BOOK 7. THE RESURRECTION.
CHAPTER 1.
7.1.3. Of the Manner of Christ's Resurrection.
Of the Manner of Christ's Resurrection.
How he rose; for the manner of his resurrection we may consider in it, these particulars; --
1. That Christ rose again as a common person, he stood in our stead, and therefore when he rose from death, we and all the church of Christ, rose together with him and in him. We have formerly observed, that Christ took upon him the person of no man, he took only the nature of man into the union of the second person, that so he might die and rise again, not as a particular, but a common person, that he might be as a representative in our room and stead, that he might be as a spiritual head, and as the second Adam, who could infuse life into all his members. In this respect the apostle makes comparison betwixt Adam and Christ; now Adam, we know, was reckoned before his fall, as a common public person, not standing singly, or alone for himself, but as representing all mankind to come of him; so Jesus Christ is reckoned to us, before his death, and in his death, and after his death, as a common public person, not living, dying or rising again singly, or alone for himself, but as representing all the believers in the world; and hence it is, that Adam is called the first man, and Jesus Christ is called the second man, 1 Cor. xv. 47, as if there never had been, nor ever should be any more men in the world, save only these two; and why? but because these two between them, had all the rest of the sons of men hanging at their girdles: Adam had all the sons of men born in this world, called earthly men, included in him; and Christ had all his elect, whose names are written in heaven, and therefore called heavenly men included in him; so that now whatsoever Christ did, it is reckoned by God, as if done by us, and for us. When Christ arose, he arose as our head, and as a common person, and in God's account we arose with him, and in him. As among all the sheaves in the field, there was some one sheave, that in the name and room of all the rest, was lift up, and waved before the Lord; so when all were dead, Christ as the first-fruits, rose again from the dead, and by this act of his resurrection, all the elect from the beginning of the world to the end, are risen with him, and in him, "He is the first-fruits of them that slept," 1 Cor. xv. 20, though the saints are asleep, yet they are virtually risen already with Christ, because he is their first-fruits. Let this ever be remembered, that Christ rose again as the first-fruits, as the second man, as an head, as a common person.
2. That Christ rose again by his own power, this he meant when he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," John ii. 19. He saith not, destroy you, and some other shall raise it up; no no, but I, even I myself will do it, yea, and I will do it by my own proper power and virtue: here is a plain argument of the divine nature of Christ, for none ever did, ever could do that but God himself: some were raised before Christ was incarnate, but not any by himself, or by his own proper power; only a power was imparted to some prophet by God, for that time and turn, and so they were raised; but Christ rose again, not by a power imparted to some, but by his own power. The widow's son of Sarepta was raised by Elias, and the Shunamite's son was raised by Elisha, both these were raised by others, and those other that raised them, did it not by their own power, but by power given them from above; and therefore, though in their lifetime they raised others, yet being dead they could not raise themselves; but Jesus Christ did not only in his lifetime raise others, but also being dead, and laid in his grave, and pressed with stones, and watched by soldiers, and sought to be detained by all the powers of darkness; yet he is a conqueror, by his own power raised himself to life; he caused all things, by the strength of his own arm, to give way unto himself, "I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it up again," John x. 18, an equal power to take it up as to lay it down.
But against this it may be objected, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus," Acts v. 30. -- "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death," Acts ii. 24. In many places, the resurrection of Christ is ascribed to his Father; how then is he said to raise up himself by his own power?
I answer, it is true that the Father raised him, and yet this contradicts not, but that he raised up himself, "Whatsoever the Father doth, I do," saith Christ, John v. 19. Christ's resurrection is the indivisible work of the blessed Trinity; it is a work common to all the three persons, there is but one power of the Father, and of the Son; so that of both it is truly verified, the Father raised him, and the Son raised himself.
3. That Christ rose again with an earthquake, "And behold there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven," Matt, xxviii. 2. The earth shook at his death, and now it trembles again at his resurrection; plainly speaking, that it could neither endure his suffering, nor hinder his rising. As a lion with a roar is said to make the bed whereon he lies to tremble; so this Lion of the tribe of Judah was able with his voice, or sight, to make his bed (the earth wherein he lay) to tremble; no sooner he shakes himself, but he shakes the earth; at his first motion the earth moves, and now was fulfilled that prophecy, "Tremble thou earth at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob," Psal. cxiv. 7. It is not for us curiously to enquire into the cause of this earthquake: certainly the cause was above nature's reach; it was not any hollow wind got into the bowels of the earth, but either it was Christ's rising, or the angel's descending; the earth either danced for joy that Christ was risen, or it trembled for fear that men would not believe his resurrection. The evangelist seems to lay it on the angel, "For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven," sure the power of angels is very great, they can move all corporeal things almost in an instant, they can stir up tempests, they can shake the earth, move the waters, only all their power is subjected to God's will, "Bless the Lord, all ye angels that excel in strength, that do his will," Psal. ciii. 20. It was the will of God, that now an angel should take hold on the pillars of the earth, and make it shake; no wonder if for "fear of him the keepers shake, and become as dead men," Matt, xxviii. 4. and if one angel be able to shake the earth, and to shake the keepers, those armed soldiers that were set to watch the tomb, what then will Christ himself do, when he shall come to judgment the second time, with many thousand thousands of angels? Oh! how terrible and fearful will his coming be? As at Christ's resurrection, so at the last resurrection there will "be earthquakes in divers places," Matt. xxiv. 7. Christ hath showed, and he will show himself to be the absolute Lord of heaven and earth: see how the earth trembling under his feet, doth (as it were) pay him homage; "And behold there was a great earths quake."
