The Hope of the Resurrection

The apostle Paul stood before the Council, in trouble once again because of the Gospel. And who knew how it would turn out? But, wisely, Paul declared to the assembled Jewish leaders, 'I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.' And that's how he summarized the Gospel: the hope of the resurrection of the dead. I find it interesting that you don't hear that sort of summary much these days. The hope of the resurrection isn't a big deal for most Christians these days. It's not something that Christians spend much time thinking about. Talk of resurrection is pretty much limited to one holiday each year. You don't even hear it much at funerals. And that concerns me. Why is this the case? My fear is that we have been fooled into focusing our thinking so much on 'now' that we pretty much forget about 'later'. And I can see why people like us might do that. Generally speaking, 'now' isn't all that bad. We are, all in all, pretty satisfied with 'now'. And the parts of 'now' that we aren't satisfied with, well, we hope that they can be fixed before too long. Life for your average middle-class American just isn't that terrible. It really isn't. And that explains a lot.

We're going to take a look at one of the images that the Bible uses to describe life in the here and now. It comes from the familiar Psalm 23. And being the sentimental person that I am, I'll read it from the King James Version.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

So, what is this about? The common assumption is that David is writing about crisis points in life. We enter and then exit this valley as we hit those bumps in the road and then leave them behind. There is a measure of truth in seeing it in this way, but there is more. This Psalm is not describing certain difficult experiences of life. It's describing all of life. This life is best understood as a trek through this very dark valley. Here, think of a very narrow canyon or a deep ravine where there is little sunlight because of the high walls. It's dark, and it's scary. Now, someone will think that this picture of life is far too dark. And it is. I need to adjust it. But before I do, consider the truth that it contains. Who has been untouched by the shadow of death? While death means much more than whether your heart is still beating, it doesn't mean less than that. People fear the day when it all stops. They fear death. You can see it when they get seriously sick. But thinking more broadly, death is defined in terms of relationships. In previous sermons I've described real life, eternal life, as open, intimate relationships, first with God and then with other people. No secrets, no barriers, only honest openness. Who has relationships like that? Though people try to hide from the truth, it's just a fact that life is lived beneath the shadow of death.

But it isn't completely dark. Because of the Gospel, we can adjust the picture - at least for us. The Christian has relief from this living death. And David writes about that, too. He looks to the One who walks with him in that dark valley. 'Thou are with me.' And that's why he 'will fear no evil'. So, as John has written,

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus has come. He is the light of the world, and He shines in the darkness. But note that the darkness has not been removed. It is not gone. The darkness tries to overcome the light. It tries to push Jesus out of the picture, but it can't. Jesus has come into your dark valley, and He walks with you. Immanuel! You have some light. And that is so good. But the shadow of death is not gone. You still walk through that valley. You still feel the weight of that shadow. It's just that we have hope as we walk. Jesus is with us so we have some light. There is nothing to fear.

David gets specific.

… thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and so He has the tools of a shepherd, a rod and a staff. With the one He keeps us safe from the wolves. They have not fled away. They are still lurking, looking for an opportunity, seeking whom they may devour. Evil still exists. The darkness is not gone. But Jesus walks near, and we are kept safe. He protects us from the dangers that surround us. But there is another source of danger. This comes from within. There still is evil within, darkness within. Sin still dogs our steps. And it can trip us up. But with His other tool Jesus keeps us from following our sin and wandering from the path, away from the light. He guides us along the paths of righteousness. He will make sure that we make it out the other end of this valley. So, while our trek is through the darkness, we have some light with us. We have Jesus with us. So, it isn't as dark as it might be - not nearly.

Consider your own dark valley. Respond wisely as you walk through it. When you encounter a burst of light, when you encounter some particular good, enjoy it. It is a gift from Jesus, a gift that pushes back the darkness a bit more so that you might enjoy more of what is good. But you will also encounter evil. It may be one of those large crisis points that we all dread, or it just may be one more frustrating day. And when you are confronted with this evil, understand it. It is an expression of the darkness. The shadow of death is still hovering over the saints. You can see evidence of it as you read your Bible. Jesus was physically worn out when He sat by that well before His conversation with the Samaritan woman. That's a taste of the darkness of death. Paul and Barnabas had such a sharp disagreement that they had to part ways. Another taste of the darkness of death. And we all can understand what's going on when we read these words.

