Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 2:31, “He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”
When I looked up the definition of dead, it was defined as “no longer alive.” Without looking further, I figured that alive could be defined as “not dead.” Unfortunately, this circular logic wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I sought out the legal definition of dead. There are varying versions, but generally a human is dead when his “heart and lungs have irreversibly ceased to function.” Jesus knew that eventually His heart was going to stop beating and His lungs would no longer function. But about a thousand years earlier, David knew the same thing. He knew that God had promised a Messiah and that He was to come from the bloodline of David. And he knew that the Messiah would one day breathe His last. But he also knew that a resurrection was going to be involved, even if he didn’t understand when or how. To whatever extent he grasped the reality of the prophecy, David knew that the body and soul of the Deliverer would be separated, but only for a short time. He knew the soul would not be left with the dead, and the lifeless body would not linger long enough to decay. And so, on the cross, we have that moment when the inexplicable occurs. The Son of God dies. His soul leaves His body and a real death takes place. He is no longer alive.
But for David, and for Jesus and the many who proclaimed it afterwards, the death was not so perplexing as one might think it should be when juxtaposed alongside an eternal person of the Trinity. For the resurrection was the point of the crucifixion. The coming back could not come without the complete ending and departure. Had sin been able to have its way and leaves its mark, had the soul done something different or the body begun to waste away, then how complete would God’s claim actually be? It had to be the way it was. God knew it, Jesus knew it, and David knew it. And just as certain is your position in the hands of God. He has you, if you have Him. He foresaw it, and His eyes do not play tricks on Him.
As we seek Him today, find rest and peace in the assurance of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
Have a great Thursday, and I will be with you again on Monday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
