Easter 2025 - Day 5: Meriting Resurrection?

"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” Jn 10:17–18

No doubt, Jesus was Resurrection Ready. He was fully prepared to lay down His life and to take it up again. But have you considered what was involved in Jesus truly being Resurrection Ready? You and I are saved by grace through faith (Ep 2:8-9). Jesus was saved entirely on His own merit and by saved I mean He was raised from the dead or saved from death. The Father loves us because we trust in the merit of His Son and not our own. The Father loves Jesus all because of His own merit, because He was perfectly obedient even to the point of torture and death. …it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief (Is 53:10/Ac 4:28/Lk 22:42). It was God's will, the Trinitarian plan, that Jesus suffer and die and be raised (2Ti 1:9/Tt 1:2/Lk 18:33). And Jesus, in the flesh, was obedient to that plan. "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again." You might say, well Jesus knew that He would be resurrected, that’s why He could willingly die. But we ought to understand that it was the Father who would or would not give Jesus the authority, once He had died, to take up His life again (Ph 2:8-9). Jesus had to be supremely certain that His own obedience had been flawless - and He was because it was. God's testimony is that Jesus' obedience was perfect. …and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17). …one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (He 4:15). For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin… (2Co 5:21). Perfect, sinless obedience. And so God gave Him the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. Jesus merited resurrection. He was worthy and so He was Resurrection Ready.

If you and I are to be Resurrection Ready, the exact opposite approach is required. First, I must forsake any idea of earning Resurrection through my own merit (Ga 3:10/Jam 1:15). My own merit is a disgusting afront - like a polluted garment (Is 64:6). IN fact, I must have a clear reality of my own failure and inability to merit any good thing from God. My eyes must be open wide to my sinful condition and the wages that my sin has rightfully earned - not resurrection but rather death and eternal punishment (Ro 6:23/Ge 3:19). I must hate my sin and my sinful condition and be grieved over my sinful state, repenting and forsaking both the practice and love of sin. And this clear sight of my sin must then cause me to run from my own merit into the perfect merit of Jesus, trusting that on the cross He has taken my sin upon Himself, and being punished for my sin and paying for it with His life, in turn He has graciously replaced my worthless merit with His own perfect merit (Ph 3:19/2Co 5:21/Col 2:14).

My merit is worthless, but see how perfect and worthy is His merit? Have you forsaken any and all thought and affection for your own merit before God? And have you clearly seen your sin, hated it, repented of it and run to Jesus as your one and only hope? "Come to me…" He calls you away from yourself and to Him (Mt 11:28/Mt 16:24)). All of the authority over sin and death is in Jesus Christ (Ro 8:2/Mt 28:18). Only in His perfect merit are you Resurrection Ready. Be sure you are ready right now.