BEHOLD, I SHOW YOU A MYSTERY!

All of us wonder about life after death.  What is heaven like?  What will it be like to live forever?  And we also wonder what our bodies will be like in heaven and after the Resurrection.  Will we have spirit bodies that float around like that of ghosts, as some would have us believe?

These bodies of ours get old.  We hurt, we grieve, we go through great trials, and we wonder when it will ever end.  We wonder when Jesus is coming back, and wonder about the Resurrection.  The Apostle Paul calls it a “Mystery.”

We all have seen loved ones die, some tragically and we wonder “why?”  Some of us have seen children die of cancer and accidents and we hurt, grief hurts.  Some of our loved ones have had cancer and other terminal diseases and we have seen them suffer in pain.  And then, as I do, wonder what our loved ones are like in heaven.  “What will Grandma (Grandpa) look like?”

Let’s go into the Word of God and see what the scriptures teach us about these questions.  We know that God’s Word is true and brings us peace.  The Apostle Paul had much to say in I Corinthians 15:15-52:  “Behold I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed –In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

As Paul states, it is all a mystery.  In the twinkling of an eye we will be changed, both the living and the dead, and this change will take place at the last trumpet.  What has been true about Jesus and true about those who have died before us is true for us as believers.  We will be recognizable, though the form may be different.  As an example let us look at Jesus after He was resurrected.

In Luke 24:36-43, we read: “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”  And they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, “Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  “Behold My hands and My feet, that it I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took and ate in their midst.”

We see in this passage, that Jesus appeared in their midst.  He was flesh and bones.  And He ate before them.  We see in John 21 that He even cooked a meal on the seashore and ate with His disciples. 

In John 20: 25-28, we read about Thomas and Jesus appearing to him: “The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”  So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”  And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them.  Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”  Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and teach your hand here, and put it into My side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

We see Jesus again mentioning His scars on His hands and side and in Luke He mentions the scars on His feet.  There is a wonderful thought here.  Jesus’ scars were on His body after the resurrection, and also as He ascended into Heaven, where He is at the right hand of His Father.  Jesus will have those scars throughout eternity, as a reminder to us of His great love for us.  We will always be reminded by those scars of His step into our world, to die for us so we could spend eternity with Him.  Oh, how Precious is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Here is a wonderful old hymn written by Fanny Crosby:

MY SAVIOUR FIRST OF ALL

When my life work is ended, and I cross the swelling tide, when the bright and glorious morning I shall see; I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side, and His smile will be the first to welcome me. 

CHORUS:  I shall know Him, I shall know Him, and redeemed by His side I shall stand, I shall know Him, I shall know Him, by the print of the nails in His hands.

Paul goes on to say in I Corinthians 15:54-55: “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is thy sting?” O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death and the victory of the grave have been observed by all of us who have seen loved ones and friends die, and stood by a grave and wept.  It hurts!  Paul is not suggesting that death is always easy to accept.  He was saying, “Death does not end it.  There is more.”  As we are encouraged to prepare for all stages of life, from childhood to old age, we are also encouraged to prepare for life after death.  We don’t know what a spiritual body looks like, but if we now are fearfully and wonderfully made, as the psalmist said, then it has to be a glorious creation.

So in conclusion, we will be changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye.  And what kind of body will we have?  We will have a body just like Jesus!

Even David in the Psalms knew what awaited him:  As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness."  Psalm  17:15

 We have another wonderful promise in I John 3:2-3: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”

We don’t know what we are going to be like, but when we finally see Jesus face to face and see Him, just as He is, we will be changed and have a glorious new body just like his, no more pain, sorrow, sickness or tears.  Forever we will be with Jesus.  Praise the Lord!

In His Name,

Pastor Sharon Besler