Resurrection Power

2 Kings 13:20–21 (ESV) So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

For 50 years, Elisha had been Israel's lifeline. Now, as the nation continues its descent into immorality and pagan heathenism, he dies. Imagine this moment if you will. Your nation seems to be on an irreversible course toward exile. God had already promised such in 1 Kings 14:

1 Kings 14:15–16 (ESV) the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

You have to think this moment for the common man in Israel was just intensely foreboding. 

This little snippet in the long and tortuous history of Israel reminds us of the Gospel. The Gospel is about resurrection power. The need for resurrection power testifies to our spiritual condition apart from Christ. I know this is hard to hear, but we are dead without Him. Dead in trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Some people imagine the Gospel is there to make us feel better about ourselves. But it is not. Feeling better is the fruit of a deeper root - that of living again! Notice the details Paul unpacks for us about our spiritual condition before Christ. We were doing what the world does. We were following the devil. We were living according to the passion and appetites of our flesh. On top of this, our very nature was wrath. That means we were at odds with ourselves, our neighbor and most importantly - God. 

Now, look back at the picture from 2 Kings 13. The marauding band was coming toward the pallbearers and the men burying their friend toss him into the grave of Elisha. It was a panic move on their part. They didn't think, "This will fix him!" No! They thought, "This will save us!" But what was a desperate act on their part to save their own skin from death was actually the very tool God used to bring their partner back to life. Two important factors led to the man being raised. The death of Elisha and their swift judgment of the man they considered dead.

Again we have a picture of the Gospel. 

In Jesus Christ, we have a death that leads to life for us. And let us remember how the death of Christ came to be. He was offered up to death by those who wanted to save themselves from their own death. The Pharisees and Sadducees were threatened that Christ's popularity would cost them their nation. 

Remember what went down:

John 11:47–48 (ESV) So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

Famously, Caiaphas offered the plan to give Jesus up to them so that only He would die and they might live. YET, their very plan to save themselves became the means by which God would offer true salvation for us all. The Romans killed Him, the Jews put Him in the grave, but He came back out alive and well. And because of HIM we can have resurrection power in us!