A Better Resurrection

Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. – 1 Corinthians 15:57

In the mid 1800s, Allen Gardiner was a missionary for the Savior. He was serving on Picton Island near the tip of South America where he died. When his body was found, his diary was close by. The last entry of the diary showed that whether he had plenty or he was hungry, whether he was living or facing death, Gardiner was content. The last entry of the diary said, “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.”

That’s great! But not all that unusual. You and I know plenty of Christian people who believe in God’s ultimate goodness. But perhaps Gardiner’s situation may be just a bit different than the folks you or I know. His is different because he died of starvation.

Starvation is a long, slow process. Starvation is the kind of death which gives a man time to think. While his stomach was empty and his body was wasting away, Gardiner had plenty of time to think and he concluded that God was still good. Instead of thinking only about consuming food, Gardiner had a faith that was consumed with God’s goodness and salvation found in Jesus Christ. He tested and trusted God’s promises and found those promises to be true.

On this, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, perhaps you would like a faith like Allen Gardiner. Or perhaps a faith like those we read about in our Epistle lesson from Hebrews 11. They faced starvation, enemies, imprisonment, torture and more. Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah faced impossible odds against the Midianites, Canaanites, Philistines and Ammonites. David faced the giant Goliath and Samuel faced the darkening chapter in Israel’s spiritual history. They were just a few of God’s faithful people who marched against God’s enemies on the basis of God’s promises and found those promises to be true.

The writer to the Hebrews mentions some heroes of faith by name, but then he gives other unnamed examples. “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.” Daniel faced certain death, but found the lions’ mouths locked. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the seven-fold fire of Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace and emerged without a whiff of smoke on them. Elijah moved among Queen Jezebel’s drawn swords which could not reach him. Samson’s blindness, baldness and weakness became a strength as he collapsed the fish god’s temple on the thousands of Philistines. The Israelites carried the ark of the covenant into battle and routed numerous superior enemy forces.  

Each of these heroes of faith faced death as an enemy and were granted the victory through their almighty Lord. But there were some whom death claimed as the spoils of war. Death visited the home of the widow of Zarephath, the home of the Shunamite woman, and the widow of Nain. All of them lost children to death. But all of them received their children back from the dead. Mothers tasted the bitter grief of loss, but later had it turned into joy by the resurrection. Lazarus, Eutychus and the daughter of Jairus all came back to life through the power of the resurrection – but all of them were subject to die again.

Jesus Christ promises a better resurrection. A resurrection that defeats death once and for all. A resurrection that means that death has lost its grip on you and me. A resurrection that means that no power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck us from Christ’s hand (CWS: 752). A resurrection that means that hell today is vanquished, heaven is won today (CW: 163)! A resurrection that means our flesh shall rest and for a season slumber till trump from east to west shall wake the dead in number” (CW: 160).

Other martyrs in Hebrews 11 died gruesome deaths by being stoned, sawed in two or put to death by the sword. Those who escaped the martyr’s death barely eked out an existence as they lived like wild animals on the move, clothed with sheepskins and goatskins, roaming the deserts and mountains, hiding and sleeping in dank caves and dark holes in the ground.

A simple denial of Christ would have kept them from all this discomfort, hunger, suffering and death. But it would also have lost them eternity. These heroes and martyrs of faith suffered and died looking for a better resurrection. “Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.” They prized the resurrection to come through Jesus Christ as far greater in value than earthly life. They valued earthly comfort little compared to the eternal Christ. Earth’s safety was secondary when placed alongside eternal salvation. Earth shrank in importance when compared to heaven’s mansions.

