Greater comeback than Lazarus: From the cross to the crown
Written, May 2011
Suffering comes before glory
At Easter we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These events are unique to the Christian faith. In this article we will look at what happened after the resurrection, and at four differences between Christ’s death and His heavenly reign.
After the resurrection
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His followers over a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3). Then “He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God” (Mk. 16:19NIV). Luke reported, “He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen HHim go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9-11). The ascension was a spectacular event; Enoch and Elijah were the only others to be transported to heaven without dying. At this time the disciples were given a promise by two angels that in future Jesus would return to earth in a similar spectacular event.
The Bible says repeatedly that Christ is now at God’s “right hand”, which is a place of honor, power, dominion and authority:
- At Pentecost Peter said, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God …” (Acts 2:32-33a).
- Peter also told the Jewish Court, “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging Him on a cross. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Saviour …” (Acts 5:30-31). Also, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56).
- Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom. 8:34). He adds that while He is at the right hand of God, Christ intercedes with God the Father on our behalf.
Paul also wrote, “That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:20-21). Because of Satan’s opposition, Christ’s resurrection and ascension were the greatest example of divine power the world has ever known. Paul also emphasised that Christ is over and above all other powers.- Hebrews says, “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:3). This is repeated in Hebrews 8:1, which adds that Christ is our high priest. Also, “But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God …” (Heb. 10:12). As a high priest, the Lord only needed to offer one sacrifice, which was at the cross. His work of salvation was then complete.
- Hebrews also says, “For the joy set before him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
- Peter wrote, “It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him” (1 Pt. 3:21-22). The resurrection shows that God is satisfied with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Also, He is over, and above all, spiritual powers.
- John wrote, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21). Here we see that believers will reign with the Lord in His coming kingdom.
People sometimes say: “the greatest comeback since Lazarus”, because Lazarus came back to life from the dead. But Lazarus died again, he was still mortal; whereas the resurrected Lord had a redeemed immortal body. Jesus was the first to be resurrected to eternal life (1 Cor. 15:23). It was a different resurrection because He ascended into heaven to live forever. That’s a much greater comeback than Lazarus. In fact Jesus went from the lowest place on earth where He endured the suffering and humiliation of execution as a criminal, to the highest place in heaven where He reigns over all creation. What a contrast!
Different crowns
Two types of crown are mentioned in the New Testament: a garland, which was worn by a victorious athlete; and a diadem, which was worn by royalty and symbolised the power to reign. Both of these types of crown are used in the Bible to symbolically describe Jesus Christ. Crowns are also mentioned with respect to the Lord’s cross and reign.
Crown of thorns. Humanity gave Him the crown of thorns (Mt. 27:27-31; Mk. 15:16-20; Jn. 19:2-5). Our Lord was crowned with thorns and given a purple robe and a staff in a mock coronation of the “king of the Jews” by the Roman soldiers. Thorns are a product of the curse, which was God’s judgement on humanity’s fall into sinful behavior (Gen. 3:17-19). In Genesis, thorns are associated with sin, struggle, sweat and death. So at the cross, Christ had a symbol of the curse on His head.
Crown of glory. “We … see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). He was lower than the angels for 33 years. At His death He was at the lowest of humanity: executed as a criminal. He came down to earth to the cross, to the grave. Now He is crowned with glory and honor. His exaltation is a result of His suffering; the cross led to the crown.
Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. His glory was the reward of His suffering (Heb. 2:9; Phil. 2:7-9; Rev. 5:12). The majesty of seeing Jesus in all His glory will give us joy (Jn. 17:5, 24).
Jesus prayed, “I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began” (Jn. 17:4-5). Before Christ came to earth, He lived with the Father in heaven and reigned over all creation because He was the Creator. He regained this when He ascended back to heaven, but gained the additional glory of being the Redeemer of the fallen creation.
So, at the cross, humanity gave the Lord the crown of thorns, but when He ascended to heaven, He was given the crown of glory.
Different companions
Christ was crucified between two criminals (Mt. 27:38). It was a shameful and humiliating death and a time of much grief and sorrow (Lk. 23:27-28, 48). In heaven the Lord is accompanied by the redeemed: before going to the cross the Lord prayed, “Father, I want those You have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory …” (Jn. 17:24). Futhermore, in heaven there will be angels and much joy and singing (Rev. 5:11-12). So at the cross the Lord was accompanied by criminals, but in heaven He is accompanied by the redeemed and angels.
Different comings of Christ
The Lord has been to earth once before and He is coming again. These are times when the invisible God is visibly present on earth. The purpose for His first coming was to die on the cross for sinners like us; to be a sacrifice.
