...I think we've hit a nerve. The past few days there have been more than 3x's as many hits on this site! Which is exciting to see because this topic can't be taken lightly.
I'm gonna pick up right where I left off. (Remember, I am going somewhere with this.)
The twist came when Jesus started talking about his coming death.
In Mark 9 we see Jesus teach his disciples that he must suffer many things, be killed and after three days rise again. Common words to fall on our ears who know the end of the story already, but for anyone of that time it was very confusing.
In fact, Peter goes as far as to rebuke Jesus for saying such a thing (Mark 8:32). The whole idea of Jesus himself rising from the dead was confusing before and even after he was crucified and resurrected (Mk 9:10, Jn 20:9).
You see, the Jewish belief was that someday everyone, all together, would be raised in the coming resurrection at the last day. It was not supposed to happen to one person in advance as NT Wright makes clear in his book, Surprised By Hope.
So what did the first Christians believe and hope for after seeing Jesus experience this coming resurrection in advance of everyone else?
Those who saw Jesus after his resurrection were looking first hand at what a "bodily life after a bodily death" looked like. Jesus appeared to the disciples who were locked away in a room, but he wasn't a ghost. Cuz when they touched him and saw him eat, he was real, recognizable, tangible.
(Side Note: If you ever wonder what your new transformed body will be like, consider first what Jesus' body was like in the 40 days he visited between his resurrection and ascension!)
So, with that experience behind them, the first Christians drew some startling conclusions about life after death.
The verses we look at tomorrow will help us see what early Christians saw as our final destination and future hope. It's not necessarily heaven. (At least not in the way heaven is popularly understood today.) We will also see the massive implications that can be drawn from a correct understanding of what is to come.
Here are some verses if you want to read ahead. I Corinthians 15 and Philippians 3:20-21.
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