The Glories to Follow; Raised on the Third Day ~ 20230409 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
04/09 Resurrection Sunday: The Glories to Follow; Raised on the Third Day; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230409_glories-to-follow.mp3
We’ve been looking for the weeks leading up to Good Friday at Jesus statements that all the Scriptures are all about him, specifically his sufferings.
1 Peter 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
The prophets who prophesied predicted not only the sufferings of Christ, but also his subsequent glories. Jesus said to the disciples on the road to Emmaus:
Luke 24:25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Today is resurrection Sunday, and I want to look with you at some of what the prophets pointed to as the glories to follow.
Psalm 22
Last week we looked at Psalm 22, which Jesus pointed us to from the cross, when he quoted its first line:
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Psalm 22 predicts the shame and mocking that Jesus experienced,
Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
We even hear verse 8 on the lips of those who mocked him:
Psalm 22:8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” (cf. Matthew 27:43)
The Psalmist pictures him as being surrounded by enemies, with none to help him in his day of trouble. He laments:
Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
Hands and feet pierced, bones out of joint, dehydrated, soldiers gambling for his last stitch of clothing, dying of a broken heart. What detailed and graphic description of crucifixion a thousand years before Jesus walked the earth!
But in the middle of verse 21, there is a shift;
Psalm 22:21 ...You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
Jesus was God-forsaken on the cross, for us. God ‘did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all’ (Rom.8:32). Is the rest of the Psalm disconnected, unrelated to Jesus? Or is is pointing us beyond the crucifixion, on to the joy of the resurrection?
Psalm 22:22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
Hebrews (2:9-12) quotes this verse to tell us that Jesus, ‘who for a little while was made lower than the angels’, who is now ‘crowned with glory and honor’ is not ashamed to call us brothers. I (Jesus) will tell of your name (the Father) to my brothers (that's us!); in the midst of the congregation (that's us) I (Jesus) will praise you (the Father).
Psalm 22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
The Father has not despised the affliction of Jesus. “In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD (Is.54:8). The one who was rejected because he bore our sins is now accepted, the one who bore our shame is now honored, the one abandoned and alone now stands with a great company of blood-bought brothers in the congregation.
Psalm 22:25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 28 For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
What started with Jacob and Israel is now extended to the ends of the earth, to all the families of the nations. Jesus is king of the nations. His kingship extends even to those who could not keep themselves alive. All who go down to the dust, the dead shall live and bow the knee.
Because he
Philippians 2:7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Isaiah 53
Two weeks ago, we looked at Isaiah 52-53, which pointed to the Suffering Servant disfigured beyond human recognition (52:14), who was despised and rejected, who:
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The innocent substitute pierced for us, bearing in our place the just punishment for our sins. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, ‘Yet he opened not his mouth’ (53:7)
Isaiah 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;
Cut off, killed, dead and buried, and cut off without offspring, without descendants. But verse 10 goes on mysteriously to say:
Isaiah 53:10 ...when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Which is it? ‘His generation ...cut off out of the land of the living’? Or ‘He shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of YHWH shall prosper in his hand’?
Isaiah 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
It is because of the anguish of his soul the Father is satisfied, and by bearing their iniquities, the righteous one makes many to be accounted righteous. It is because he poured out his soul to death and bore the sin of many that the Father will divide him a portion with the many. This is pointing beyond sin-bearing death to resurrection life! His death gives life to many, his offspring, his generation, those born again by the Spirit of God. That’s us! The righteous one makes many to be accounted righteous. That’s every believer in Jesus, having no righteousness of our own, but clothed in his perfect righteousness. And he will divide his inheritance with the many – that’s us! Jesus, the only Son, welcomes us to share in his own glorious inheritance!
Luke 24:25 ...“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Daniel 7
Jesus points Daniel 7 and his coming glory in answer to the question of the high priest ‘tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God’
Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (cf. Mt.26:63-64)
Raised on the Third Day
Jesus himself predicted multiple times that he would be killed, but that he would be raised on the third day. At the beginning of his ministry, after cleansing the temple in John 2:
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Jesus:
Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (cf. Mk.8:31; Lk.9:22)
Matthew 17:22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed. (cf. Mk.9:31)
Matthew 20:18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (cf. Mk.10:34; Lk.18:33)
Certainly the Scriptures point us to the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. But where should we see that he would be raised on the third day?
