Exhortation through the Word is designed to strengthen and cleanse our minds in preparation for a faithful participation in the Memorial Service. We endeavour through the hymns, prayer and the Word to help each other to a better walk in Christ.
The readings from John 20 and 21 are the basis of our thoughts for exhortation. The resurrection of Christ may be termed the arch of triumph that signifies to us that the seemingly endless stream of mankind into death’s charm has been broken. The Apostle Paul realised this, as he states in 1 Cor. 15:12,13,14) :
“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”
Fundamental Christadelphian belief is that man is mortal, and the doctrine of the immortal soul is therefore false. Man’s mortality then necessitates bodily resurrection from the dead, as demonstrated in the chapters read from John. Thomas, an immediate disciple of Christ, found it very difficult to believe that Christ had actually risen (John chap. 20, verses 26-29). We can readily see that Thomas, as well as the other disciples, was still to be enlightened on many of the details that are now written for us.
As we absorb these details, we become greatly impressed with our relationship to them. We see more clearly the reason the events are so graphically portrayed. It is a prime necessity for us to rejoice in, yea, to cry out triumphantly that Christ is risen from the dead. Not as a phantasma (or spirit, so called), but Jesus Christ himself —the Jesus the apostles knew and loved—and the Jesus whom we have learned to love.
Let us endeavour to picture the disciples’ position after the crucifixion. The desolateness of death hung as a pall over them. Murder, wickedness and corruption appeared to be triumphant. The Master, who had healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, raised the dead and comforted the weary, had been struck down by fraud and wickedness. They had murdered him — as our Brother Norris so ably described it. Sin, the powerful and dreaded enemy of man, whose end is death, had slain their beloved Master. It appeared triumphant, and the forces of evil enveloped their world. Peter — impetuous, lovable, courageous Peter, had been trapped by weakness and fear. The two disciples, on the way to Emmaus, ably expressed the sadness that filled their hearts (Luke 24:21) :
“But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.”
This is the picture that the chapters present.
Faith, of necessity hoped for, the evidence (or conviction) of things not seen. “And further, Without faith it is impossible to please God.” When Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen. and yet have believed,” he was not censoring him as much as he was recording for our learning and admonition not to be over-confident in our own ability to have faith, and also to testify to the triumphant fact of bodily resurrection.
It is, and has been, very difficult for the average individual schooled in the philosophy of the Christian world, to accept in any way the thought of bodily resurrection. We, however, a very few, in the millions that surround us, subscribe wholeheartedly to this doctrine. It was for this reason that Jesus showed himself over and over again to the disciples after his resurrection.
It is a sad mistake to conjure in the mind that a spiritual body is an abstract, intangible something (or nothing). Actually, the spiritual body is an everlasting tangible body, made of the eternal substance like unto the Deity. The apostle makes this very clear in 1 Corinthians, when he states, “There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body.”
While there is no necessity for food to provide sustenance for the spiritual body in the sense that the natural body requires it, we note that it is one of the pleasures of the present to partake of the food so abundantly provided for us. And this pleasure will undoubtedly be a part of the millenial arrangement (Matt. 26:29 and Acts 10 :41) .
Jesus wished to show the disciples and ourselves, the realistic qualities of the resurrected state. So we note his question, “Children, have ye any meat?” (John 21:5). It was not necessary for him to ask this question, as he did not need food for himself. The disciples had toiled all night in search of temporal food. It is interesting to note that they were back fishing in the Lake of Galilee. The events of the crucifixion had taken place in and around Jerusalem, but the necessity of every day meat, with them, as with us, was a pressing need. They went home to Galilee.
We also note in chap. 20, verse 31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
In order to impress upon the disciples the literalness of the Kingdom of God, Jesus in chap. 21, verse 12, says : “Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou ? knowing it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.”
Luke records this event as follows (Luke 24:42) : “And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.”
We again take note of the fact that “these are written that ye might believe.” It was immediately previous to this demonstration that Jesus told them, “Handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.”
Some have strained to prove that Jesus appeared to them in the form that he did, in order to convince the disciples of the resurrection, and that the body was a temporal convenience for that period. He most assuredly intended to convince them of bodily resurrection. We should not be confused by the argument that it was a temporary form. It is entirely hypothetical reasoning. The fact is that he did appear in this manner; he did eat and drink, and they did handle him.
The Kingdom of God, under Christ, is a literal kingdom on the earth lasting for 1000 years. It is this kingdom in which we are primarily interested. If we enter the kingdom, the details concerning the end of the 1,000 years will be made manifest at that time. We believe that Jesus will return and set up the Kingdom of God on earth ; that those who are asleep in Christ, and those who have had knowledge of his ways, will be resurrected to stand with the responsible living for judgment. We believe that Jesus Christ will be as apparent to the disciples of that day as he was to the disciples after his resurrection.
We are related to this earth, and are promised the earth as an inheritance. Over and over again this truth is brought home to us. We are familiar with the natural body, and have been given glimpses of the spiritual body. The angels, who have spiritual bodies, appeared as men on different occasions. Identity of being is an absolute necessity in this natural body and in the body of the age to come.
Before we conclude, let us, once again, absorb the great lesson of Peter, along with the triumph of resurrection. Luke records that, after Peter (with characteristic vehemence) had denied Christ three times, “He went out and wept bitterly.”
In the reading from John the Master asked Peter three times : “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me,” We note that “Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me ?” And he said unto him, “Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee.” Jesus saith unto him, “Feed my sheep.” We are reminded again, “But these are written that ye might believe.”
Peter, who had drawn a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant ; Peter, by nature strong and courageous ; realised, after denial, that to follow Christ was far different than the natural way, and not nearly as easy as he had thought. Jesus knew Peter’s heart–as he knows ours—and in an impressive and beautiful way forgave and reinstated him to leadership in the flock.
Let us, therefore, in love and fellowship approach the Memorial Service with full assurance of faith, with our hearts full of the promise that in Christ is life. That we, in bodily resurrection, shall greet our Lord, who was able to see the true Peter and in the present is able to see and walk with us. Let us, over and over again, remind ourselves of the great basic truths that are essentially a part of us. Let us repeat to one another and to ourselves :
“I know that my redeemer lives,
This thought transporting pleasure gives,
And standing at the latter day
On earth, his glories will display.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One