RESURRECTION SUNDAY-2

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

Our text above follows Jesus' driving out of the merchandisers from the temple. They questioned His authority. He gave them an answer: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.", vs 19. They thought He meant Herod's Temple. "But he spoke of the temple of his body.", vs 21. Thus we see the first action moving toward the resurrection Sunday.

Paul will in about a half century write to the Corinthians: ". . . Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures;" I Corinthians 15:3-4. The resurrection was foretold in prophecy, told by Jesus, and told later by the apostle.

The passover lambs slain in Exodus 12:1-14 were pictoral of the One Lamb of God who John the Baptist said ". . . taketh away the sin of the world.", John 1:29. We who trust Him find Him to be our deliverer, successfully as they in those days in Egypt. Paul declares Jesus to be our Passover, I Corinthians 5:7. When He died, it is said, "Christ . . . is sacrificed for us: ". The Jews still 'kinda' keep the Old Testament type passover --- they missed 'our passover' so they wander on in limbo, in the sense of missing the mark.

The death He willingly endured was a sacrifice for us, as He had no sins of His own. It was a gory and painful death. It was described in olden days as hanging ". . . on a tree:", Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Paul states it is a "cursed" death, Galatians 3:13-14. He was accursed because He died, for us, on the cross at Calvary. He suffered as no one else has suffered for us, I Peter 3:18. He died, the innocent, for the guilty --- do you and I appreciate it? If so, let it be known to others. DDH