4. That Christ rose again, angels ministering to him, "An angel came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it," Matt, xxviii. 2. Christ's power was not included in the grave, or on the earth, but extended to heaven, and to the hosts therein; however the chief priests and Pharisees conspired together to close him in the earth, they sealed the stone and set a watch, they made all sure as possibly they could; yet the angels of heaven are ready to wait on him as their sovereign Lord. "An angel descended to roll away the stone," not that Christ was unable to do it himself, he shook the earth, and could he not lift a stone? O yes! but this would manifest his power, by declaring his power over the mighty angels; he needed but to say this unto his angel, "do this, and he doth it." I find some difference amongst authors, why an angel should roll away the stone; some think that it was only for the women's sake, that they might go into the sepulchre, and take a view of the empty tomb, and so be satisfied that Christ was not there, but risen, as they said, "Come see the place where the Lord lay," Matt, xxviii. 6. Others think it was to do their office of duty and service to Jesus Christ, to make way for his body to pass out of the grave without any penetration of other bodies; for my part, I adhere to these, though we need not to exclude the former, for the stone might be removed, both that Christ might come forth, and that the women might be convinced that he was risen again. But as for the opinion of them who think the stone was not removed till after the resurrection; and that the body of Christ went through the grave stone when he arose again, it is without all warrant; the very order of nature will not permit that one body should pass through another, without corruption or alteration of either; we say two bodies cannot be together, and at once in one proper place; no more than one body can be together, and at once, in an hundred, or a thousand places; now that angelical argument is full for this, "He is not here, for he is risen," Matt, xxviii. 6. He is not in the grave, for he is risen out of the grave; he could not be in the grave, and out of the grave at one and the same time. But I mean not to dwell on controversial points.
5. That Christ rose again accompanied with others, "And the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints which slept, arose, and came out of their graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many," Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. It may be the graves were opened when Christ was laid down in his grave, yet the spirits came not into the dead bodies till Christ's resurrection; the text is plain that they came not out of their graves till Christ was raised, "Christ is the beginning, (saith the apostle,) Col. i. 18. the first-born from the dead:" How the first-born? I answer, both in time and efficacy.
(a). 1. In time, he rose to eternal life, the first of all men. This was the sum of Paul's preaching, that Christ should suffer, "and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead," Acts xxvi. 23. It is true indeed, that Lazarus, and sundry others, rose before Christ, but they rose to live a mortal life, and to die again: Christ was the first of all that rose to eternal life; never any in the world rose before Christ in this manner.
(b). In respect of efficacy, Christ rose first, that by his power all the rest might rise, there is in Christ's resurrection, a reviving and quickening virtue; and herein is a main difference betwixt the resurrection of Christ, and the resurrection of any other man: the resurrection of Abraham avails nothing to the resurrection of Isaac, or of Jacob, but the resurrection of Christ avails to the resurrection of all that have believed, or that shall believe in him: Is not Christ called "a quickening Spirit?" 1 Cor. xv. 45. How then should he but quicken all his members? When a man is cast into the sea, and all his body is under water, there is nothing to be looked for but present death; but if he carry his head above the water, there is good hope then of a recovery; now Christ is the head unto his church, and therefore he being raised, all his members must follow in their time: no sooner did Christ arise, but many of the bodies of the saints arose, not all that were dead but only some, to show the resurrection of all to come; the time for the whole church's rising being not yet till the great resurrection-day.
It is a question what became of those bodies which now arose? Some think they died again; but it is more probable, that seeing they arose to manifest the quickening virtue of Christ's resurrection, that they were also glorified with Christ; and as they rose with Christ arising, so they ascended up into heaven with Christ ascending.
6. That Christ rose again with a true, perfect, incorruptible, powerful, spiritual, agile, and glorious body.
(a). He had a true body, consisting of flesh, and blood, and bone; so he told his disciples, when they supposed him a spirit, "Handle me, and see, (said he) for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have," Luke xxiv. 39. I know his body after his resurrection was comparatively a spiritual body; yet for all that, he never laid aside the essential properties of a true body, as length, and breadth, and visibility and locality, and the like; he still keepeth those, because they serve to the being of a true body.
