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Entombed with Jesus
By Linda Rex
April 3, 2021, HOLY SATURDAY—Sometimes life sends us curveballs we don’t expect. It can be very difficult when the unexpected happens and causes life as we know it to be completely disrupted and overthrown. The death of a loved one is one of those things that ensures that our life in this world will never be the same again.
Whether we like it or not, we must accept that death is coming for us one day, and that it wouldn’t hurt for us to be properly prepared for it when it comes—while we have the opportunity. Death shows no favoritism—it happens to those close to us and it will happen to us one day. It is part of the human condition.
It wasn’t always that way. God meant for us to have abundant life, now and forever. It is because we were created to eat of the tree of life, not the tree that brings death, that death causes us such pain and sorrow. Apart from the hope of salvation in Jesus, death brings great fear and dread. It is because God did not want us to go into death apart from his presence that the Word of God, Jesus Christ, entered into death for us and with us.
Death often leaves us with regrets, painful memories, along with memories of joyful companionship, pleasant outings, and family gatherings. Unfortunately, death can also leave horrific memories when it comes through disaster, accident, abuse or violence. We may really struggle with moving beyond death if we are unable to reconcile the circumstances around a death with a loving and compassionate God.
It is for good reason that Jesus intentionally walked the path to the cross and died in our place and on our behalf. He, as God in human flesh, was lovingly placed in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, surrounded with the aroma of herbs provided by Nicodemus. Under the watchful eye of his mother and the other ladies, Jesus was wrapped and placed in the tomb, which was sealed with a large rock. The Messiah lay quiet and still, all life gone from his human body.
What was Jesus up to in that moment? Where did he go? Is this what Job was talking about when he asked God to hide him in Sheol or the grave (Job 14:4)? Jesus entered the gates of death. The nothingness out of which all was created and to which all was returning due to death, lost its hold on us when Jesus died. As God in human flesh, he was triumphant over the grave—it had no power to hold him. Death was defeated in Christ’s death, for this dead human came to life again, rising from the grave on the third day!
But before we leave the tomb, perhaps we need to sit in the darkness a little bit and ponder the significance of Jesus in the grave. If you and I, and every other human, died when Christ died, what does that mean for each of us? Those sins that Jesus died for laid in the tomb with him, just as we did. We died to our sins once and for all when Jesus died—Jesus, who knew no sin, was “made to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21 NASB).
Let’s play a little “what if” game. What if all those things we regret, the shame we feel when we remember past events, are still laying in that tomb? What if the sorrow of all we lost when someone near and dear to us died is still laying in that tomb where Jesus laid? What if the hate, resentment and anger we feel toward those who have hurt us is resting on the slab where Jesus was placed? What if every lustful, selfish, and greedy desire is hidden in Christ, entombed with Jesus?
We can even expand this “what if” game a little farther. What if all of those atrocities committed by violent and twisted people are wrapped up in the cloth bound around Jesus, rubbing up against the wounds inflicted on him in his scourging? What if the loneliness we feel, the sorrow we are bound by, and the rejection we’ve experienced, are all laying there, enclosed within Christ’s heart? What if every hateful word anyone has ever said to us—or we have said to another—is ringing in the ears of the Savior as he rests in death?
There, in death, lies all that we are not—all that God is calling us out of and lifting us up from. Everything that holds us in our brokenness, in our weakness, in our sin—is held in that moment of death in Christ. Now, I invite you to leave it there. What do you need to be freed from? Lay it down in his hands—let it rest in his embrace.
You are going to walk out of that tomb with Jesus when he rises, so you do not want to take any of that baggage with you. Is there something you have been carrying around that has been weighing you down and preventing you from living freely and joyfully? Now is the time to let it remain entombed in Jesus’ death. For you, in Christ, are risen! Realize that here in the death of Christ, you live!
