Explaining the Resurrection - 1

Explaining the Resurrection - 1

Another Perspective

A hypothesis: Jesus spoke about "destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). Leviticus 25:20-21 about the three-year blessing from the sixth year's harvest shows that God is able to surpass the seemingly inevitable laws of nature—including death. The resurrection explains what is meant by the will of God. And because the resurrection is something Jesus did by His own will (see Lazarus and the event at Nain) it explains who He is.

The simple explanation:

1. Jesus was not talking about the physical temple, but about His own body (John 2:21).

2. The will of God here is that life is not determined absolutely by biological processes, but by the creative and resurrecting word of God (compare Romans 4:17: "God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist").

3. Leviticus 25 shows the same principle: God commands blessing, and the land yields a three-year harvest even though agronomically it is "impossible."

4. If God can multiply the land's harvest to get through the sabbatical year, He is far more able to raise Jesus as "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20).

So, the objection "Jesus is Lord" is indeed not wrong, but the Old Testament verses already build the logic that God is not subject to natural necessities. The resurrection of Jesus is not an ordinary case of "a man coming back to life after death," but rather an act of new creation by God consistent with His sovereign will.

Now, let us trace other verses in the Bible that have a similar pattern. This similarity mainly lies in God surpassing the seemingly absolute laws of nature through the command of His word.

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1. Pattern: "Impossible situation → God's word → Provision beyond reason"

Leviticus 25:20-21

"You may ask, 'What will we eat in the seventh year?' ... I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years."

Similarity:

Problem: no harvest in the sabbatical year.

God's solution: the sixth year's harvest is enough for 3 years.

Principle: natural production is subject to God's command, not only to seasonal cycles.

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2. Exodus 16:4-5, 22-26 (Manna in the wilderness)

"On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."

Similarity to Leviticus 25 and John 2:

Sixth day double portion seventh day (Sabbath) no manna.

God surpasses the law of "manna spoils in a day" (except on the sixth day).

Just as the sixth year's harvest is for three years, and Jesus' resurrection on the third day is a surpassing of death.

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3. 1 Kings 17:8-16 (The widow's flour and oil at Zarephath)

"The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth."

Similarity:

Resources that would naturally run out are miraculously extended.

Just as Jesus who died (the source of life was exhausted) was raised.

Pattern: total lack/exhaustion → God's word → abundance/renewal of life.

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4. Ezekiel 37:1-14 (Dry bones becoming alive)

"O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ... I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you."

Strongest similarity to Jesus' resurrection:

Complete biological death (dry bones, no flesh/breath).

God's word directly creates life.

Jesus said: "I came to give life" (John 10:10).

The temple that was torn down = Jesus' dead body → three days = time for God's word to work completely.

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5. John 11:38-44 (Lazarus raised)

"Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' ... The man who had died came out."

Similarity to John 2:19:

The stone was closed (like Jesus' tomb).

Jesus commanded death to retreat.

Lazarus rose physically, but would die again. Jesus rose in a glorious body that never dies again. So John 2:19 is a higher type of resurrection miracle.

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Summary of Similarities

Verse | Natural Problem | God's Command | Result Beyond Nature

Lev. 25:20-21 | 7th year cannot be planted | I command blessing | 6th year's harvest enough for 3 years

Ex. 16:4-5 | Manna spoils in a day → Sabbath has none | Gather double on the 6th day | Manna lasts 2 days

1 Kings 17:8-16 | Flour empty, oil empty | Word through Elijah | Does not run out until rain comes

Ezek. 37:1-14 | Dry bones, completely dead | Prophesy to the bones | New tissue, breath of life

John 11:38-44 | Dead 4 days, already stinking | Lazarus, come out | Lives again

John 2:19 | Jesus' body dead | Word of the Father's will | Raised on the 3rd day, never to die again

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Theological Conclusion

God writes the same pattern repeatedly:

"What according to the world's system has ended and is impossible to repair, becomes the stage for the power of My word to create something new."

The objection "no dead person can live again" is only true within a creation system running on its own. But God is the Giver of natural laws and the Ruler over those laws. Jesus' resurrection is not a violation of natural law, but an act of a higher law: the law of the creative word that overcomes the law of destruction.

Shalom, Lord Jesus, protect and bless us all. Amen. 🙏

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