(b). He had a perfect body; however, he was cut, and bored, and mangled before his death, yet after his resurrection all was perfect: Eusebius tells of one of the children of the Maccabees, that were put to death for the profession of the truth; and when they cut off his members, says he, "I have received these from heaven, and now I do give them unto the God of heaven, and I hope I shall have them again." Not a member of Christ was wanting, not a bone out of joint, but all was perfect.
(c). He had an incorruptible, immortal body, "To this end (saith the apostle) Christ both died and rose, and revived," Rom, xiv. 9. And why revived? But to show that he rose, never to die again. The apostle is yet more express, "Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over him," Rom. vi. 9. Consonant hereunto is that of Christ, "I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, Amen," Rev. i. 18. And herein the body of Lazarus, and the rest, whom Christ raised, differed from his, for after they were raised, they died again, but Christ died no more.
(d). He had a powerful body, Luther could say of the glorified saints, that they had a power so great, as to toss the greatest mountains in the world like a ball; and Anselm(Ansel. Lib. de simul. Cap. 52.) hath an expression not much unlike, that "they have such a power, as they are able to shake the whole earth at their pleasure." How much more could Christ cause that great earthquake at the rising of his body? O it was powerful!
(e). He had a spiritual body; it needed not meat, drink, and refreshings, as it did before: It is true, that the disciples "gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb, and he took it, and did eat before them," Luke xxiv. 42, 43. but this he did only to confirm their faith, that he appeared solidly, and not imaginary; he eat out of power, and not out of necessity, even as the sun sucks up the water out of power, but the earth out of want: he ate not as standing in need of food, but to show the truth of his being risen again; as the saints in heaven, never eat, nor drink, nor sleep, nor have magistrates, nor ministers, but the Spirit of God is all in all to them: so it was with Christ after his resurrection, he was full of the Spirit; he was enlivened immediately by the Spirit of God, which flowed into him, and that supplied the absence of all other things.
(f). He had an agile body; it was in his pleasure to move as well upwards as downwards, as it may appear by the ascension of his body into heaven, which was not caused by constraint, or by any violent motion, but by a property agreeing to all bodies glorified; Augustine (Aug. Lib. 22, de civit. Die Cap. ult.) hath an expression concerning the glorified saints, "that they shall move to any place they will, and as soon as they will, they shall move up and down like a thought:" how much more may it be said of the body of Christ.
(g). He had a glorious body; this appeared in his transfiguration, "when his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as light," Matt. xvii. 2. but especially after his resurrection and ascension, when "his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace," Rev. i. 14, 15. The glorified bodies of saints which "are fashioned like unto his glorious body," Phil. iii. 21. are said to shine like stars, Dan. xii. 3. or like "the sun itself," Matt, xiii. 43. Oh then! how glorious is the "Sun of righteousness," from whence all those suns and stars do borrow their light? It is true, that from his resurrection until his ascension, his body appeared not thus glorious to them that saw it; but whether this glory was delayed and he was not possessed of it during his forty days abode upon the earth, or whether he so far condescended, for his disciples sake, as to keep in his glory, that it might not dazzle them, and therefore appeared sometimes in the form of "a gardener," John xx. 15. and sometimes in the form of "a stranger," Luke xxiv. 18. and sometimes in "another form," Mark xvi. 12. and sometimes in his own form, in the same form wherein he lived before he was crucified, John xx. 20, 27, it is hard to determine. I am apt to think, that in some sort he might draw in the beams of his glory, and yet that he was not entered into that fulness of glory, as after his ascension; and so some expound these words of Christ to Mary, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father," q.d. Fix not thy thoughts so much upon my present condition, for I am not yet attained to the highest pitch of my exaltation, nor shall I, until "I ascend unto my Father."
Use. From this resurrection of Christ how are we informed, that Christ is the Son of God? Thus Paul speaks, he was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead," Rom i. 4. And how are we informed, that Christ is Lord over all things that are? "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living," Rom. xiv. 9. And how are we informed, that Christ rose again for us, as one that stood in stead and room of all the elect? "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept," 1 Cor. xv. 20. And how are we informed, that by his resurrection we are justified? "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification," Rom. iv. 25. And that by his resurrection we are regenerate? For "he hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," 1 Pet. i. 3. And that by his resurrection we are sanctified? For "as he was raised up from the dead by the glory of his Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life," Rom. vi. 4. And that by his resurrection at the last day we shall be raised? For "if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, shall also quicken our mortal bodies," Rom. viii. 11. And that by his resurrection, finally we shall be saved? For after we are raised, "we shall never die any more, but be equal unto the angels, and be the children of God, as being the children of the resurrection of Christ," Luke xx. 36.
Thus far of the position, "Christ rose again the third day." Now for the proof.