What Does and Does Not Happen When You Die!

Life group Study for March 23rd In a park in California there is a rock hanging on a rope with a large sign next to it. It reads, “Weather Station report: Check the rock. If it’s wet, it’s raining; if the rock is swinging, it’s windy; if it’s dry, it’s not raining; if you cannot see the rock, it’s foggy; if the rock has been blown away, it’s a tornado.”Lots of questions are floating around about what happens when you die. I believe the statement “Check the rock!” is a verbal instruction to each of you with questions. It’s a statement giving us instruction on where to get our questions answered to “What happens when you die”.  In Matthew 27:50-53 (NASB) we are told, “ ⁵⁰And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. ⁵²The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared too many people.” In this study we will look at the significance, meaning, and the impact that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection has on “What Happens to us when we die” The Opened GravesThe disturbance of the place where people are buried has a special significance all its own. It stands as a climax to what has gone before. It also is an event of anticipation for people would wonder why the graves opened when nothing else was disturbed. The Bible tells us, “and the tombs were opened.”As suggested it was caused by the shaking of the earth. The tombs opened were most likely the rock hewn tombs that were so numerous around Palestine which were sealed with stones covering the entrances.  Power of Death BrokenThis further illustrates the power and significance of the death of Christ in relationship to our death and what takes place after we die. The Scriptures teach us that the power of sin is death. God told Adam regarding the tree of good and evil, “in the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” He would die spiritually and begin, as a result of sin, to die physically. Thus, throughout the history of the human race, men have died and have been placed in the grave–the wages of sin. But now with the death of Christ, the penalty of sin had been paid, and so also the cause of death was dealt with. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:56, “the sting of death is sin and power of sin is the Law.” By sin death gains power over man. But then Paul added, “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ by His death paid the penalty of sin, removed its stinger, and satisfied the demands of the law and the holiness of God.  An Act of PreparationIt was an act of preparation for that which would follow–the raising of the dead. The graves were opened immediately after Christ’s death and victory over sin, but their resurrection was delayed until after Christ’s resurrection.Matthew 27:53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. By the one act of Adam’s disobedience came sin and death on all, but by the one act of Christ on the cross came righteousness and life.Romans 5:18-19 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.  ***GET THIS! Remember the graves were opened when the earth shook on Good Friday afternoon (at the time of Christ’s crucifixion) and just before the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday). Because no work was allowed on the Sabbath and so the graves could not be closed. As a result, the graves stood open all day Saturday as a marvelous exhibition of the effect of Christ’s death and then according to Matthew 27:53 they came back to life when Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. Sort of reminds you of another event talked about in chapter 4 of Thessalonians and chapter 4 of the book of Revelation.   The Raising of Saints Who Had DiedBecause these people are called saints they had to be those who died as Old Testament believers–believers in the coming Messiah and the covenants of promise. They were undoubtedly those who had been buried around Jerusalem in the rock-hewn tombs to be an exhibition to those who could know about the death of Christ.Note the text says, “many,” and not “all.” The number of people raised from the dead we are not told, but there were enough to cause a stir and give a great testimony. It did not include all Old Testament saints because this would contradict the chronology of Daniel 12 and 1 Corinthians 15. It was only a sample, a portion to serve as an evidence.  Time of this ResurrectionMatthew 27:53 shows us this resurrection did not occur at the same time as the opening of the graves, but after Christ’s resurrection.  Christ is the resurrection and the life; He is the life-giving spirit. To make this evident, the resurrection of these saints was delayed until after His resurrection. Our resurrection is based on His death and resurrection.As the one who broke the power of sin, He is also the only one who has the power of life and can break the power of death. Type of Resurrection Was this a resurrection like that of Christ with an immortal, imperishable, and glorified body? Or was it one like that of Lazarus–a body resurrected and revived to its former mortal and corruptible state, to an earthly body like ours?  In light of Daniel 12 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-24, many Bible teachers and students believe they were probably the latter–earthly bodies that would see death again. If they were glorified bodies, there had to eventually be an ascension and nothing is said about this. An event of that magnitude would be of such importance, you would think Scripture would mention it.  Further, a resurrection to glorified bodies at this time seems to be out of God’s own established order for the resurrection, i.e., before the return of Christ (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:20f). Of course this could be an exception. One passage might support a resurrection like the Lord’s, since this would mean they would die twice, but it appears Lazarus did (cf. Heb. 9:27).  The opening of the graves implies the resurrection was like that of Lazarus. When Lazarus was raised by the Lord, Christ told them to take away the stone, and then Lazarus was told to come forth. Here the graves were opened first and then they came out. The stones covering the graves were removed to allow for the exit of the mortal bodies.   If their resurrection was like that of Christ, this would have been unnecessary. The stone was removed from Christ’s tomb after His resurrection in order to let men in to see the evidence of the graves clothes–not to let the Lord out. This miracle was designed to show that Christ had conquered death, that He was the resurrection and the life. It was an evidence of the glorious power of our Lord.  We all want to know what happens one minute after we die. We will answer that question this coming Sunday. Encourage everyone to be there.  Our Prayer Is…Father grow everyone of us from the life of a causal or convenient disciple of Christ to the committed disciple.