For I do not understand my own actions. … For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

As you read your Bible, keep this image from Psalm 23 clearly in mind. These are different expressions of the shadow of death that all the saints experience. As you do that you will come to see more clearly how the shadow of death hovers over you, how you also experience this shadow in your dealings with everyday life. The Psalms are especially helpful here. I say that because we can see the effects of the darkness in the lives of the psalmists. But as you work through a psalm, it is so refreshing to hit that transition point when the shadow thins out and sunlight breaks through again. This is where the psalmist praises God for His faithfulness, for being there with him in the midst of the valley, for leading him away from that experience of evil. Life is a walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

But that's only the half of it. As important as it is to view what is happening now as clearly as possible, it's even more important to view the future as clearly as possible, the future after your resurrection. And David again points the way.

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David experiences some very good things from Jesus, his shepherd, as they walk together through the valley of the shadow of death. But David looks forward to something better. He looks forward to being with his Lord, being a member of His household, forever. And what will he - and you - be doing then as members of the household of God? A common notion is that we will be these gauzy spirits that are sort of there, wherever there is, just floating around being bored. But that isn't how the Bible pictures it. We will be whole people, people with very physical bodies, busily enjoying ourselves. The Bible gives us some images of what that means.

So, there's this from Isaiah.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. ​He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

This is resurrection life. And how is it pictured here? It's pictured as a feast, a party of rich food and really good wine. This isn't some quiet dinner party where people politely talk about nice, safe topics. Those are so boring. No, this party will be very noisy. This will be a party where the people are loud and happy and excited. And all because of what has happened. And what has happened? The shadow of death is gone. Death has been swallowed up by Jesus. It makes sense to picture that as a feast of great food and great friends. It makes sense because you will have a renewed body to enjoy all of that. We will not be bored spirits. We will be very physical bodies enjoying what it means to be physical bodies. And it will be in those very physical bodies that we will enjoy each other. We will have relationships that are completely open and intimate. No walls. No barriers. Nothing to hide. Complete openness matched by complete happiness. And at the head of the table will be Jesus joining in the merriment, flask in hand. There will be lots of talk, cheers and toasts, jokes and laughter and more. But there won't be any tears; not even the least hint of death. And that's why Isaiah adds this:

It will be said on that day, 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.'

Yes, let us be glad for a very physical salvation, one that includes the resurrection of our bodies.

That's one way that the Bible pictures life after our resurrection. Here's another.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Once we have been resurrected we, the Church, will be as a bride on her wedding day, ready for the marriage ceremony to begin. It will be the best wedding ever. But consider what happens after the ceremony and the party that goes along with it. Well, what usually happens after all of that is sex. And that's part of this Bible picture of the coming wedding day. Now, I don't know how that will work. We will have bodies, but we won't be married. So, there's a real gap in my understanding. But however it works, we will enjoy the physical, emotional and relational pleasures of sex - except more so. I know that I'm not supposed to talk about this topic, but I need to so that you get a sense of the earthiness as well as the enjoyment of the coming resurrection. We're not talking about floating on clouds with silly little harps for an eternity. We're going to have new bodies, and we're going to enjoy life with those bodies. So, we'll be eating and drinking and enjoying whatever the fulfillment of sex is going to be. And all of that without the looming shadow of death ready to overshadow our good times and spoil them.

So, what have I done? I have tried to give you a clearer picture of what is and what is to come. I have tried to help you see reality a little better. One day the valley of the shadow of death will be completely gone, entirely in our past. One day we will walk out the other end of that valley and into eternal sunlight. There will be no darkness. So, it makes perfect sense to summarize the Gospel in terms of our hope of the resurrection. We are waiting for God to keep His promise to raise us up. We will be resurrected. And that is something worth hoping for.