The purpose for His second coming to earth is to reveal Jesus in great power and glory (Mt. 24:30; 2 Th. 2:8; Rev. 1:7). It is the most prophesied event in the Bible. At this time, He will wear the crown of authority, dominion, government and sovereignty and judge all evil and set up His kingdom on earth. This is when all the wrongs done on earth will be made right, all crime will be brought to an end, and justice will prevail.
In His first coming, the Lord entered Jerusalem on a donkey; whereas He will be on a war horse in His second coming: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns …” (Rev. 19:11-12). His supremacy is emphasised by wearing “many crowns”.
Suffering comes before glory
Although the Messiah’s suffering and glory were both foretold in the Old Testament, the relationship between these was not obvious at that time. Psalm 22:1-21 describes the Lord’s suffering on the cross. For example, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” was spoken at the cross (Ps. 22:1; Mt. 27:46). The following verses describe His millennial reign over the earth (Ps. 22:22-31). For example, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations” (Ps. 22:26-27). So, we see in the same passage the cross and the crown; the suffering and the glory.
Likewise, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6a) describes the Messiah’s first coming which led to the cross; while “and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isa. 9:6b-7), describes the millennial kingdom established after His second coming. Once again, we see in the same passage the cross and the crown; the suffering and the glory. Other well known references to the Lord’s suffering and reign are: Isaiah 53 and Psalm 110.
Christ’s cross and Christ’s crown are keys to understanding the Bible. Aspects of Christ’s sacrifice and death for sinners and His kingdom and future glory can be seen in many passages of Scripture. “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow (1 Pt. 1:10-11). The Old Testament prophets predicted the Lord’s sufferings and the glories that would follow, but they didn’t know that there would thousands of years between these events.
Christ’s mission was to go to the cross to die for our sin. Now, having paid the price for human sin, He is highly exalted at God’s right hand and will come again as King of kings and Lord of lords. His cross had to precede His crown. This sequence is summarised: “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8b-11).
Lessons for us
We have seen that Jesus went from the lowest place on earth (the cross) to the highest place in heaven where He reigns over all creation. The cross is past and the tomb is empty. What a change there is between His comings to earth: from a crown of thorns to a crown of glory, from criminals to the redeemed, from death to dominion, from suffering to glory.
Because Jesus endured the cross, He now wears the crown and we can have the assurance of eternal life with Him in heaven. For Jesus, suffering had to precede glory. The New Testament pattern of suffering followed by glory applies to us as well: believers suffer now, but will be released into the glory of immortal bodies at the resurrection (Rom. 8:16-25; 2 Cor. 4:16-18):
- Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me (Lk. 9:23). A person carrying a cross was about to be executed. Like the Lord, we must be willing to suffer and lose our lives for His sake.
- Paul wrote, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:16-18). Our benefits are out of this world, but they will be preceded by suffering.
- The timing is given as, “we wait eagerly for … the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23). That’s when our redemption will be complete and all suffering ends.
- Meanwhile, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).
So the Biblical pattern is that suffering in this life will lead to an inheritance of eternal glory. We should not be focused on our present physical situation, but be looking ahead. We are not promised a trouble free life, in fact the opposite is the case because trouble is inevitable (Jn. 16:33). Just look at the lives of Jesus and Paul, who are examples for us. Paul wrote, “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). So let’s focus ahead to when it will be clear to all that the One who went to the cross also wears the crown.
See the other article in this series:
– From the Cradle to the Cross
The Raven And The Kookaburra
An Easter thought
I spent Easter in the mountains with plenty of trees and birds. Two of the birds, the kookaburra and the raven reminded me of Christ’s victory over Satan. They are birds of prey, each with a distinctive call.
The Australian raven is glossy black with a fierce, menacing look. It has a high-pitched wail “aah-aah-aah-aaaahh.” Some find this call threatening. Ravens prey on reptiles, rabbits, chickens, ducklings, refuse and carrion. They can also hasten the death of weak sheep and lambs.
The laughing kookaburra is the world’s largest kingfisher. It has a loud chuckling laugh, “koo-koo-koo-koo-koo-kaa-kaa-kaa.” When the kookaburra laughs, it’s claiming a territory to share with family members. It lives mainly on insects, worms, lizards, frogs, mice and small birds. Kookaburras can also kill snakes.
