The Living Jesus
John 19:17-22 (NKJV)
The King on a Cross
And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
Pilate could deal with a dead Jesus, but a living Jesus would cause him much trouble. Pilate will stand before Jesus one day too.
The resurrected Jesus will shake the kingdom of hell, because no one ever escaped death, death is the byproduct of Sin. Everyone was born a sinner. The first day I was born I started dying.
The Resurrected Jesus
John 10:17-18
17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
The statement “Jesus laid down his life as a man but took it back up as God” reflects a core Christian belief about Jesus’s death and resurrection. It highlights that Jesus, while fully God, also became fully human, lived a human life, and then, after his death, rose again, demonstrating his divine power. This event is central to Christian theology and is interpreted as a demonstration of Jesus’s victory over death and sin.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
Jesus’s Humanity:
Jesus became human, taking on the form of a servant and being made in human likeness, as Philippians 2:7 describes. This means he experienced human life, including suffering and death.
Laying Down His Life:
The phrase “laying down his life” refers to Jesus’s voluntary sacrifice on the cross. He surrendered his human life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity.
Taking it Back Up:
The resurrection is the act of Jesus rising from the dead, demonstrating his divine power over death. This is a key aspect of Christian faith, signifying victory over death and sin.
The Bible speaks directly about Jesus’s power to lay down his life and take it up again, emphasizing that it is his own authority to do so.
Significance:
The death and resurrection of Jesus are foundational to Christianity, offering hope for salvation and eternal life to believers, the bible is very plain on what Jesus taught.
Jesus laid down his life on the cross, he died as a man, in a human body
But he took up his life again, not as man but as God in a human Body, his incarnation was permanent.
1 Corinthians 15:50-57
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jesus picked up his life in his human body, corruptible body was changed to an uncorruptible body. This transformation is the same transformation we will see.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.