Job, when reflecting on death and his suffering asked, “Who can make the clean out of the unclean?” It was a rhetorical question in his mind, for he did not see how it was possible. But we today, looking back on the events of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, realize that there is only one way this is possible—in Christ. By participating in Christ’s death and resurrection, we are able to experience the reality that God makes the unclean clean by joining us in our uncleanness and taking it through death into resurrection.
When what was in the past tries to rise zombie-like out of the grave again, remember that it no longer has any real life. Its existence ceased in Jesus’ death. Your real life now, your zōē life, is in Jesus Christ, in his resurrection. As the apostle Paul said, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:16-17a NASB).
We will remember the past and old associations, but we no longer have to be held captive by them. We are now free to move into the new life God has in mind for us—one full of freedom, joyful fellowship, and growing in Christlikeness. Death now is our passage into the life to come, and we are able to face the loss of those near and dear to us with hope, knowing that we are still joined with them in Jesus Christ. They are forever connected with us and we with them in and through Jesus. Our memories can now be filtered through the lens of Christ, enabling us to release the burden of pain, sorrow, and grief and hold on to the blessing of new life in him.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for not allowing us to dwindle back into nothingness through death, but for sending your Son to join with us in our passage through death’s door. Thank you, Jesus, for suffering on our behalf, going all the way into death and out the other side. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for enabling our participation in all that Christ has done for us in his life, death, and resurrection. We receive all you have given God, and release into your care all that needs to remain entombed with Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen.
“Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:1–8 NASB
See also Matthew 27:57–66; John 19:38–42.
Our Unifying Distinctions
By Linda Rex
Lately at Good News Fellowship we have been talking about things we believe about God which are not according to the truth revealed to us in the Person and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the lies which seems to raise its ugly head from one generation to another is the belief we are, in our uniqueness as a particular color, race or ethnicity, God’s chosen people. This lie puts us in direct opposition to those which are “not like us”, and creates division and even hostility between us.
What we don’t seem to realize is God never meant our differences to divide us, but rather to bind us closer together. What makes us distinctly unique is meant to be an important part of a complete whole which celebrates the wonder and glory of our divine God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God himself in his Being teaches us it is our uniqueness which binds us together. It is never meant to divide us. God as Father, Son, and Spirit has distinctions but these distinctions in God’s Being do not cause division. Rather they describe the interrelations in God’s Being. The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. Rather the Father is the Father of the Son—this is their oneness in the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Father, nor is he the Son, but he is the One who is the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son.
I remember hearing and being taught as a child the belief I as someone of light complexion was part of a special group of people chosen by God, and those of darker hue were somehow part of the human race who were cursed with Cain. This teaching created a sense of cognitive dissonance in me because I had friends in school of much darker hue than me, and they did not seem to be any different than me. How is it they could be less than or inferior to me when they were actually the same as me?
Since that time God has taken me on a journey of learning and healing in which I have come to have warm and meaningful relationships with people of many different races and ethnicities. I have come to see the truth—we are all one body made up of different members. We each have a role to play in the common humanity of God’s creation.
Indeed, I believe the apostle Paul hit on something really important when he began to talk about the different parts of the body within the body of Christ. I believe this concept extends beyond the walls of the church. Our common humanity is made up of all different sorts of people, and none of us really looks exactly the same, though some of us may look similar to one another.
This morning it occurred to me again that if there were no such thing as brain cells, how would any of us think? If there were no nerve cells, how would our brains communicate with our bodies? If there were no skin cells, how would our muscles and organs stay where they belong, protected and held in place? These cells are each unique to one another, and even have variances in between them, but each is necessary to the whole—the body would not function properly if any of them were missing or were not properly fulfilling their function.
There is a reason we are the way we are. There is a beauty in the human race which is expressed in all its different hues and distinctions. These differences were meant to create joy and celebration as we share them with one another. Instead, we allow them to create fear, hate, and hostility against one another. These distinctions were meant to create a greater, more blessed whole, but we have allowed them to divide us and to cause us to destroy one another.