What do we do when we face difficulties and suffering that are nowhere close to what these heroes of faith faced on a daily basis? When there are tensions in the home, our tendency is to lash out at our spouse, children or parents. When society rages about gay marriage, our temptation is to go along with popular thought and against God’s clear Word. When difficulties arise within the church or school, our first thought is to find a different church or school. When illness or debt plagues our bodies and families, our inclination is to cry out that life and God are unfair. When we don’t like what God has to say about our misbehavior, our reaction is to simply stop hearing what God has to say … and an easy way to do that is by staying away from God’s house, His Word and His worship. When death visits our family, our preference is to grieve, mourn and wail like the rest of the world who have no hope.

Whenever difficulties, struggles, temptations, suffering, persecution or death become frequent, but unwelcome visitors in our lives, our tendency is to shut down, run away, cut ties, give up or curl up in the fetal position and let the devil and the world have their way with us.

But we have a better Savior who promises a better resurrection. Even as Christians, we often only want a resurrection for this lifetime – a resurrection that takes away our pain or cancels our debt or removes our difficulties and differences. But Jesus Christ promises a better resurrection – a resurrection to eternal life.

It is this resurrection faith that allowed Gideon, Samson, David, Daniel and the others to do such amazing things. It is this resurrection faith that allows us be confident and deal successfully with our difficulties. It is this resurrection faith that allows us to do battle against the unholy triple alliance of the devil, the world and our sinful flesh.

Like those heroes of faith in the Old and New Testaments, we test and trust God’s promises – all fulfilled in the person, works and words of Jesus – and find them to be true.

Because of Jesus, one thief is in Paradise. Because of Jesus, eternal death was gutted and emptied of its power for all those who trust in Him. Because of Jesus, Satan and all his demons are already informed about their utter demise. Because of Jesus, forgiveness of sins, peace and eternal salvation are already yours as gifts of God’s grace.

Listen to the angel’s message to the women at the tomb, “He is not here; he has risen!” Jesus rose from the grave and grabbed that rascal Death by the throat and robbed it of all the power it once had over mankind. Though Christ once was slain, He burst His three-day prison (CW: 160). Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands, but now the reign of death is ended (CW: 161). Death could not hold the Son of God in that beautifully cut tomb amidst the sweet-smelling burial spices.

Because Jesus didn’t stay in the grave, you and I won’t either. Yes, death will take our lives and our bodies will be placed in the ground, but death won’t be able to hold us … because we know that our Redeemer lives (CW: 152). And so Jesus promises, “Because I live, you also will live.” Jesus promises a better resurrection – not to peace and safety and security here on earth, but a better hope in the midst of hopelessness, a better life in the middle of the shadows of death, a better forgiveness and life where there is guilt and sin.

Knowing that there was a better resurrection coming allowed a starving Allen Gardiner, our departed saints from Epiphany, and other heroes of faith, to endure in the face of suffering and believe in the face of torture. Knowing that there is a better resurrection coming will get you through each day. Peer into that beautiful, empty tomb and find the answer for the emptiness of your grief. For your Savior provides you with the promise of a blessed, better resurrection reunion with your Christian loved ones. Peer into that beautiful, empty tomb and find the answer to the emptiness of your guilt. For your Savior provides you with the hope of forgiveness for every single sin, paid for by His divine blood poured out on the Roman cross. Peer into that tomb and find the answer to your empty cynicism that comes so easily in a world living in its End Times. For your risen Christ gives you every reason to rejoice in this life for you have the assurance of eternal life. Peer into that empty tomb and find the answer to your hopelessness, your despair, your fears and your worries. For if your resurrected Redeemer has already promised you a better resurrection to eternal life, don’t you think He’ll take care of the rest of your problems, too?

The full accomplishment of the cross is ours. The full truths of God’s promises are in our hands. The full triumph over the grave is given to us. As we look at the bloody cross and the empty tomb, we are overwhelmed with the goodness of our God. Now the writer to the Hebrews is challenging us – what are you going to do with it? You have been given a better resurrection through a better Savior. Share it. Confess it. Rejoice in it. Sing of it. Be comforted by it. Be emboldened by it. Live it. Die in it. And live in it again. Amen.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15:58