Deep and varied as are the necessities of the soul, they are all met by the death and resurrection of Christ. If it is a question of sin that affects the soul, the resurrection is the glorious proof of the complete putting away of it. He “was delivered for our offences”; He took upon Him our iniquities and went down into the grave. But God “raised Him from the dead,” and by so doing expressed His full approval of the work of redemption. Resurrection, therefore, meets the need of the soul as to the question of sin.
When we proceed further and enter upon the difficult path of Christian testimony, we find that Jesus risen is the remedy for all the ills of life. This is exemplified for us in John 20. Mary goes to the sepulcher early in the morning. And, as we learn from Mark’s Gospel, her heart was not only sad at the loss of her gracious Friend, but also tried by the difficulty of removing the stone from the mouth of the cave. The resurrection at once removed her burden. She found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher, and she found also her beloved Lord. Such mighty things could resurrection accomplish on behalf of a needy mortal!
Resurrection
It is the same with us now. Have our hearts been broken and bereaved by the stern, rude hand of death? What is the remedy? Resurrection. Yes; resurrection, that great restorer, remedies all ills. If the heart is bowed down with sorrow by the ravages of death, resurrection heals and binds it up by securing the reunion with all who have gone before; “even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him” (1 Thess. 4:1414For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14)). It is commonly thought that time fills up all the blanks which death has made in the affections, but the spiritual mind could never regard time as a substitute for resurrection and its immortal joys. This world may perhaps find in passing circumstances something to fill up the void which death makes, but not so the Christian; to him resurrection is the grand object. It is the only instrument by which all his losses can be retrieved and all his evils remedied.
So also in the matter of pressure from present circumstances; the only relief is in resurrection. We may, like Mary, feel disposed to cry out, “Who shall roll us away the stone?” The risen Jesus! We may have many a burden to carry, no doubt, but our burdens shall not sink us into the dust, because our hearts are buoyed up by the blessed truth that our Head is risen from the dead and that our place is there with Him. Faith leads the soul upward into the holy serenity of the divine presence; it enables us to cast our burden on the Lord and to rest assured that He will sustain us.
The Stone Rolled Away
How often have we shrunk from the thought of some trial which appeared in the distance like a dark cloud; yet, when we approached it, we found “the stone taken away from the sepulcher.” The risen Jesus had rolled it away and filled up the scene with the light of His own gracious countenance. Mary had come to the sepulcher expecting to find a great stone between her and the Object of her affections, but instead of that she found Jesus risen between her and the dreaded difficulty. She had come to anoint a dead body, but arrived to be blessed and made happy by a risen Savior. Such is God’s way; such the power and value of resurrection.
When John, in the island of Patmos, had fallen to the dust as one dead (Rev. 1:1717And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: (Revelation 1:17)), what was it that raised him up? Resurrection, the living Jesus: “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.” Communion with Him who had wrested life from the very grasp of death removed his fears and infused divine strength into his soul.
The Grave Clothes
In the case of Peter and John too we find another instance of the power of resurrection. In them it is not so much a question of burden, as of difficulty. Their minds were evidently puzzled by all that met their view at the sepulcher. To see grave clothes so carefully arranged in the very tomb was unaccountable. But they were puzzled only because “as yet they knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” Nothing but resurrection could solve their difficulty. Had they known that, they would have been at no loss to account for the arrangement of the grave clothes; they would have known that the Destroyer of death had been there doing His mighty work and had left behind Him the traces of His triumph.
However, Peter and John did not know this, and therefore they went away to their own home. The strength of Mary’s affection made her linger still; she would rather weep near the spot where her Lord was laid than go anywhere else. But resurrection settled everything. It filled up the blank in Mary’s broken heart, and it solved the difficulty in the minds of Peter and John. Jesus risen is the sovereign remedy for all evils, and nothing is needed but faith to use Him.
The Closed Doors
In chapter 20:19 we have a fresh illustration of the principle on which we are dwelling. “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” Here the closed door evidenced the fear of the disciples. And what could remedy their fear? Nothing but communion with their risen Lord. He appeared among them; He pronounced His benediction upon them: “Peace be unto you.” Who could harm them while they had in their midst the mighty Vanquisher of death and hell?
The peace that flows from fellowship with the risen Son of God cannot be ruffled by the changes and storms of this world; it is the peace of the inner sanctuary, the peace of God which passes all understanding. Why are we so much troubled at times by the condition of things around us? Surely because we are not walking with our eye steadily fixed on Him who was dead but who is alive forevermore. The politics and the commerce of earth would find their proper place in our hearts if we could remember that we “are dead” and our “life is hid with Christ in God.”
Our Commonwealth
But “our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens” (Phil. 3:2020For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (Philippians 3:20) JND). If we see ourselves only as earthly men, we shall be occupied with earthly things; but if we see ourselves as heavenly men, we shall as a consequence be occupied about heavenly things. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:11If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)). This is simple. “Things... above” are those which we are commanded to seek, and that because we are risen with Christ. Abraham was a pilgrim on earth because he sought a heavenly country; the believer is a pilgrim because he has gotten a heavenly country. The Christian should regard himself as one who has come from heaven to go through the scenes and engagements of earth. This would impart a high and heavenly tone to his character and walk here.
It may be remarked in conclusion that the Lord Jesus remedied the fear of His poor disciples by coming into their midst and associating Himself with them in all their circumstances. It was not so much a question of actual deliverance from the matter that caused the fear, but rather raising their souls above it by fellowship with Himself. They forgot the Jews, they forgot their fear, they forgot everything, because their souls were occupied with their risen Lord.
Fellowship in Trials
The Lord’s way is often to leave His people in trial and to be with them in it. Paul might desire to get rid of the thorn, but the answer was, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” It is a far richer mercy to have the grace and presence of Jesus in the trial than to be delivered from it. May it be our heart’s desire to find ourselves in company with the risen Lord as we pass through this trying scene, and whether it be the furnace of affliction or the storm of persecution, we shall have peace; whether it be the bereavement of the heart, the burden of the shoulder, the difficulty of the mind, the fear or unbelief of the heart — all will be remedied by fellowship with Him who was raised from the dead.
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)