We forget or ignore the reality God’s Son, who was completely other than us, took on our humanity—joined himself to us permanently—so we could share in his Being. Jesus Christ became sin for us so we could become the righteousness of God in him. We share in Christ’s being because he took that very thing which has divided us and destroyed our relationship and used it to bind us to himself with cords of love.
God was not willing to be God without us. He did not allow whatever differences between us and him—which are vast and unmeasurable—to cause us to be permanently separated from him. He did not consider himself to be above us, but rather, he humbled himself, setting aside the privileges of his divinity to join us in our broken humanity (Phil. 2:5-11). He humbled himself, even to the point of allowing us to crucify him. What we did to try and permanently separate ourselves from God he used to bind us to himself forever. Such an amazing love!
In binding us all to himself with cords of love in Jesus Christ, God also bound us to one another. We all share in the common humanity of Jesus Christ and there are no longer any divisions between us. We are all one in Christ Jesus. Whatever we may artificially place between us is now caught up in Christ’s humanity and reconciled with God, and we in Christ are all reconciled with one another. There may be distinctions, but in Christ we are all one.
God is calling to each of us to respond to his Spirit as he works to bring this oneness to full expression in our individual and common humanity. The Spirit calls to you and to me to not only respond to our reconciliation to God, but also to our reconciliation to one another in Christ. There are to be no divisions between us. Whatever distinctions may exist are meant to be a cause for giving praise, glory and honor to God for his wisdom and glory, not a cause for fear, hate, and hostility between us.
May we turn from, or repent of, our human proclivity for racial and ethnic superiority and inferiority, and stop yielding to the evil one’s efforts to divide us and so to destroy us. Let us, rather, build one another up in love. Let us look for reasons to share and celebrate our differences and distinctions, and to make them ways in which we can come together to create a stronger, whole humanity.
Instead of allowing our distinctions and differences to cause fear, distrust, hate, and hostility, may we actively work to make them the very thing which binds us to one another. Sometimes this may require the same path Jesus trod—through death and resurrection—but the result will be something we will not experience otherwise: a taste of the kingdom of God here on earth as a reflection of the love which exists in our Triune God as Father, Son, and Spirit in heaven.
Dear Abba, forgive us for all the ways we create division and discord in our world. Forgive us for the ways we demean one another, and the arrogant and prideful ways we have of living and being. Grant us the humility and dignity of our true humanity in Christ Jesus. May we, from this day forward, always treat others with the same respect, kindness, and graciousness with which you have treated us, through Jesus our Lord, and by your Spirit. Amen.
“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:18–20 NASB
Making Room For All
By Linda Rex
I was looking at some of the responses to the recent event in Charlottesville and was appalled at the numbers of people who hold to the belief of the superiority of the white race. I understand from personal experience how insidious these lies can be. But what concerns me most is they are drawn from a misreading of the Bible. They twist the Scriptures which when read with integrity and spiritual wisdom point us to the Christ who united all humanity with all its variety in his own Person.
Indeed, Jesus laid the foundation in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, and in the sending of his Spirit. But he also calls us to participate in this reality which he created in himself. We can live in the truth of who we are in him, or choose another path. Living in the truth of our humanity allows us to participate fully in the harmony and oneness of the Triune life, while choosing this other path creates what we see, hear, and experience today in these situations which involve violence, death and suffering.
In contrast to the living God, who is willing to lay himself down for another (and who did so), the evil one sets himself up as superior to others. He wants to elevate himself to a place where others must submit to him. He believes he is the one with the right understanding of how things really are, even though his logic is twisted and his motives are selfish and impure. Rather than assuming full responsibility for his shortcomings and misguided ways of living, he casts shadows onto others, making them at fault instead.
The error of this twisted thinking violates the oneness of the Trinity, where Father, Son, and Spirit live in a harmonious union in which each is unique, not the other, and yet is equal. As children made in this image, we as human beings were created to live in this same harmony as equals and yet as uniquely ourselves.
