Throughout my Christian life, I’ve always thought of the resurrection in physical terms. I’ve reflected on the glorification of Christ’s body which fulfilled prophecy and amazed His disciples. I’ve also speculated about what we’ll be like when the Lord resurrects us. Will we glow in the dark? Can we travel instantaneously and show up anywhere we wish in the blink of an eye? Will we have super strength?
It’s fun to imagine what the future might hold for us!
While we’re not sure of the details, we can be certain about the fact of our resurrection. It’s as settled as Christ’s.
“We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself.” - 2 Corinthians 4:14
God raised Jesus; He’s going to raise us. Guaranteed!
Again, my habit was to read verses like this and think about physical transformation. That’s not wrong; the New Testament makes it clear that the body of Jesus which was nailed to the cross is the same one God raised out of the grave.
But as I’ve been teaching the book of Philippians in Sunday School, I’ve begun to consider an additional perspective–that of honor.
This shouldn’t surprise us; the principles of honor and shame deeply infused the ancient world and to this day, Asian societies prioritize them.
But how does the resurrection relate to the issue of honor and shame?
As I said, I started noticing a connection in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. And as I dug into the text, I noticed other passages in Scripture that supported this viewpoint.
So what I’m going to do is share with you the key verses in three books of the Bible. This week, we’ll look at the book of Daniel. Next week, we’ll explore the gospel of John. And the week after, we’ll cover Philippians.
We begin with Daniel. Here’s the passage I have in mind:
At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. 2Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. - Daniel 12:1-3
This paragraph is part of a long discourse (Daniel 10:11-12:13) given by an angel to Daniel. It’s about Israel and her future under Gentile rule. The final stage of Gentile domination over Israel will be traumatic for God’s people. Earthly persecution will be matched with spiritual battle involving heavenly hosts, including the archangel Michael. As awful as that time will be, it will be eclipsed by something wonderful. The angel promises deliverance for the righteous.
This involves something more than protection. Verse 2 announces the resurrection. The deceased will live again.
The angel puts the resurrected into two camps: those who are blessed and those who are judged. The blessing is eternal life; death can no longer threaten or harm the righteous.
If eternal life is the blessing, then eternal death must be the curse, right? That’s simple logic. But the angel uses two different words to warn the wicked: shame and contempt.
Remember our comment about honor and shame cultures? You can see the angel stressing these in relation to the resurrection. We can interpret everlasting life in terms of honor. By contrast, eternal death involves disgrace.
The two words in Daniel 12:2 are herpa and dera’on. The former means “reproach, scorn” and the latter means “aversion, abhorrence.” These are not pleasant terms! We don’t want these to describe our future!
The problem for many of the righteous, however, is that these words portrayed their present experience. Choosing the way of the Lord and following Jesus, invited ridicule and rejection from the world. People tried to shame those loyal to God.
At the resurrection, those who suffered humiliation because of their commitment to the Lord will be rewarded with praise and recognition. They’ll shine like stars.
And those who persecuted God’s people? They will taste of the dishonor they visited upon the righteous. Darkness will be their lot.
But what does divine reward and punishment have to do with resurrection? The answer is that during this present age, unrighteousness prevails. Things are out of the order God intends. Goodness suffers and evil gets celebrated.
The resurrection inaugurates the Day of the Lord and the age to come. Jesus will establish the world in righteousness. This world will be redeemed and restored. In the very place where godly people had faced persecution, they will experience love and joy. And in the arena where the wicked enriched themselves at the expense of the righteous, they will face the retribution they were warned about.
The book of Daniel sees resurrection as God’s way of establishing His justice in the world. What is out of order will be made right. He will reward those who paid a price, perhaps even dying, for their loyalty to Him. The resurrection is the Lord’s way of honoring those who honored Him with their lives.
So stay faithful to Jesus Christ and God will recognize you. He will raise you so you might live with Him forever.
This is the promise of the resurrection!
(Bible verses are from the NIV.)
(Image is from https://tomvanderwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/img_7696.jpeg?w=1038&h=576&crop=1.)
