Jesus Is Alive!

By Jeff Curtis

Tombstones proclaim, in whatever words are inscribed, “Here lies one who lived is now deceased.” Jesus’ tomb, in contrast, was empty; it proclaimed a different message. The day Jesus died was the darkest day in history, but three days later that changed. Paul wrote that, if Jesus is still dead, then “we are of all men most to be pitied” (1Corinthians 15:19).

Upon what legitimate basis can we place our confidence in the resurrection?

The resurrection was prophesied (Matthew 28:6). It was prophesied in the Old Testament (Psa. 16:8-11; Isa. 53:10-12; Hosea 6:2), and Jesus often spoke of it Himself (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:40,63; John 2:19).

The resurrection was proven (Matthew 28:7-10). It was confirmed by eyewitnesses, and the empty tomb was proof. In addition, the transformed lives of His disciples gave evidence that Jesus had risen from the dead. The church stands today as a testimony to our risen Lord.

The resurrection was received with skepticism (Matthew 28:11-17). In spite of the proofs, from the beginning people doubted. Many efforts have been made to explain away the resurrection.

After Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried the body of Jesus in Joseph’s tomb, they went home to prepare for the Sabbath. If that was the end of the story, we would have every reason to be sad – because we would be living in a world without hope. Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth about the resurrection (1Corinthians 15:19). Why? If Jesus did not rise from the dead, our faith and our preaching are in vain, the apostles and others who said they saw Jesus alive after His resurrection were all liars, we are still in our sins, those who died in the Lord have perished, and this world is still without a Savior (1Corinthians 15:14-18). To the contrary, Paul asserted, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1Corinthians 15:20). In other passages he tells us that Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4).

The day Jesus died was literally and figuratively the darkest day in human history. Even those closest to Him didn’t believe they would ever see Him again. His disciples went into hiding in an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem (John 20:19). They didn’t really believe that He would return to life, even though they had seen Him raise others from the dead. However, on the first day of the week, all of that changed as reports began to circulate that His body was missing from the tomb. One by one his followers began to share amazing stories of having seen Him alive. Some walked with Him, talked with Him, and even ate with Him. It soon became evident that these were not the reports of a few fanatical followers hallucinating because of their deep grief. Jesus was really alive. That one fact dramatically changed everything.

What difference does the resurrection make? It makes an eternal difference in the lives of those who believe and accept it.

The Women at the Cross

By Jeff Curtis

During Christ’s last three hours on the cross, according to John’s lists, several women were “standing by the cross of Jesus”: “His mother {Mary}, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John 19:25). It is possible that “Mary the wife of Clopas” was the sister of Jesus’ mother, but we are probably to understand that the two were separate individuals. J.W. MaGarvey lists several reasons for this conclusion, including; 1) It is unlikely that two sisters would have had the same name – Mary. 2) “John gives two pairs of women, each pair coupled with an ‘and.’ The first pair is related to Jesus, and is unnamed, and is paralleled by the other pair which is not related and of which names are given. Hebrew writers often used such parallelism.” 3) Leaving Mary’s sister unnamed would accord with John’s practice of not naming anyone in his family. (John never named himself, his brother James, or his mother; he didn’t name the mother of Jesus either, who may have been his aunt). We conclude that John listed four women.

During Jesus’ last three hours on the cross – after the mother of Jesus had been led away (John 19:26-27), a group of three women were still at the cross, “looking on from a distance” (Matthew 27:55; Mark 15:40). Matthew’s list of these women reads like this: “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee” (Matthew 27:56). Mark wrote, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome” (Mark 15:40). Two of the names are the same: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (the Less) and Joseph (Joses). This would indicate that the “Salome” of Mark’s list is the same as “the mother of the sone of Zebedee” in Matthew’s list. In other words, Salome was the mother of James and John.

Because Mary Magdalene appears in John’s earlier list and Matthew’s and Mark’s later lists, many scholars believe that the lists refer to the same women. If this is the case, keeping in mind the conclusions reached in earlier in this article, here is a comparative list:

John’s List                                                Matthew and Mark’s lists

Mary, the mother of Jesus                        (gone from the scene)

The sister of Jesus’ mother                       Salome, the wife of Zebedee

Mary, the wife of Clopas                          Mary, the mother of James and Joseph

Mary Magdalene                                       Mary Magdalene

Since “many other women” were also present (Mark 15:41), we cannot be dogmatic regarding the idea that Salome was the sister Jesus’ mother, Mary; but there is a strong possibility, that this was the case. This would make the apostles James and John, cousins to Jesus.

                       "COME ASIDE...AND REST A WHILE"

                                               (By Joe R. Price)

And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat (Mark 6:31, NKJV).

Jesus was in constant demand from the crowds. His apostles had just returned from their limited commission (Mark 6:7-13, 30). Finding a "deserted place" where one can "rest a while" is important to "recharge our batteries" and return to our work with renewed vigor. God rested after finishing His work of creating the heavens and the earth (Gen. 2:1-3).
God commanded Israel to rest from their labors every seventh day (Exod. 20:8-11; 31:12-17). Every seventh year their land was to rest from planting and harvesting (Lev. 25:1-7). Every fiftieth year, Israel's land was to rest during the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-11). Rest should have a calming, comforting, and reassuring effect.

Rest also reminds us to trust the Lord for our strength instead of ourselves. Israel anticipated the rest God would give them from their enemies in the promised land (Josh. 1:14-15; 23:1). Christians look hopefully for eternal rest (Heb. 4:8-10; Rev. 14:12-13).