Thursday 8th
Hebrews 11:29-40
NIV (v35) – ‘Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.’
ESV (v35) – ‘Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.’
The common theme of this eleventh chapter of Hebrews is the words ‘by faith’ that is they believed by faith in something which was yet unseen and unknown, they believed that God was outworking something in history for them and through them that would continue to lead on to something that was far better and more permanent. And as we have seen the far better and the more permanent was to be outworked through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In our text yesterday we saw the Old Testament shadow or picture of the death of the Passover Lamb, in todays text we see the confident belief the heroes of faith had toward a future resurrection, ‘some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life’ or as the NIV puts it ‘that they may gain an even better resurrection’. Now to me this is an amazing demonstration of faith, for they believed in a future resurrection to eternal life even though as yet death had not been conquered, the sting of death had not been destroyed, the one who had the power over the devil had not yet come to bring victory over the grave. YET THEY BELIEVED. There is another hint of this earlier in this same chapter for it says of Abraham that he went in obedience to offer up Isaac because ‘He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.’ (verse 19)
And one did come who would do all that was necessary to bring about not only eternal redemption but resurrection from the dead, one who would hit death head on and yet not be held by it but himself would be raised and as a result lead to the future resurrection to eternal life to all who would place their faith and trust in him.
All those who had been raised from the dead before would have to face death again, I remember someone once saying they were resuscitated rather than raised for death would strike again. But not so with the Lord Jesus Christ he was raised to the power of an endless life, because he had not known any sin it was impossible for death to hold him, he could not and never would face corruption, but the good news is that in his being raised from the dead he is also the first fruit of all those who will believe and thus by coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we will confidently say ‘“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.’ And we can confidently say ‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ 1 Corinthians 15:54–57.
When you look through these verses in Hebrews 11, especially verses 32-38 it is an amazing testimony to their confidence and trust in God, whatever life threw at them, however bitter or cruel it may have been, God would not fail them, there are many who are faced with such similar circumstances in the world today, because of their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ they are undergoing awful suffering, torture and some are even faced with death, but they have the same confident hope in God knowing that what is at present is but temporal, what follows is eternal, and there is no better hope to have than that of eternal life, to spent in the presence of Almighty God.
It was Job who declared, ‘For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!’ Job 19:25–27
May we be reassured by what the Word of God has to say, and act on its instruction, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God’ to enjoy this incredible resurrection to eternal life we need to be pure in heart, and Christ makes this possible as we trust him as Saviour for his blood cleanses us from all sin, his shed blood places us in a right standing before God so that one day we shall see him and be with him.
Jesus himself said ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”’ John 11:25–26