Resurrection Euphoria
David W Palmer
(Matthew 28:1 NKJV) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
By God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for all of us:
(Hebrews 2:9 NLT) What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.
Jesus “tasted” death; he experienced it fully with all of his five physical senses. Thankfully, he stayed true to his call and assignment in its toughest requirement:
(Philippians 2:6–8 NLT) Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. {7} Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, {8} he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Jesus is God, but he didn’t use his royalty or his position with God as an excuse to shirk what his Father called him to do. He remained humbly submitted to his Father’s will. After being strengthened by the angel in prayer, he meekly underwent the shocking ordeal of wrongful arrest, false trial, public disgrace, and state-sanctioned murder. Jesus remained focused, as he knew what was at stake:
(Hebrews 2:9 KJV) … by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Jesus didn’t die for himself; he died for “every man.” This is what makes his resurrection such an astounding success. When Jesus died, he died as you and as me. He was carrying all the punishment and consequences of our fallen nature: sin, sickness, poverty, alienation, rejection, fear, etc. So when he arose as the “first born from the dead,” he demonstrated that all of that is now legally non-existent.
Legally and truly, God annihilated our old nature in Jesus’s death, and then resurrected us with him:
(Romans 6:6–8 NLT) We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. {7} For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. {8} And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.
Now, in Jesus, we are completely new. This is God’s new creation:
(2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Jesus was the firstborn from the dead:
(Revelation 1:5 NKJV) … Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
Our new birth—when we are born again—is connected to Jesus being the “firstborn” from the dead. We are/were born again in him; this happened legally when he was raised from the dead; we were raised up together with him (Eph. 2:6, Rom. 6:4). This is the greatest news that could ever be heard by any human. No wonder the earth shook on resurrection morning:
(Matthew 28:2–4 NLT) Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. {3} His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. {4} The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Jesus was resurrected. Heaven was rejoicing. A great revolution was happening in the spirit realm; the earth shook. God’s angel rolled the stone away from the tomb in the ultimate act of triumph. Death was defeated for all time; Jesus was reinstated as Lord, and he was given a name above every name. A new day dawned for the entirety of humanity.
Full reconciliation with God is now possible. What’s more, in an absolutely astounding stroke of genius and accomplishment; through the new birth, God is not only able to forgive us, but can completely remove every legal claim that our old sin-addicted nature eve
