Jesus Shares Resurrection

Questions About the Resurrection

AS the disciples were coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus instructed them to tell no one what they saw until after he was resurrected.

Obviously they did not understand the concept of resurrection or the requirements of the Messiah. They believed the Messiah was going to be a strong political and military person that would deliver Israel form the Roman bondage.

This belief made them question why Jesus was saying that He was going to die. According to their belief the Messiah would not die but would reign forever. This is perhaps why they were following Him. They believed that they would be able to rule with Jesus if He was the Messiah.

It was because of their misunderstanding about the gospel that Jesus told them not to share what they saw until after His resurrection. To try to explain seeing Elijah apart from the resurrection would confuse people. I will discuss this in the next section.

Simply put, the disciples had a false interpretation of the Messiah that needed to be cleared up. Jesus took them to the Mt. of Transfiguration to reveal the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy regarding Elijah. They would not understand it until the death and resurrection of Jesus.

What do we believe about Jesus

Just as the disciples had false beliefs about Jesus, we do too. What I mean by this is we hold on to what we have always been taught about Jesus from our parents, church, friends, pastors, and Sunday School teachers. Some of the teachings are spot on and some are in error. Unfortunately, when we approach the Bible we approach it with preconceived beliefs that may be in error.

In order to discover who Jesus really is, we must study the scriptures intently and deeply and ask the difficult questions, just like Peter, James, and John. They were wondering and asking what rising from the dead meant. We too must wrestle with scripture.

Wrestling with scripture apart from preconceived beliefs gives room for the Holy Spirit to teach you real truth about Jesus. John 14:26

John 14:26 NASB95

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

John 16:13–15 NASB95

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Discover Jesus on your own. There is value in others teaching you, but there is more value in discovering it on your own.

What about Elijah

The disciples did not ask Jesus about the resurrection because it did not make sense to them. They did understand the prophet Malachi when he said in Malachi 4:5-6

Malachi 4:5–6 NASB95

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

They had just seen Elijah, but the hearts of Israel had not been turned back to God. This was confusing to them because it did not line up with their theology.

If Jesus was the Messiah and He told them that He was going to die and be resurrected, they may come to the conclusion that Jesus was not the Messiah. They did not want Jesus to die and they didn’t understand the resurrection. This caused great confusion.

Jesus cleared up their confusion. The disciples had to reconcile the fact that the Messiah was going to be an everlasting king but also that He would have to suffer and die. The Prophets spoke of both. Isaiah 53:3-6

Isaiah 53:3–6 (NASB95)

He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

The only way for these two truths about the Messiah could be taught by Jesus.

He explained that John the Baptist was the Elijah. Isaiah 40:3

Isaiah 40:3 NASB95

A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Mark 1:1–5 NASB95

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way; The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’ ” John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

John had taught a message of repentance from sins. This was a message that was turning the hearts of Israel back to God. For the Jews believed that they did not need to repent because of their sacrificial system and the fact that they were a chosen people.

Jesus further reiterated the fact that they killed John the Baptist. If they killed John then they would kill the Messiah too. But what about the everlasting King part of the Messiah. Isaiah 9:7

Isaiah 9:7 NASB95

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

If Jesus was going to die, then the only way this could happen would be the resurrection.

Jesus died for our sins as a sacrifice but rose from the dead as a king!