Death Comes First
Matthew 27:50-54 (NIV) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
During the days just before His death, as the Lord was being betrayed and “tried” and crucified, He seemed weak and helpless, a victim of circumstances. All the events of those days seemed to flow along in a natural way. There were a few unusual things that could not be stopped from flowing from His nature. He healed the ear of the servant whom Peter had injured; The soldiers fell to the ground when He said, “I am He”; and the earth was covered in darkness from noon until 3:00 PM, but nothing else supernatural happened. In particular, nothing was happening that would rescue Him from arrest and false accusation and humiliation. All seemed tragic. All seemed lost.
BUT!! As soon as He died, wild and wonderful things began to happen. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. There was an earthquake. The rocks cracked open. The dead rose up from their tombs. Whoa!
He is our example. The Lord requires us to die in various areas at different times. And the death process is not desirable or pretty or pleasant. If we will obey, though, resurrection will come, and with it will come miracles, signs, and wonders. First, we walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). Then, others around us who are trapped in some sort of death get released from their graves of bondage. They, in turn, are able to release others. The very area in which the Lord requires us to die is the very area where He brings forth His life through us. We need not die anymore in that area. We are free, but before this life arrives, death has to come.
John 12:24 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
I saw this at work in me many years ago when the Lord warned me that I was about to go through a death of sorts. He told me, “Resurrection is better than deliverance.” By that He meant that I should let the thing work death in me so that resurrection life would follow. Soon I was struck with anxiety disorder. It was a horrible battle with a demon spirit of fear. I could not settle for the band-aid of medication. Rather, the Lord helped me to take hold of His promises for healing and to hang on until I saw it happen. After about seven months of shaping and forming me through this ordeal, He healed me.
After the healing, He began to bring to me a veritable parade of people who were walking through the same trial, and the resurrection life that He put in me set them free also.
The joy of resurrection is worth the pain of death.