Death Becomes You by Trisha Sharp for Talkin' Turkey
Talkin’ Turkey (www.christiantalkinturkey.com)
w/High Tide Country Radio (www.hightidecountry.net)
Trisha Sharp
22 April 2023
Death Becomes You
Every one of the Gospels describes the crucifixion in their own way. There are definite similarities, but each highlights different moments that give us a full and complex picture of what happened when Jesus died on the cross.
In Matthew 27, there is a strange description. Jesus cries out with a loud voice and gives up his spirit in verse 50. Immediately following his willing death, giving his eternal and divine life for the dying world, a number of things happen: The veil in the Temple before the Holy of Holies tears from top to bottom. There was an earthquake. Rocks split. A centurion testifies that Jesus was righteous and the Son of God. Among this traumatic event, dead people get out of graves and start walking around.
Matthew 27:51-53 “At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.”
While these people were resurrected at the crucifixion, they didn’t leave the cemetery until the resurrection, three days later. The implication is that they waited until Jesus was revealed as alive, then they were allowed to reveal themselves. Another sign of the importance of the resurrection to Jesus was when Martha talks to him before Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. Martha is sad. Jesus comforts her by telling her that Lazarus will live again. She answers theologically – she knows Lazarus will be resurrected.
In John 11:25 Jesus answers “I am the resurrection and the life”. The resurrection isn’t only an event sometime in the future, it is a person. The reality and truth of that person, Jesus, is revealed through the bodily resurrection of saints from the dead, a promise of immortality that only happens because Jesus is immortal. Jesus is the resurrection. Then Christ proceeds to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus openly taught about the bodily resurrection, that those doing good would be raised to eternal life and those who did evil would rise to judgment as referenced in John 5:29.
My only advice to you would be to:
1. Accept Jesus into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior.
2. Say a prayer of salvation, acknowledging that Jesus walked the Earth as man, was tortured, crucified, buried, and rose again on the third day. He then ascended into Heaven.
3. Repent of your sins.
4. Do your best to live the way Jesus taught us to in the Bible. Nobody is perfect so don’t beat yourself up if you fail. Just keep trying to do better. Eventually, you WILL get there.
5. Love you neighbor as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Loves you. This means that your neighbor is ANYONE that you come in contact with. Treat them as you want to be treated.
Go and walk with God! Be Blessed!
