Biblical Theology by John Goldingay

Author:John Goldingay
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2016-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

5.6 JESUS’ RESURRECTION

Jesus, who was “born of the seed of David in terms of the flesh,” was “designated son of God with power in terms of the holy spirit through his raising from the dead people” (Rom 1:3-4). The statement about his birth refers to a necessary but not a sufficient qualification for someone to be designated God’s Anointed One: he was born of the right line. That fact is a fleshly thing, an indispensable physical reality, but only a physical reality. Ironically, Jesus seems not to have been physically born of David’s line; it is his relationship with his adoptive father that makes him a descendant of David. But adoptive parenthood is as valid as physical parenthood. Jesus really was part of Joseph’s fleshly family and was one flesh and blood with him.

Jesus’ resurrection is a sign that his submission to the powers that enslave us has been successful. It signifies his vindication, his exaltation, his victory, his being put in a position of authority in the heavens. When he ascends there, he takes with him the people who identify with him. In spirit they live in the presence of God, citizens of this world and of that other world, of this age and of the age to come.

Raising

“In the biblical traditions every experience of salvation begins with a cry from the depths” like that of the Israelites in Egypt (Ex 3:7). “Analogously, the raising from the dead to eternal life begins with Christ’s tortured and terrified cry on the cross.” 179 When he died, Jesus presumably went to Sheol like anyone else, as the Apostles’ Creed says (Acts 2:31 implies as much). But there was extra reason for him to do so. It linked with his mission. Isaiah 13:12-21 imagines the Babylonian king reaching Sheol and being derided for ending up in the same state as everyone else—or worse, because he has not been buried properly. In contrast, when Jesus reaches Sheol, he is in a position “to announce to the Old Testament saints the benefits of his victorious redemptive work,” to tell them that they “are part of the company of those redeemed through Jesus” (cf. 1 Pet 4:6). 180 So there is good reason for him to go to Sheol.

But he does not stay there. The grass did not grow on the sepulcher of Jesus. 181 Jesus was put to death, at the hands of lawless people, and it looked like a final defeat. “But God raised him, loosening the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:23-24). His resurrection was a definitely physical event. His body was gone from the tomb. Thomas was free to feel the wounds in his hands and side (Jn 20:27).

Jesus was not merely resuscitated, like the dead people whom Elijah, Elisha and Jesus himself brought back to life. 182 When Elisha or Jesus resuscitated people, they eventually died again. When God resurrects Jesus, and when he resurrects us, matters are different. Jesus was raised to a new, supernatural kind of life.

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