluttonous feast for the belly (1 Cor. 11:21).
What made it even worse was the fact that some were eating while others were actually going hungry.
The church body was “coming together” (vv. 17-18, 20, 33-34) at the same location (v. 20), but they certainly weren’t coming together in the highest sense of the phrase.
“Many are weak (i.e., feeble and infirm) and sick (i.e., powerless, without strength) and many SLEEP” (are dead).
A number of commentators think this refers to a kind of divine judgment (cf. v. 32) against various members of the congregation – akin to what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11; cf. Rev. 2:21-23).
They believe Paul was speaking literally.
In essence, they are convinced God actually made some members physically ill because of their divisive and unlovingly hypocrisy (v. 34).
That is a plausible interpretation and merits further study.
One brother thinks they were the former:
“They were languishing with spiritual infirmities (cf. lukewarm, Rev. 3:15-16, and those who had left their first love, Rev. 2:4). Because they had failed to discern the body (to properly remember the sacrificial death of Christ and its necessity of their salvation) they had grown negligent and lost interest in the higher values of life and eternity” (Winters, 159 – emphasis mine, mb).
IF these afflictions were in fact figurative, it’s scary to realize that this spiritual virus can still infect precious hearts today.
Brethren can be deer-in-the-headlights awake as they consume the loaf and swallow the fruit of the vine and yet simultaneously be in a spiritual stupor – physically awake, but spiritually asleep as Winters suggests.
Beloved, may I lovingly probe our hearts with the scalpel of the Word (Ps. 139:23; Heb. 4:12)?
Can we really partake of the communion and then intentionally avoid our own brethren following the assembly?
Can we, in God’s eyes, feast one minute on a minute piece of unleavened bread and drink the contents of the cup and then bad-mouth a fellow child of God the very same hour?
Can we sup and then later serve roast preacher and poached shepherd?
Can we close our eyes in silent meditation as we allegedly commune with the Lord Jesus, and then refuse to do the same with other members of His precious blood-bought body after the very same assembly?
Obviously these are rhetorical questions.
Of course we can’t.
Period.
Dot.
End of sentence.
Sure, we can consume crackers and juice and then salve our conscious’ by saying, “Look Lord, we took the emblems!”, but the reality is, doing so may actually indicate our inner weakness, sickness, or perhaps worst of all, spiritual slumber or death (cf. Mat. 9:12).
I have an exhortation.
Let’s observe, partake, worship, and evaluate our hearts – and then let’s really show one another, as well as the world, that we are one in Christ.
“For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17).
“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike
INCARNATE 