From the Dead: That's so Random!

Remember when the word "random" was all the rage? I won't lie...as an aging millennial, I still use it, but not so much as I did "back in the day" (circa...when I was young).  In those days any unexpected event, any unwelcome guy at the club, and anything that was even slightly peculiar or worthy of dismissal was "random." 

Peculiar - strange, odd, or unusual
Dismissal - the act of treating something as unworthy of consideration; rejection

Please note, the colloquial use of "random" has nothing to do with its traditional usage. When I say "random" I'm talking about slang. 

In any case, nothing in the Bible should be viewed as "random" (given 2 Timothy 3:16), but I'll admit that when I got to the next resurrection, my initial thought was:

"..."

The next resurrection involves the death of Jesus. When Jesus died, something seemingly super random happened: seemingly random people got out of their graves.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. - Matthew 27:50-53

I've wrestled with this for weeks. This wrestling combined with the year-end close (I'm an accountant), the holidays, and an unhealthy dose of sheer laziness is the reason why I haven't blogged in so long. I was going to skip it! Like, this event...didn't matter.

But this morning, as I was drying my hair I had a thought that I believe is the thought:

His death gives life.

Period. Jesus' death gives life. It gives life to people who have died in the past. It gives life to people who are dying as I type these words. And it will give life to people dying 100 years from now.

But there is something in this scripture that reinforces my above-mentioned thought:  When Jesus died, the tombs were opened. When He died...the tombs OPENED! But it wasn't until 3 days later that these people resurrected. They resurrected with Christ!

But the moment He died, death's hold was broken! The gig was up! It's like Death was aware of its defeat. The door opened, they just had to wait 3 days to walk out.

Relevance?

Well, I think that door never closed. That door is open right now. Even though we die...we are never "shut up" in death. The stone stays rolled away! We're just waiting to walk out. Those people rose and appeared to people in Jerusalem. And at some point, maybe even soon thereafter, they died again. And someone probably rolled a stone back over their graves. Yet, no man can close a door that God has opened! And I believe those saints came out of their graves to prove that. That Christ's death gives life. And His resurrection secured that life would be eternal at His second coming.

Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. - Romans 5:18

There's not much more I can say about those three verses, except that they aren't random. They're important. Life came that day...and it never left.