Did Jesus Raise Himself Up from the Dead?

[Gina]

Jesus' words were, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."  Period.  He never said, "from the dead."   He never said anything about anyone destroying "...this body."  He used the term "... this temple." 

Matthew 16:21
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Here are examples where someone lost their life or the use of their limbs and then had the life restored to them and, using the power that had been restored to them by their Heavenly Father, THEY ROSE THEMSELVES UP:



Example #1:

John 5:8  Rise up and walk!

5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."

8 Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk."

9 And at once the man was healed, and he [the man who was healed] took up his bed and walked.



Example 2: 

John 11:43-44  Lazarus, COME FORTH!

When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.



Example #3:

Acts 9:40  Tabitha, get up

Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter SHE sat [RAISED herself] up.



Example #4:

Matthew 9: My daughter has just died

18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."

23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,

24 he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him.

25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose



Example  #5: 

Acts 3 " ... what I do have I give to you..."

6 But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"   

7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

8 And leaping UP HE STOOD and BEGAN TO WALK, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God



And there are a FEW more examples where spiritually dead people who have had their life returned to them and USED IT TO WALK IN NEWNESS OF SPIRIT.  They weren't like the man with the talents who did NOTHING with what had been given him.

Can anyone think of anymore examples?

[rick]

Hi Gina,

Of every wonderful example I read I find in all of them a power outside of themselves doing the restoring. 
     

Example you used ( John 11:43-44  Lazarus, COME FORTH! ) Lazarus was dead, he did not raise himself, God the Father raised Lazarus at the request of Christ. Then Lazarus came forth by a power outside of himself that restored his life.

If Christ chose not to raise Lazarus then Lazarus would of never come forth, he would of stayed dead.

[Gina]

That's right. 

And I'm thinking about the whole reason He made that statement was because He was being tempted by the Jewish leaders, remember? 

The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" (John 2:18)  ("These things"  v. 15 He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables)

And that's when Jesus told them: 

19 "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."

20 The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"

21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

22 So when He was raised from the dead (notice it doesn't say He raised Himself from the dead), His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

Of course there are layers to that parable too, but that's for personal study.

Well, anyway, that's all for now.  Thanks for your input, Rick!

[Gina]

And thanks for your original questions because it caused me to learn and discover something I'd never seen till now.

Have a good night.

[microlink]

"How was Christ raised from the dead?"



There are many scriptures prophesying  that Jesus Christ was to be raised from the dead. Christ himself predicted that He would be killed and on the third day be resurrected. (Mat 16:21)

How was He resurrected? It was the Father who resurrected Him.

Romans 6:4

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.


Christ was raised from the dead by the glory (Spirit) of the Father. But we find an interesting scripture, seemingly contradictory, in Jesus own words in:

John 2:19

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

So in reading this scripture, what are we to conclude? Did the Father raise Jesus or did He raise Himself? The Bible is never contradictory.

In fact, there are many scriptures that show that the Father raised Jesus. (Rom 8:11). So what did Jesus mean?

Romans 8:11

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Look at John 2:19 and examine the context of Jesus words. When you read versus 13 through 22 you will see that the subject was about the physical temple, Jesus words – "My Fathers house" in verse 16. And verse 21 - He spoke of the temple of His body.

The meaning is clear. When Jesus was dead in the sepulcher, the Holy Spirit from God the Father entered into the corpse of Jesus Christ imparting life.  Jesus regained consciences and then raised Himself from the sepulcher in the physical body with which He would appear for the next 40 days to His followers When He spoke of the temple of His body, He spoke of His physical body, just as the temple in Jerusalem was physical. After God the Father had imparted spiritual life into Jesus Christ, Jesus then raised His physical body from the sepulcher. Later, He finally ascended to Heaven.

So we see that God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And once conscious, Jesus arose from the sepulcher in the physical body which saw no corruption for 3 days and 3 nights. This physical body was just a temporary manifestation  for the benefit of His followers to recognise that He really did rise from being dead. He is now a Spiritual being with the glory He had before He become flesh and dwelt among us. An Immortal everliving spiritual body. Today He sits at the right hand of God the Father in glorified form (Rev 1:13-16).

[John from Kentucky]

http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3213.0.html


http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3707.0.html

[Gina]

http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3213.0.html


http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3707.0.html

Those are excellent email responses from Ray. 

Microlink, Thank you for your input as well.

[Gina]

We, who are Christ's, are His temple:

Col. 1:18

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

1 Cor. 3

16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are

[Kat]

John 2:19  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (NKJV)

Well is there a second witness to this? Yes I think there is that can help with the understanding of this.

John 10:17  "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
v. 18  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." (NKJV)

John 10:17 Therefore the Father is loving Me, seeing that I am laying down My soul that I may be getting it again."
v. 18 No one is taking it away from Me, but I am laying it down of Myself. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to get it again. This precept I got from My Father." (CLV)

John 10:17  Therefore, doth the Father, love, me, because, I, lay down my life, that, again, I may receive it:—
v. 18  No one, forced it from me, but, I, lay it down, of myself,—Authority, have I, to lay it down, and, authority, have I, again, to receive it: This commandment, received I, from my Father. (Rotherham)

In the Concordant and the Rotherham Christ is saying the same thing, but puts it a little differently, He says He will "be getting it again" and "receive it again"... obviously getting/receive it from the Father again.

John 2:22  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

Yes Christ did raise Himself up from the dead, He literally raised up, BUT it always goes back to the Father, it was the power and the His Spirit of Life He received back from the Father, that's the only way He could raise up... "the Son can do nothing of Himself," (John 5:19).

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[Gina]

Beautiful, Kat.  Thank you for your input.

[santgem]

http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3213.0.html


http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3707.0.html

Thanks JFK for pulling out that links from Ray...
we have so much to learn from Ray if we could only pay attention to all the words.

Dear Reader:

    Jesus was resurrected with a SPIRITUAL body (I Cor. 15:44-50). For the benefit of those with physical eyes only, Jesus appeared numerous times in human form.


SPIRITUAL body.....Did i miss something there? I wonder why Ray did not say Jesus was resurrected with Spirit.
What is the significant of body there........i know the answer but better not to expound it.