Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 2 Corinthians 4:14
There is a study underway in which the experiences have been assembled of people who have been on the verge of death and have recovered. They include accident victims who had no life signs when rescued, and people whose hearts stopped when they were undergoing operations and other medical procedures. These people have reported experiencing different sights and sounds during the period in which they were close to death. Some of those experiences sound rather fanciful and far-fetched, but most of us can’t really relate; we have never been there. But they do serve to remind us that many people have actually come close to death and have returned from that precipice to tell the story. But in all of human history, only one Man has ever been certified to be dead, and has lain in a sealed tomb for three days, and then rose to life again by His own power. But He will not be alone. The One who raised up the Lord Jesus is promising in our text to raise up all of those who have died trusting in Him.
The truth of the resurrection used to be generally accepted by most people, even by those who made no profession of salvation. It was generally taught and understood as part of the doctrine of most of the denominations. That has changed. Even many of the mainstream denominations have joined with the cults in either denying the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus or downplaying its acceptance as essential to their ‘faith’. Sceptical attitudes prevail and those who are firmly convinced that Jesus rose from the dead are in the minority. No wonder there is such a lack of hope in the world. They deny the only source of hope for the future. The resurrection is crucial for believers, because it represents our tomorrow, it gives us a reason for living today, and enables us to forget our sinful past. As Paul points out in our text, we will be raised along with all of the believers of all time.
Let us live in view of our glorious hope today. Let this hope give us cheer and comfort in the Lord. -Jim MacIntosh