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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Jesus "rose" or "was raised"?


I was happy to find a rather satisfying explanation for the question I have often been asked about why the scripture passage says that Jesus "was raised" from the dead when we also speak of Jesus "rising" from the dead. The Little White Book says that both are true. It is a question of whether Jesus is being looked at from the point of view of his humanity, or from the point of view of his divinity. On the one hand, Jesus was not simply god masquerading in a human body. In his humanity, he became truly one of us - "tested in every way, but without sin" (Heb 4:15). As one of us, Jesus placed himself in dependence on the Father, trusting that the Father would bring him through death to glory.
On the other hand, it was the Second Person of the Trinity who took flesh, and Jesus could say, "The Father and I are one."
Thinking about Jesus as the Bread of life, brings to mind all the "I statements" that Jesus says in John's Gospel. Jesus is not only talking about who he is but what he does for us. Some of these sayings are:
I am the light of the world.
I am the good Shepherd.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I am the vine, you are the branches.


Take time to go over the above statements and hear Jesus saying each to you personally.

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