Theology on the Lighter Side – Why did Lazarus wake up grumpy? Because he was dead tired!

Jesus was not the first to be resurrected from the dead.

1 Kings 17:22 – And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.

Also resurrections from the dead can be found in 2 Kings 4:32-37, 2 Kings 13:20-21, Matthew 27:52-53, Acts 9:36-43, and Acts 20:7-12. Then there is Jairus’ daughter in Mark 9, the widow of Naian’s son in Luke 7 and, of course, Lazarus in John 11.

And yet in Acts 26:23, Paul states, “That the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” And 1 Corinthians 15:20 – But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Finally, John offers in, Revelation 1:5a- and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

So, how can so many have “risen from the dead” before Jesus yet at least three Bible verses states that Christ was the first or firstfruits?

The typical answer is that (1) Jesus was the first to be physically resurrected permanently from the dead (Romans 6:9-10). All others others who were resurrected would eventually return to the grave. (2) Some also suggest based on the context of the verse that it was a reference to Jesus being, “the sovereign leader of the church,” since without Christ the church He created would not exist and, more importantly, He is the source of eternal life with God the Father. (3) One final consideration is that if the Trinity falls outside of our concept of time, the death and resurrection of Jesus offered a path to salvation for those past Old Testament saints as well as all of humanity which followed Jesus. Therefore the context of Christ being the first or firstfruits has to do with Romans 10:9 where Jesus’ resurrection marked the path to Heaven for all believers from the beginning of time, forward.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words

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