The Third Day
If you look up ‘three days’ or the ‘third day’ in the Old Testament, you find out that a lot happened on the third day. The earth brought forth vegetation, bearing fruit and seed on the third day (Gen.1:11-13). Joseph’s interpretations of the prisoner’s dreams were fulfilled on the third day (Gen.40:20). Joseph released his brothers on the third day, but kept Simeon in place of them all (Gen.42:17-19). Moses requested release of Israel to go three days journey into the wilderness (Ex.3:18). The Lord brought three days thick darkness on the land of Egypt (Ex.10:22-23). After crossing the Red Sea, Israel went three days in the wilderness before finding water (Ex.15:22). At Mount Sinai, God told the people to prepare for the third day, when he would come down to meet with them (Ex.19:11,15-16). It was three days after the death of Moses that Joshua was to lead Israel through the Jordan and into the promised land (Josh.1:11; 3:12) It was the same three days that the spies hid themselves, after promising salvation to Rahab and her house (Josh.2:16, 22). It was three days God sent the angel of the Lord against Israel because of David’s sin; it was on the third day that the Lord stayed his hand at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam.24:13). It was three days that Esther and all Israel fasted before she risked her life to go in to ask the king to spare the lives of the Jews (Esth.4:16; 5:1). Hosea, speaking of the return of Israel from exile, says:
Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Jesus himself makes the connection with Jonah who was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Mt.12:39-40; Jonah.1:7); Jonah says he cried out to the Lord from the belly of Sheol (the place of the dead; Jonah.2:2).
Abraham’s Only Son Resurrected
Maybe one of the clearest connections to the resurrection is Genesis 22, where Abraham was told to sacrifice his son, his only son, whom he loved. It was on the third day (Gen.22:4) that Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice to the place of sacrifice. It was the third day that Abraham promised that he and his son would go to worship, and that they would return. Hebrews tells us:
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
The resurrection of the son of promise was on the third day.
Freewill Peace Offerings
Buried in the Levitical laws of the offerings are these little tidbits; in Leviticus 7:17 and repeated in Leviticus 19:6 we are told that a peace offering that is offered voluntarily must be eaten on the same day or the next day; anything left to the third day must be burned; it is tainted or spoiled. In John 11, Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
John 11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
What does this have to do with anything? Both Peter and Paul quote Psalm 16 as being fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus;
Psalm 16: 8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. [Acts 2:25-28, 31; 13:35-37]
Jesus was raised by his Father very early, before dawn on the third day.
Firstfruits
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 is talking about the resurrection, and refers to Jesus’ resurrection as the firstfruits (1Cor.15:20,23). If we look back to Leviticus 23, we see the Firstfruits in relation to the Passover;
Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
The Firstfruits was presented before the Lord on the day after the Sabbath, on the first day of the week.
This is why Paul, when he rehearsed the gospel, could say...
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared...
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2023.04.09 Sermon Notes
The Glories to Follow – Raised on the Third Day
John 2:19-22; Matthew 12:39-40; 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19
The prophets prophesied about the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories
1 Peter 1:10-11; Luke 24:25-27
Psalm 22
1-18 God-forsaken and crucified
21-22 Worshiping with the congregation (Heb.2:9-12)
23-24 Not despised; no longer forsaken (Isaiah 54:8)
25-31 Jesus King of the nations (Philippians 2:7-11)
Isaiah 53
1-9 pierced, crushed, generation cut off; dead and buried
10 he shall see his offspring, prolong his days, prosper
11-12 make many righteous; divide his portion with many
Daniel 7:13-14
Matthew 26:63-64; coming on the clouds
The Third Day
Hosea 6:1-3
Jonah 1:7; 2:2 (Matthew 12:39-40)
Genesis 22:4 (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Leviticus 7:17; 19:6; (John 11:17, 39)
Psalm 16:8-10 (Acts 2:25-28, 31; 13:35-37)
Leviticus 23:10-11 (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23)
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org