Resurrection - Blessed Assurance - Holy Week Day 8

Today we celebrate our blessed assurance – the veil has been torn, and death is swallowed up in victory. (Isaiah 25:7-9) Yet we recognize that our assurance is only made possible because the Word was made flesh.

1In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it… 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14) 

In Judaism, the Shema is a central prayer, and its introductory line quotes Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!

Traditionally, the Shema would be quoted twice daily – once in the morning and once in the evening. Yet reciting these verses was not and is not the only traditional response to the commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” In Deuteronomy 6:9, instruction is given to the Israelites to write the words of the Shema on the doorposts of their houses and gates. It became standard practice for Jews to have mezuzahs mounted about their homes, and at the very least, at their main entrances and exits. With this understanding, we can surmise that even those with a cursory knowledge of scripture and Jewish customs would be well acquainted with the proclamation, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Therefore, it is not a stretch to imagine that in writing the first chapter of his gospel, John had Deuteronomy 6 at the forefront of his mind.

It is likely that John leveraged the common knowledge of the Shema to capture the attention of all who would read the above passage, that all might know that Jesus is the God of Israel – the God of the Shema.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One, and His name is Jesus!

No longer was our assurance in God to be felt through His word alone. But Jesus, being the perfecter of our faith, assured us in no greater a way than this: by dwelling among us. 

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)

Jesus came and dwelt among us. As was His plan from the beginning, He came in the likeness of man to relate to us, to redeem us and, ultimately, to raise us.

He Relates to Us.

15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

He Redeems Us.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)

He Raises Us.

21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

Jesus mapped out our plan of salvation. He chose to come down to us for our good. Not because He needed to for Himself, but because we needed Him to for ourselves. He closed the great divide between Him in His perfection and us in our sin. Jesus made a way for us where there was no way.

The resurrection marks the completion of that plan as it was the vindication of the sinless life that He lived on our behalf. Our victory is now (and forever) sealed, because the tomb is not. 

Reading Guide

• John 1:1-5, 14

• Deuteronomy 6:4-9

• 1 Corinthians 15

  
  

Reflection Questions 

1. How can I better cultivate my environment at home to establish a routine of time in God’s presence? 

2. Am I really revealing my all to God in repentance, knowing that He relates to me and redeems me?

   
   

Prayer Focus

Thank you, Jesus, for the assurance You have given me through your word. I praise you because YOU give us victory over sin and death daily. You are my portion and strength. I trust You and I rest in knowing that my life is in Your hands. 

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A mezuzah is a small container containing a rolled parchment scroll, usually placed on the right-hand side of a doorpost in Jewish homes. The scroll is inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah, typically Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21

-Edna Noel