This oneness is not a forced sameness, but a celebration of what each brings to the table, making room for one another. The reality is there are certain things we cannot bring to the table if there is to be room for everyone. These are things such as hate, greed, lust, pride, selfishness, and indifference.
Making room for all means we need an attitude of unselfishness, of humility, of service, and of giving. It requires a willingness to submit to another’s way of doing things when we would rather use our own. Necessarily, there must be communication, encouragement, trust, and generosity—all things which are not the usual way most humans function. But these are the attributes of the God in whose image humans are made.
Unfortunately, our common way of creating harmony and oneness as humans is to create some form of sameness. We all must have the same clothes, the same behavior, or the same creed. We have to obey the same rules, and follow the same leader. We must be the same color or the same ideology. But sameness eliminates the distinctness God created in the human race.
It is unfortunate the universal church has broken into so many facets. But even broken glass when it reflects the sun creates a pretty pattern on the wall. The oneness of love and harmony between people of all different faiths teaches people about the love of God for us as demonstrated in the gift of God’s Son. It shows there is room for everyone at the table—we are all God’s children and called to be members of the Bride of Christ.
The variety within the universal church makes room for people with different needs, interests, and understandings of scripture. I have come to see that each person has a unique worship personality. Some of us connect best with God through the sacraments and through traditions. Others of us connect best with God and others through social service. Others of us find it is most meaningful to connect through the study of theology in a more intellectual way. God has made room for all in Christ to come into a meaningful relationship with him by his Spirit.
Those of us who follow Christ and who trust in him for salvation must never get to the place where we shut others out of their inclusion in God’s love. Even though many do not see, or if they see and they choose to resist their inclusion in Christ, we must never assume in any way they are excluded from the invitation to share in God’s life and love. There is room for each and every person at the table—there is a seat with their name on it waiting for them.
Nothing about any person is enough to exclude them from God’s invitation to life. The color of their skin, the way they comb their hair (if they have any), their age, and not even their past is sufficient to prevent them from God’s offer of grace and renewal in Jesus Christ. To divide up the human race into separate sections is to divide up Christ himself, and it must not be attempted.
Some may even be offended at the use of the name of Jesus Christ. To talk about everyone and God in the same breath is okay, but to mention Jesus Christ too is to become exclusive, they believe. But the whole point of the Christian faith is that all humanity, every race and ethnicity, has been swept up into Christ, and thereby reconciled with God. Jesus Christ is not a point of separation between us—which is commonly believed and criticized—but is the point of unity between us all. He is our oneness, our harmony with one another.
In Christ’s sending of his Spirit, he made it possible for us as humans to live together in ways we ordinarily cannot live. The Spirit changes hearts and minds, and enables us to find our commonalities instead of focusing on our differences. When the Spirit goes to work and we are receptive, what normally would produce discord and division all of a sudden becomes harmonious. I have seen this first-hand in meetings which I thought were headed toward a free-for-all and ended up being experiences of compassion, repentance, and renewal. We all walked away newly joined together in a deep understanding and acceptance of one another.
But the path toward this type of oneness is necessarily, as Jesus Christ demonstrated for us, through death and resurrection. We need to die to our ungodly beliefs and our unhealthy ways of living and being. This is repentance. We need to rise in Christ to our new life he purchased for us and begin to make room for one another. We need to surrender our prejudices, our hate, our evil, and embrace the grace and love which is ours, while sharing it with each and every person we meet. This is faith. We turn from ourselves and turn to Christ. He is our oneness with God and each other in the Spirit.
Abba, forgive us our hate, our prejudices, and all our failures to love. Forgive us for ever believing we were superior to another, or more important than them. Grant us the grace to humble ourselves and make room for others, allowing them to be the people you created them to be in Christ Jesus. Give us courage and faith to resist anything which is not the truth about who you meant for us to be—to recognize evil for what it is and to bravely condemn and resist it, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26–28 NASB
Our Life in the Trinity 