The raven reminds me of Satan. Its black color symbolizes darkness and evil, and it attacks weak sheep and lambs. The Bible uses sheep and lambs as metaphors for people (Mk. 6:34; Jn. 10:1-18, 27-30; 21:15-17; 1 Pet. 2:25). The raven also reminds me that Satan stalks and attacks people like an animal stalks and attacks its prey (1 Pet. 5:8).
The kookaburra reminds me of Jesus. It attacks and kills snakes. In the Bible snakes are a metaphor for Satan (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). By His death and resurrection, Christ destroyed Satan, like a kookaburra destroys a snake (Gen. 3:15; Heb. 2:14). In fact, “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 Jn. 3:8 NIV). Satan has been fatally wounded and defeated, to be tormented forever in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7).
May this brief look at the raven and the kookaburra help us to be more aware of Satan’s schemes, and to celebrate Christ’s victory.
Good News From The Cemetery
A special Easter message
Every city, town and village has a cemetery that contains memorials to people of all walks of life, reminding us that death comes to us all. If Christ doesn’t return in the meantime, our bodies will all end up in a cemetery. It is a natural consequence of the “bondage to decay” that we share with the rest of God’s creation (Rom. 8:21 niv). Even if you have the best medical specialist in the world, you will have to face death one day.
An Empty Grave
But the foundation of our Christian faith is an empty grave, marked with the joyful exclamation, “He has risen!” (Mk. 16:6). After Christ’s crucifixion he was buried in a grave that had been cut out of rock and sealed with a big stone (Mt. 27:60). Luke’s account of what happened on the next Sunday is as follows: “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the grave. They found the stone rolled away from the grave, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” (Lk. 24:1-7).
Later that day Jesus joined two of His followers as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35). They were amazed that the grave was empty; they didn’t recognize Jesus. It is interesting to note their response after they recognized Him. Their hearts were warmed as the Lord talked with them and explained the Scriptures. They were encouraged as they understood what God had done. Then they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, a distance of about seven miles (11 km), to tell their colleagues who responded, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon” (Lk. 24:34). They also recounted how He had walked with them, talked with them and revealed Himself to them. So their response to the risen Christ was both internal and external: They were excited instead of despondent, and they spread the good news to their friends.
Unlike the bodies of other people, including King David, Christ’s body did not decay in a grave (Acts 2:25-32; 13:36-37). Although Christ had a funeral and was buried in a grave, three days later He rose from the dead and was seen by more than 500 men (1 Cor. 15:6). The women didn’t need to visit Christ’s grave anymore. His resurrection demonstrated His victory over death and ushered in the kingdom of God which is eternal life (1 Cor. 15:50-57). It also is a foretaste of the coming resurrection of all believers: “In Christ all will be made alive … who belong to Him” (1 Cor. 15:22-23).
We Will Rise
Arnold Schwarzenneger’s recent action film, “The 6th Day” shows a new world where man has attained near god-like biotechnological powers, where genetic technologies are used to eliminate disease, and cloning is possible for any living being. It is a remarkable world, said to be coming in the near future, in which immortality is finally within reach. This is similar to the dream of some scientists researching longevity who imagine a world where aging and even death is not inevitable.
But the Bible says that we will all die and that everyone who has died will be raised from the grave (Jn. 5:28-29; Rom. 3:23; 6:23). Resurrection is the opposite of death. In death the soul separates from the body, while in resurrection they are reunited. The Bible states that people will be in either one of two resurrections, based on whether their names are in the “Book of life” (Rev. 20:11-15). Those not in that book are judged by God at the Great White Throne and thrown into the lake of fire. Those in the “Book of life” have been rescued by Christ’s death and will be raised back to life when Christ returns. Then they will be “with the Lord forever” (1 Th. 4:17). These two destinies are illustrated by the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar (Lk. 16:19-31).
A Sleeping Place
Another Lazarus mentioned in the New Testament, who lived in Bethany, was buried in a cemetery twice (Jn. 11:1-44). Jesus told his sister Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die” (Jn. 11:25-26). Therefore, believers that have already died will be resurrected when they are raised back to life at the Rapture: “He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.” On the other hand, believers that are alive at His return will be transformed and all the faithful will be transported to heaven: “Whoever … believes in Me will never die.”
When Lazarus was dead, Christ said that he was asleep (Jn. 11:11). This metaphor is applied in the Bible to the bodies of believers after death, indicating that such death is temporary, restful and peaceful (1 Cor. 11:30). In fact, the word “cemetery” is derived from a Greek word meaning “the sleeping place.”
So, the next time you see a cemetery remember the good news of Christ’s resurrection: He left an empty “sleeping place,” and the graves are only “sleeping places” for believers as they wait for their resurrection.
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