Christ, Being Raised From the Dead, Dies No More, Rom. 6. 9

[Quotations taken from the New King James Bible]

I was struck, some time ago, by the line of a hymn: ‘the Saviour rose no more to die’.¹

That expression, ‘dies no more’, immediately puts the resurrection of our Lord Jesus into an entirely different category to the resurrection of all others who had been raised previously (ranging from the young son of the widow of Zarephath through to Lazarus of Bethany) for, in each and every other case, the one who died had been raised to continue the same kind and quality of life which they had lived before -and, therefore, to die again.

But not so our Lord Jesus. ‘Christ, having been raised out of the dead, dies no more‘.²

In passing, this explains why the Apostle Paul - in full knowledge of many earlier cases of resurrection - is able to assure King Agrippa in Acts chapter 26, ‘that the Christ’ was ‘the first to rise from the dead’³ - not, there, as Paul says elsewhere, ‘the firstborn from the dead’⁴ in rank and status - but ‘the first to rise from the dead’ in time.

Although our Lord rose with a body having ‘flesh and bones’ - as He demonstrated to ten of His apostles on the evening of His resurrection⁵ - unlike all those raised before Him, He went through death, out the other side, bursting forth into an altogether different dimension, rising to new life with a very different body - a body which could, for instance, pass with ease through both (i) the walls of Joseph of Arimathea’s rock-tomb⁶‘very early … on the first day of the week’⁷ and (ii) the walls of the upper room where the apostles cowered in fear of the Jews before that day was out.⁸

I want to focus on several contrasts between the resurrection of our Lord and the resurrection, some short time before, of His friend⁹Lazarus.

I know that these two resurrections shared much in common - not least in (i) that both tombs¹⁰ were sealed by a large stone and (ii) that both resurrections followed God ‘hearing’ prayers offered up by our Lord.

As far as Lazarus’s resurrection is concerned, I refer to the Saviour’s prayer of thanksgiving after men removed the stone from the tomb and prior to His loud summoning of Lazarus to ‘come forth’ - ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’, John 11. 41.

And, as far as our Lord’s own resurrection is concerned, I refer to that which the writer to the Hebrews records in chapter 5, how that, Jesus ‘offered up prayers and supplications, with … [loud] cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him out of¹¹ death, and was heard’¹² - as I understand it, ‘heard’ in that He was delivered ‘out of death’ by His resurrection.

But, make no mistake, though sharing much in common with it, our Lord’s own resurrection was very different to that of Lazarus. For example:

1. Lazarus’s return to life was only temporary. Lazarus would die again.¹³ He was, if you like, only out on parole, required to report back to death and the grave in due course.

But the Lord Jesus did not leave His tomb on short-term release! ‘Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more’ for, in the tomb of Jesus, the mighty ‘king of terrors’¹⁴ was compelled to lay his sceptre at His feet.¹⁵

2. Lazarus rose with the same kind of natural and mortal body he had before. It was a body which did not (and, indeed, could not) pass through his graveclothes. Hence, the Lord’s command to those who stood around, ‘Loose him, and let him go’. Lazarus could not pass through his graveclothes, let alone through the walls of his rock tomb,¹⁶ and, when he emerged from his tomb, he still had the napkin (the kerchief) wrapped either over or around his face.¹⁷

But, unlike Lazarus, the Lord Jesus did not need anyone to loose Him, and let Him go! His body simply passed out of His graveclothes. And Joseph’s rock-hewn tomb could no more hold Him captive than could His graveclothes!

3. It was men who, in response to our Lord’s express command, rolled away the stone from the tomb of Lazarus.¹⁸

But it was not men who moved the large stone from the tomb of Jesus; it was an angel from heaven!¹⁹

Men shifted the stone from the tomb of Lazarus to let him out, although whether he walked or shuffled out, I cannot say. But, as has often been pointed out, the angel did not open the tomb of Jesus to let Him out; the angel opened His tomb to let others in, that they might see for themselves that the tomb was well and truly empty. Its triumphant and all-glorious tenant had already vacated the premises.

4. After the removal of the stone and our Lord’s quickening word, Lazarus came out of his tomb by the very same door through which, several days before, he had been carried in.

But, when His time came, the Lord Jesus did not emerge by the door through which, several days before, He had been carried in. For, when the angel rolled back the stone from His tomb, the Lord Jesus did not come out. He had already left.

5. In John chapter 11 verse 25, the Saviour claimed to be ‘the resurrection and the life’ and the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead demonstrated the truth of His claim.

But, previously, in John chapter 10 verse 18, our Lord had claimed to have the authority, not only to lay down His life of His own accord, but also to take it again. And this time, His own resurrection from the dead demonstrated the truth of His claim!

The Apostle Paul made it clear in the first main section of his Ephesian letter that the same God who shows ‘the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us’,²⁰ first exerted ‘the exceeding greatness of His power . . . in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places’.²¹

Latching onto that expression, ‘seated Him at His right hand’, we cannot help recall the assertion of the writer to the Hebrews that it was after ‘this Man … had offered one sacrifice for sins’ that He ‘sat down on the right hand of God’.²²

Mark that phrase, ‘one sacrifice for sins’. For, as we quoted earlier, ‘Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more‘.

As we ‘proclaim the Lord’s death’²³each Lord’s Day, we rejoice to know that death to be an altogether unique event - never to be repeated - never needing to be repeated - for,

‘He rose triumphantly
In power and majesty;
The Saviour rose no more to die’.

And that same risen, glorified Lord comes to us and declares (as once to John on Patmos), ‘I am He who lives, and became dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore’.²⁴