Today is the Day of Victory, folks! It’s the big Day on our Calendar. This is the crux point of the Biblical story; the turning point in history. It is the day God stepped into the world, succumbed to Death and all the destruction that goes with it, and then refused to be taken down by it. He conquered the grave, rose up from death, and handed us the ticket to the Kingdom. The end. That’s the story. Let’s have lunch!
Okay, I suppose there’s a little bit more to say…
This is the third day of our series “On the Third Day”. We’ve looked at where this phrase shows up in the Old Testament: in the story of Abraham and Isaac, in the story of Joseph in Egypt; we’ve looked how this phrase ties into the third day of Creation. We’ve seen where this phrase shows up in the life of Jesus: when He was 12 years old, debating in the Temple, and we’ve seen how His first public miracle of turning water into wine occurred “on the third day”, which led to his final public miracle, rising from the dead, on the third day… which is what we’re celebrating today.
Today was the morning Jesus announced that death had lost its power. It had NO hold on Him. He had conquered it… not just for Himself, but for everyone.
It’s important to note that Jesus did not keep this divine plan a secret. Long before He dragged the cross to His death, He told the disciples all about what was to come:
Luke 18:31-34
Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.”
The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
Jesus was pretty clear, so I find it hard to understand how they didn’t get it. But when you blindly listen, you cannot see with your ears… and so they missed what was being said. But notice that He says that the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures wrote all about what was to come… and it would be fulfilled, through Him.
Jesus even hinted to the Pharisees that He had a goal and it would happen “on the third day”:
Luke 13:31-32
At that very time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away and leave this place, because Herod wants to kill You.”
And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I reach My goal.’”
What was the goal He would reach “on the third day”? The Pharisees had no idea what He meant by that. So this takes us to our final look at the third day theme. There’s a moment in the story when the scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus:
Luke 12:38-40
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”
What did they ask of Jesus? “We want a sign.”
Jesus’ response: “Oh, you’ll get a sign!”
But first He claims: “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign.”
The thing is, the Scriptures are filled with signs and wonders, but these people wanted it handed to them. They flirted and fell for paganism because it was handed to them… it was an easy grab. God does not pander to the masses. He’s not going to beg you to believe in Him. Jesus basically said, “You want a sign? Read the story!” It’s all there. The Hebrew Scriptures outlined what was to come regarding the Messiah who would save the world. It tells the whole story, all the way to the end. Everything we need to know is in the story!
Quickly. What’s the story of Jonah? God called on him to share the message of life to Israel’s big enemy: the Assyrians. Jonah didn’t want to do it, so he ran away, got on a ship and headed in the opposite direction, as far as he could get from Assyria. But a storm rose up, and Jonah went down into the sea. He was swallowed by a great sea beast and in the depths Jonah prayed for deliverance. On the third day his prayers were answered and Jonah rose up out of the sea and found himself spit out, and rescued, back on dry land… the place that shows up on the third day of creation… the dry land… the place where humans can live, and breathe, and thrive.
The third day is the triumphant rescue… the day of victory where life wins… and death is defeated.
We’ve said this a few times in this series: there’s the day we’re born, the day we live, and the day we die… the third day. But if we choose life then the day we die is also the day we live because the Creator of the Universe has no limits. He is the God of Life and Living, and He stands opposed to Death and Destruction. So the fact that the crux of the Biblical story is centered on bringing Life out of death, on the third day, draws a line in the sand about the character of God. YHWH is all about LIFE, and He demands nothing from us, instead He gives us a choice:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving YHWH your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which YHWH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
In the context of the story, YHWH was speaking to Moses and his people, and they ached for the Promised Land. But this is a two-fold promise and it speaks universally to all people.
The Promised Land is also the Place where God resides… we’re all made to return to Eden, the Garden Kingdom where God waits for us. It’s the life we’re waiting to live, when this one comes to its end. It’s our life, here and now, and we get to choose what happens to it, but God implores us to…
Choose life in order that you may live.
We must be active participants in our decision to live and to live well. If we choose life, death cannot swallow us up in its victory… because Jesus took the win! He claimed victory for everyone who chooses Life. Jesus said:
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.
So with all this in mind, let’s take a moment to read the story of the third day that all the “day-three” stories have been pointing to. This morning we’ll read Luke’s account:
Luke 24:1-27
But on the first day of the week [but the third day since the crucifixion], at early dawn [poetically, when the Sun/Son is rising], they [the women] came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.”
And they remembered His words, and [the women] returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them [the men] as nonsense, and they would not believe the women.
Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped and looked in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
And behold, on that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus [“hot spring”], which was sixty stadia [10-12 km] from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they came to a stop, looking sad.
One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?”
And He said to them, “What sort of things?”
And they said to Him, “Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel [they were expecting a different kind of redemption]. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
But also some women among us left us bewildered. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”
And then He said to them, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and to come into His glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.
First of all, women, if you’ve ever felt like you’re a lesser being in life… let this be a lesson to you. Jesus does not see you that way. He chastised these men for not believing the women. “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe.” Christianity spread like wildfire in the first century for many reasons, but a very big reason was because women were given a voice. This was a radical change of events for women living in the very suppressive and patriarchal Greco-Roman society. Over and over, Jesus and Paul put women in the forefront of their ministry. It’s no wonder that women were drawn to Christianity. Who was the first person that Jesus announced His Messiahship to? The Samaritan woman at the well. And then she went to her hometown as the first Preacher of the Good News. According to the Bible, who financially supported Jesus’ ministry? Women. Who was the first European convert to Christianity? Lydia in Philippi. Who delivered Paul’s letter to the Romans? Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2). Who co-founded a church in Athens? Damaris.
Who were the first to announce the Good News that Jesus came back from death? The women at the tomb… but the disciples “would not believe the women”… until Jesus called them a bunch of fools.
But Jesus didn’t give up on them. Instead, He went through God’s Word and pointed out all the times you could see Him in the Hebrew Scripture. He opened their eyes to the knowledge of what was written in the story.
I love that! What an amazing Bible study that would have been!
And here’s what’s brilliant about the Bible: the whole story… made up of many books, written by many authors, over a vast amount of time… is so complex, and multi-layered, but, at the same time, it’s such a simple story:
I have laid before you life and death.
Choose life in order that you may live.
It’s what the whole world wants, but they’re blind to it.
The world is so wrapped up in death and destruction, confusion and chaos that people are blind to the intimacy of the Biblical story and they’re distracted from the simple choice they’ve been given. Choose life in order that you may live.
If you don’t make a choice the default is death. The prayer is simple: God, I want to live. I want to live in Your Presence. When my day here is done, I want to live with You. I want to walk alongside You in Your Garden. Death be damned. I want to live… I choose life.
Make your choice, but I implore you: Let your personal third day be a day of victory… not defeat.
Hebrew Word Lessons 