On Sabbath we celebrated the rise of the Tomb Raider by reflecting on the meaning of the resurrection.
As Jesus breathed His last that fateful Friday, it appeared Satan had won. But things were not as bad as they looked. The King had another move. With a loud cry, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). But what if these last words of Jesus were a prophetic declaration instead of a dying epitaph?
Rewind to John 5:25-28. Jesus had prophesied that a time was coming, and had already come, when the dead would hear his voice and live. Lazarus was but a foretaste of what was to come. Jesus had cried out Lazarus’ name specifically, “in a loud voice,” and the dead man came out. (See John 11:43-44.) This was a warm-up prior to the atonement.
But now, as the atonement was completed, Jesus calls out again in a loud voice—loud enough for His sleeping saints to hear and obey. He calls out, not in defeat, but in the voice of a Commander: “It is finished!” (Literally, “Paid in full!”) That cry shakes the earth and opens their graves even as He prepares to enter His. (See Matt. 27:51-53.)
Satan thought he put Jesus in the tomb, but it was a trap. Jesus put Himself in the tomb to pay our debt and become a tomb raider. He went in so He could bring captives out. Other tomb raiders are mortal with power only to take up the loot of the deceased. But this Tomb Raider had power to take up the life of the deceased. He left the stuff and looted the living souls. In the nail scarred hands of the Tomb Raider, death lost its grip and “passed over” these sleeping saints because, before they slept, they were marked by the blood!
Satan moved to seal the tomb, but God had already sealed His Son. And the seal of God always trumps the seal of satan. Death couldn’t hold Him and early Sunday morning, The Tomb Raider rose proclaiming, “Checkmate!” And with Him came the first fruits of what was to come at the great Resurrection Day yet to come. (See 1 Thess. 4:16-17.)
Not to be outdone, the devil thought he could cover up the “jailbreak” by having the Jewish leaders bribe the soldiers to tell a lie. (See Matt. 28:11-15.) But God had another move. Just as God supplied His own chorus of angels to celebrate the birth of His son, the Tomb Raider supplied his own witnesses to contradict the false witness of the soldiers. For 40 days the resurrected holy ones “went into the holy city and appeared to many people” (Matt. 27:53). For every lie, there was a once-dead saint, now living proof that Jesus was alive!
And today Jesus lives in every believer who has died to self and risen to newness of life in the baptisms of water and “fire” by the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, God has “dropped the mic” on the devil.
In light of Christ’s victory, how then shall we live? Live like your tomb has already been raided! If you know that there’s a “no occupancy” sign in your coffin before you get there, you know you can’t stay there. We are to live like the disciples lived—in no fear of death because of the rise of the Tomb Raider. Do you know Him today?
If you’re hurting today because your past or present is burying you alive, you need the Tomb Raider to set you free. Hear Him calling to you in a loud voice, “Come out! Live free of shame. Live free of torment. I am the resurrection and the life….Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25, 26). If you believe in the Resurrected One, your tomb is raided right now! You’ve been served an eviction notice on your grave. Over your life of sin, regret, and shame, Jesus has nailed a No Occupancy notice, signed in His own blood. You can enter your week today a free man or a free woman. And you can say to the devil, “Checkmate!” The Tomb Raider has set me free!
In case you hadn’t heard: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Now live like it. –Pastor Randy
