It is interesting to me that when our Lord was
crucified and buried in the tomb, his enemies were
watching the grave, rather than his disciples. After
all, his disciples were told many times by their Lord
that he would be killed and raised again on the third
day. He told the Pharasees that if they destroyed
"this temple", He would raise it up on the third day.
Despite His many declarations, His disciples deserted
him and were hiding after he was in the tomb.
His enemies, however, took a different approach.
The Pharasees complained to Pilate that Jesus had predicted while He was still alive, that on the third day he would rise from the dead. They asked for a Roman guard over the tomb, so, (their explanation) "his disciples might steal the body and claim Jesus had risen from the dead. His enemies were nervous. His enemies "expected" him to rise, but not his disciples. There was no planned attack on the tomb by His disciples. They were hiding in fear. And so strangely enough, there were soldiers guarding a dead body. Jesus' heart was not beating, his blood was not flowing, there was no brain activity. The chill of death filled his body with the cold. It was dark within that tomb. Jesus had died.
The first day passed. The second day passed.
On the third day, the most wonderful thing happened
inside that tomb. The Spirit of God entered
that tomb and into the body of Jesus. Once again,
Jesus became a living soul. His heart started beating,
His blood started to flow, His brain started
working. His body lost the chill of death, as "Spirit
and Element became inseparably connected." He reached up and pulled the cloth off his face. He got up
and unwound the cloth, folded it; like you would make
your bed at home. The stone rolled from its place and
Jesus was gone. The tomb was empty.
Apostle Paul was not a witness of these things, but
was a witness of a Christ that was raised by the power of
the resurrection. He said, "and if the Spirit of Him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you". (Romans
8:11) Think of it! The same Spirit that entered that tomb
and resurrected the body of Jesus, lives in us. If that
Spirit can raise Jesus from the dead, it can also do
miracles in our lives. It can rest "on us", (2 Cor 12:9) and
"reside in us" (Romans 8:9)
We have been called to eat the bread of life and drink
of the water like unto a well of water springing up into
eternal life. (JN 6:16, 35) Jesus said, "I am the bread of
life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and the that
believeth on me shall never thirst." Will you be there on
the third day?