Daily Manna from Heaven

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” -Hebrews 2:9

Ahmed Ibrahim Awadh was supposed to have died. A corpse had washed up on the Mediterranean cost and was identified as his body. Of course, people mourned. He was only 30 years of age, and the best part of his life seemingly had been cut short.

As is the custom in Cairo, a funeral tent had been erected, and family sat there, misty eyed, honoring the dead man when suddenly things turned around. Ahmed—the man who was supposed to have died—walked into the tent, looking as healthy as he was when he was last seen.

No, he had not risen from the dead. It was a matter of mistaken identity. Actually, he had been at the beach, and while he was there, a thief had stolen his wallet, including his identification. Apparently it was the body of the thief which had washed ashore. Once the grief-stricken mourners recovered from their shock, the funeral turned into a celebration. Ahmed was not dead. He was alive.

As I heard of this bizarre turn of events, I couldn’t help thinking that in a sense Jesus Christ also came to His own funeral; but there was one massive difference between the funeral turned celebration of Ahmed Ibrahim Awadh and that Jesus Chirst. Ahmed had not died. People only thought he had. But there is absolutely no questioning the fact that when Jesus Christ reversed the mourning of his disciples, he had been absolutely dead.

On Good Friday, the world pauses and remembers what happened at the crucifixion. Is there any chance that Jesus might not have really died? That He might simply have been taken from the cross, weakened or even unconscious, and then recovered? Not a chance in the world. The Roman soldiers who put him on that cross were professional executioners—not Hollywood stunt men who bumbled the job. They were executioners to whom dying men were common. A thorough discussion of what crucifixion entailed would take much longer than time allows and isn’t really necessary. History speaks for itself.

John, an eyewitness to what took place, describes the soldiers, who, wanting to hasten death, broke the legs of the criminals who were executed with Christ. “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead,” says John, “they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:33,34).

Then the body of a lifeless Jesus was washed, anointed with spices and wrapped for burial. There was no life or breath in His body. When Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb of a wealthy friend, Joseph of Arimathea, he was dead—of that there was no question. But the story doesn’t end here. Three days later, Jesus turned mourning into rejoicing. He rose from the dead in a never-to-be-repeated drama that turned weeping into dancing.

Ahmed, the young man who came to his own funeral, will perhaps live for another 30 or 40 years, but then there will be a funeral again, and he will be the main feature. But because Jesus died and rose again, He will never see death. The writer of Hebrews says that He tasted death for all men (see Hebrews 2:9), and the word which the writer used means He experienced death for all men. That’s good news, friend. Yes, it is totally worthwhile to pause and reflect upon the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

But please remember, Easter Sunday follows Good Friday. The resurrection follows the crucifixion, and some day God will forever turn morning into rejoicing for His children. That’s what the Gospel is all about. Yes, thank God Jesus turned the tragedy of his death into the victory of His resurrection.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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