“Why seek ye the living among the dead?”
The resurrected Jesus revealed Himself firstly to those who had gone to his tomb in search of His body. The angels told the women including Mary Magdalene who looked for the body of Jesus, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:5-6).Do we seek the living among the dead today? The living Lord is not present in the churches who do not believe in His power of resurrection or who believe in dead traditions or dead formalities, which have nothing to do with the doctrines of the Bible. The Holy Spirit moves in the midst of His people who worship Him in truth and in spirit and who do His will in His vineyard. The Holy Spirit does not lead any people who do their own will, which is quite contrary to the doctrines of Christ. Today we do not bring our actions in conformity with His Word. But we try to quote His Word to justify our unscriptural action by quoting the Word from its one side. We cannot find the living Lord in our midst when we are bent on doing our own will.
Then these women relayed the news of His resurrection to the apostles. However, the apostles did not believe them because the words of these women seemed to them like idle tales. What a pity! The apostles, who were with Jesus during His three and half years’ ministry and who witnessed the mighty miracles performed by Jesus, did not believe the truth of His resurrection. Jesus had told them umpteen times about His death and resurrection. However, they believed the truth of His death because they had either witnessed His crucifixion from afar or heard from those who had witnessed it. It is unfortunate that they did not believe the truth of His resurrection even after hearing the first-hand report conveyed to them by these women. The devil had blinded their eyes to the truth of His resurrection.
Similarly, we do not want to see through our prophetic eyes the brighter side of our life in Christ. However, we always look at our past life, our diseases, our losses or our past failures. Let us forget today the past but look unto the future, which has the power of His resurrection (Phil.3: 10). The Holy Spirit leads us to believe in the power of His resurrection.
Paul says, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead….” (Phil.3: 10-11). Paul first mentions about the power of His resurrection and then mentions about the fellowship of His sufferings.
Majority of the people of this world believe the truth of crucifixion of Jesus, and not the truth of His resurrection.
Even the two disciples, who were on the way to Emmaus, believed His crucifixion. However, they pondered on “the theory of His resurrection” through their power of reasoning. The same Jesus, Who was always with them as their Master and Teacher, appeared as a stranger to them now. Verse 16 says that their eyes were restrained so that they did not know Him.
Similarly, having claimed to have spent most part of our Christian life in fellowship with Him, we do not know Him and His body yet. We worship Him in our churches but do not know Him and His body. I want to make it very clear that knowing Christ means knowing Him and His Body, the universal Church.
The apostles believed Him only as “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people (Vs. 19). Oh, they could not recognize Him as the Son of God after His resurrection. Their eyes of unbelief removed Him from their heart so that they could not recognize Him. Jesus rebuked them, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken….” (Vs.25).
He then expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself, beginning at Moses and all the prophets. Nevertheless, they could not still recognize Him. When the Lord Himself expounded all the scriptures to them, they could not recognize Him. Similarly, these days, the people of God hear many sermons based on the scriptures but still do not recognize Him. What a tragedy!
Jesus even stayed with these two disciples at night on their request. Even during His stay with them, they could not recognize Him. When did they recognize Him?
“And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight” (Vs.30-31).
We should now know the most important truth of His resurrection. The bread is symbolical of the Body of Christ, the universal Church. As the people of God fellowship with one another in His Body, they do get revelation of Christ. In other words, we recognize the living Christ through His multi-member Body that was resurrected and glorified.
The apostles did not get revelation of Christ even through the Scriptures when Jesus expounded the scriptures to them and also when He stayed with them at night. Merely remaining with a local church and without having fellowship with His universal body is not enough. As I partake of the Lord’s Table in my church, I always remember the universal Body of Christ, especially those members of His body who undergo persecution in different parts of the world. WILL YOU PLEASE RECOGNIZE CHRIST AND HIS BODY TODAY? You can find the living Christ only in the midst of His people who are united together in His Body, and not in the midst of dead churches who do not believe in the power of His resurrection and who are not of His one Body. Let us not seek the living among the dead!
- Job Anbalagan