Calendar date: November 9
Day of the Year: 313
Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading (use your browser arrow to return): Mark 15:42–16:8; Matthew 27:57–28:10; Luke 23:50–24:12; John 19:38–20:18
How Life comes from a Planted Seed
How could we have a harvest unless we first planted seeds? When we put seeds in the ground, we expect or at least hope for some fruit, flower, or plant to sprout within days or weeks. Does the seed have any life? It doesn’t appear so. It's a strange mystery that unless a seed dies, it can't produce life. When the seed’s shell softens in the ground, it somehow germinates, puts forth roots, and then sprouts out of the earth. After that, it produces a harvest of fruit, and with it, many more seeds. Jesus said,
The hour has come for the Son of Man [a reference to himself] to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:23-24, NIV).
Jesus' Death was like a Planted Seed
Jesus Christ gave up his life on the cross. In his burial, he was like a planted seed.
What glory is there in that? None. However, when a seed sprouts, we see its beauty. Jesus died, and his disciples buried him in a tomb. No one thought of him as a seed that would sprout. Something or someone dead is without life, and Jesus was dead. His disciples and other followers were hopeless. Deceased people don't come back to life.
How, then, could Jesus be glorified? The answer is that he would rise from the dead! Jesus predicted his resurrection. When challenged by the Jewish religious leaders to prove his authority, he answered them,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
Thinking he was talking about the newly rebuilt and expanded Jewish temple,
The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”
But the temple he had spoken of was his body (John 2:19-21, NIV).
Later,
“Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21, NIV).
Both Jesus’ disciples and his enemies knew what he said (Matthew 27:63-64).
How many days was Jesus planted in the tomb?
Many have asked this question about the resurrection: if Jesus died on Friday and then came back to life three days later, how can Jesus have arisen on Sunday? Here's the answer: The Jewish people count any part of a day as a day. Jesus died on the Preparation Day, i.e., the day before the Sabbath. He died on Friday before sundown. Joseph of Arimathea, aided by Nicodemus, a converted Pharisee who had visited Jesus at night, quickly buried him in a nearby garden tomb. The Jews rested on the Sabbath, a Saturday. Then, Sunday morning at daybreak, Jesus arose like a seed that sprouts. The Son arose at sunrise.
The women, who always attended to the Lord’s needs, left before dawn to anoint his body with perfumes and spices. Now, they wonder how they will roll the heavy rock away from the tomb to perform the ritual. When they arrive, to their astonishment, they discover something, or someone has already moved it! What happened? There was an earthquake, and an angel rolled back the stone for his disciples to look inside, but they didn't know it.
Their immediate thought is that someone has stolen the body. In fear, the women race to tell Peter and the other disciples. Then, John and Peter sprint back to the tomb to check out their wild story. What they claim is true, but John and Peter don't see Jesus.
The chronology of the following events is not entirely clear. Mary Magdalene follows them back to the tomb and meets Jesus. Other women follow Mary and see the Lord, and they worship him. Jesus is alive! They return to tell the disciples they have seen the Lord. What a glorious day!
End note: for a complete chronology of events regarding the resurrection, read Tim Chaffey’s article, Christ's Resurrection - Four Accounts, One Reality by Chaffey 2015)
Another helpful resource: Why the Resurrection is Important by Chip Ingram.
Discussion
Jesus was like a planted seed, ready to sprout with new life. He is alive today. If we are Christians, we identify with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. How are we like a planted seed?
How do we bring glory to Christ with our new life? (John 12:24-25; Romans 6:4; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:11)
Focus Verse
Romans 6:4 (NIV) “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Watch a dramatized version of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ
Featured Photo by Christopher Luther on Unsplash
Write a private prayer response to today’s Bible study:
Please send your comments to me, Rod (the author)
Looking Ahead: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He brings his disciples and all of us From Despair to Peace. Have we lost hope? This Bible study will give us courage to believe.
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