/There are, to the best of my knowledge, ten accounts of people being brought back to life in the Bible. It is one of the most obvious displays of God’s power, and bears looking at.
The Widow’s Son - I Kings 17:17-24
-God working through a human agent (note the physical contact and prayer)
-God’s power is what raised the son
-Glory is given to God for the miracle
The Shunammite’s Son - II Kings 4:8-37
-God granted the woman a son for her service to God’s prophet
-Once again, God works through a human agent (physical contact and prayer)
-Notice, the woman recognizes the power of God throughout the story
A Dead Man - II Kings 13:20-21
-This is an obvious display of God’s power, and of His favor towards Elisha
-Once again, there is physical contact
-The glory could only belong to God, as Elisha could not have done this, being dead
The Widow of Nain’s Son - Luke 7:11-17
-Christ (God) simply speaks, and the boy is raised
-The people recognize it is the power of God, and praise Him
-It is also a display of God’s mercy and love for man (v 13)
Lazarus - John 11:1-44
-Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick, and knows he will die. He allows this to happen for the greater glory of God (God’s will comes first, as He possesses infinite wisdom and knowledge).
-We have another example of Christ’s love (vv 35-36)
-Once again, Jesus simply speaks, and the dead rise up. Being God, He does what others have had to pray and request.
The Ruler’s Daughter - Matthew 9:18-26
-Once again, Jesus raises a dead person
-He does not even speak, just causes it to happen
-News spreads of the event
Saints -Matthew 27:50-53
-No human was involved: it was directly the action of God
-A great display of God’s power that must have made a difference, as they appeared to many
Dorcas - Acts 9:36-43
-Peter prays to the Lord, before telling her to get up (implication is that he invokes Christ’s name in this - v 34)
-The result is that people believe and the word is spread
-Even Peter, an apostle and recipient of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, had to ask the Lord for this miracle
Eutychus - Acts 20:7-12
-Once again, we see physical contact
-Although no prayer is mentioned, it seems unlikely that there was none, as it is there in the other accounts of resurrections
-The people were comforted in this - it is a sign of God’s power, and a sign of God’s mercy
Christ - Mark 15:33-41, 16:1-8
-Fulfilled prophecies made (Psalm 16:10, Psalm 49:15)
-Showed the power of God
-Was resurrected to display the power of God over death
And of course, it is Christ’s resurrection that has the most meaning to us today:
I Peter 1:3-6 -Living hope through the resurrection
I Corinthians 15:12-32 -The Resurrection: without it, teaching and faith is futile
I Peter 3:21-22 -Saved through the resurrection, baptism
-Parallel of baptism:
He died - the “old man” dies
Burial - submerged
Resurrected - arise anew
Romans 6:5 -United with Him in death and in resurrection
Philippians 3:10-11 -Know Christ & His resurrection so we can attain ours
Acts 24:14-15 -Resurrection of the righteous and the wicked
Revelation 21:6-8 -The second death. If we serve God, we can avoid this and be with Him for eternity, possessing life everlasting.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment