Anticipation....

 

 Imagine the anticipation of all the followers of Jesus as they waited for his resurrection!  They witnessed the crucifixion and saw that He was buried over the Sabbath but they had to be on pins and needles waiting for that third day!  I know I would be!

But, wait….  Why are the women showing up the third day with more burial oils?  That seems strange to me.  You know what that means, don’t you – time to research.  And my findings are really mind-boggling!  None of the books in the Old Testament have any real reference to the resurrection, at least none that I and several biblical theologians could find. 

The closest reference might possibly be the story of Jonah and the whale, one that Jesus alludes to in Matthew 16:1-4 when the Pharisees and Sadducees request a sign from Heaven and Jesus responds “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will see it, except the sign of Jonah.”

There is much Old Testament testimony describing Jesus as a great prophet and as the Savior and even describing the final passion.  I’m sure you are aware of a lot of these passages in the Bible.  If not, check Deuteronomy, the Psalms or Isaiah.

But the first prediction of the passion is from Jesus to his disciples in Luke 9:21-22, when Jesus “directed them not to tell this to anyone.  He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.””

Even the disciples didn’t truly understand this and had to see it to believe it!  Jesus rose from the dead and presented himself to selected disciples for 40 days before ascending into Heaven!  In Jesus’ own words "from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God."  (Luke 22:69)

  but for us...

A n t i c i p a t i o n !