I have been falling away from my studies so I decided to start where I first began this journey with Lazarus and the Rich man parable. As always, reading leads to more reading and then questions. Ugh!!!
Here is my stumbling block of the day:
1 Cor. 15:20 "Yet now Christ has been roused from among the
dead, the firstfruit of those who are
reposing."
Miriam-Webster definition of repose;
1a. to lie at rest. b. to lie dead. c. to remain still or concealed.
2. to take a rest.
3.
archaic: rely
4. to rest for support: lie
Now John 11: 11-14
11These things he said, and after this he saith to them, `Lazarus our friend hath fallen asleep, but I go on that I may awake him;'
12therefore said his disciples, `Sir, if he hath fallen asleep, he will be saved;'
13
but Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought that about the repose of sleep he speaketh.
14
Then, therefore, Jesus said to them freely, `Lazarus hath died;And John 11: 39-44
39Jesus saith, `Take ye away the stone;' the sister of him who hath died -- Martha -- saith to him, `Sir, already he stinketh,
for he is four days dead;'
40Jesus saith to her, `Said I not to thee, that if thou mayest believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?'
41They took away, therefore, the stone where the dead was laid, and Jesus lifted his eyes upwards, and said, `Father, I thank Thee, that Thou didst hear me;
42and I knew that Thou always dost hear me, but, because of the multitude that is standing by, I said [it], that they may believe that Thou didst send me.'
43And these things saying, with a loud voice he cried out, `
Lazarus, come forth;'
44
and he who died came forth, being bound feet and hands with grave-clothes, and his visage with a napkin was bound about; Jesus saith to them, `Loose him, and suffer to go.'
Now then, how could Christ be the firstfruit of them that slept when clearly Lazarus was among the dead and was brought back by Christ Himself?
And secondly, does repose mean dead or asleep/at rest? The word repose is used in the same sentence as dead but I thought death was "like" sleep so how then can the two words be used in the same sentence in regard to Lazarus?
I hope I explained my confusion coherently. And as a side note, I know that this Lazarus is not the same as the Lazarus in the Rich man parable and it's just a coincidence that that's what I was reading at the time confusion set in.
Eileen