Raising the Dead
This article is an Easter special 2014.
Content
Raising the dead
What is life? What is death
Witness from beyond
Raising the dead
I have raised the dead. Yes, don't be surprised. And if you have been in the medical profession long enough, you would have raised dead too. Hopefully the dead raised are not turned into vegetables or zombies. In medicine, being dead means cessation of circulation. No response, no pulse, no breathing and fixed dilated pupils. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation are the only two evidence based techniques combined to give life back to the patient. And that opportunity lies in a small window of about 10 minutes after the heart stops before death is irreversible.
Effectiveness of resuscitation from wiki
This article is an Easter special 2014.
Content
Raising the dead
What is life? What is death
Witness from beyond
Raising the dead
I have raised the dead. Yes, don't be surprised. And if you have been in the medical profession long enough, you would have raised dead too. Hopefully the dead raised are not turned into vegetables or zombies. In medicine, being dead means cessation of circulation. No response, no pulse, no breathing and fixed dilated pupils. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation are the only two evidence based techniques combined to give life back to the patient. And that opportunity lies in a small window of about 10 minutes after the heart stops before death is irreversible.
Effectiveness of resuscitation from wiki
What is life? What is death?
What is life?
Let's begin by understanding the bible definition of human life.
Genesis 2:7
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Human life is different from all other forms of created life. It is the presence of a human body with a spirit residing inside.
An unborn baby has human life.
Luke 1:15, 41-44
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
The brain dead person is also alive because the spirit is still residing in the body. The spirit is not in heaven/paradise or hades/hell.
What is death?
The end of human life is the separation of body and spirit. This is best evidenced by Jesus laying his own life. Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus declared only He himself could take his own life.
John 10:18
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
The usual cause of death from crucifixion was slow hemorrhage from the wounds post flogging and interference with normal respiration being hung on the cross. Anemia, hypovolemia, pain, fatigue combined with the awkward posture on the cross will hinder expiration. Jesus was still able to drink and call in a loud voice just moments before he died. This is not a sign of a man in respiratory distress. Jesus had willed his own spirit and body to separate.
Luke 23:46
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Jesus body was dead by modern medical definition after His spirit left. Roman soldiers were experts in examining if a person is dead. And their examination is surely more stringent than a medical professional. Jesus received a spear wound to his side. Traditionally this is considered a spear wound to the heart through the right side of the chest. A standard infantry spear of 1.5-1.8m could easily have reached the chest of a man on the cross. If the person was still barely alive, he would have been dead post examination.
John 19:33-34
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
Witness from beyond
Jesus spoke more plainly about heaven and hell than any Old Testament prophet. With clarity and urgency Jesus explained the most important outcome of life on earth was our eternal destination. The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 has been described by many preachers of a narration that goes beyond a normal parable. Jesus wanted to show us the reality of life beyond. To benefit from my next discussion please read the story of Lazarus before proceeding.
The characters in this story were just like normal people with thoughts, emotions and memories. The rich man realized what it meant to be tormented for eternity and requested Abraham to send Lazarus to preach to his siblings. This was Abraham reply
Luke 16:31
He (Abraham ) said to him ( Rich man), ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:31 is a prophetic sentence because God will be doing just that. Sending a dead Lazarus and the old prophets back to witness for Jesus. In a real life twist, Lazarus was also the brother of Mary and Martha. Jesus performed 3 documented raising of the dead. He raised Jairus daughter, a widow's son and Lazarus. Lazarus was the last and the most dramatic resurrection miracle. He had been dead for 4 days. Jesus planned this spectacular because his own death was near and he wanted to strengthen the faith of his disciples - John 11:14-15.The Pharisees described as "who loved money" had listened to this story before Lazarus was raised - Luke 16:14. In the story Lazarus played the role of Lazarus the beggar and Pharisees played the rich man. After Lazarus was raised, many Jews believed so the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus – John 11:45 to 12:11. Surely this is an irony, instead of believing in the miracle, their plan was to kill a man who was raised from the dead, and to kill someone who could raise the dead.
The best was yet to come. The second raising of the dead was after Easter Sunday. Jesus was the first fruit of the new body and resurrection. This was followed by a resurrection of the old testament saints. I think this meant the old prophets including Moses and the good kings of Judah. Nothing much was written. I postulate that unlike the previous raising of the dead where people came back to life in their old bodies which would die a second time, this resurrection gave the dead saints the new improved body. Matthew 27 clearly states it was bodies not spirits of the dead who roamed around Jerusalem
Matthew 27:52-53
and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
The resurrection of these saints was to bear witness to Jesus testimony, reality of life after death and as a precursor of Jesus second coming. I think Paul would have witnessed this event and was inspired to recount it in 1 Corinthians 15. Though this was a clearly supernatural event, nothing more was written in the gospels. I believe these saints returned to heaven just as Jesus after their work was done. I wonder if the Pharisees saw Moses or the persecuted prophets; did Herod see John the Baptist? Despite this incredible witness, Luke 16:31 corrected predicted they would not be turned from their sinful ways. Quite the opposite, the religious authorities began to persecute the Christians after Pentecost.
2 Lesson I learnt from the story of Lazarus and the rich man
1. Witnessing for Christ is the job of those still living on earth. Do it while we still can. Plain telling of gospel is the greatest power we have to win over sinners - Roman 1:16, 10:17. Good works, healing the sick, not even the greatest miracle of raising the dead will turn a cold heart. That’s the job of the Holy Spirit.
2. Haven, hell, eternal life and final judgment are real.
For more information about Jesus death and his last moments go to
What is life?
Let's begin by understanding the bible definition of human life.
Genesis 2:7
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Human life is different from all other forms of created life. It is the presence of a human body with a spirit residing inside.
An unborn baby has human life.
Luke 1:15, 41-44
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
The brain dead person is also alive because the spirit is still residing in the body. The spirit is not in heaven/paradise or hades/hell.
What is death?
The end of human life is the separation of body and spirit. This is best evidenced by Jesus laying his own life. Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus declared only He himself could take his own life.
John 10:18
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
The usual cause of death from crucifixion was slow hemorrhage from the wounds post flogging and interference with normal respiration being hung on the cross. Anemia, hypovolemia, pain, fatigue combined with the awkward posture on the cross will hinder expiration. Jesus was still able to drink and call in a loud voice just moments before he died. This is not a sign of a man in respiratory distress. Jesus had willed his own spirit and body to separate.
Luke 23:46
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Jesus body was dead by modern medical definition after His spirit left. Roman soldiers were experts in examining if a person is dead. And their examination is surely more stringent than a medical professional. Jesus received a spear wound to his side. Traditionally this is considered a spear wound to the heart through the right side of the chest. A standard infantry spear of 1.5-1.8m could easily have reached the chest of a man on the cross. If the person was still barely alive, he would have been dead post examination.
John 19:33-34
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
Witness from beyond
Jesus spoke more plainly about heaven and hell than any Old Testament prophet. With clarity and urgency Jesus explained the most important outcome of life on earth was our eternal destination. The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 has been described by many preachers of a narration that goes beyond a normal parable. Jesus wanted to show us the reality of life beyond. To benefit from my next discussion please read the story of Lazarus before proceeding.
The characters in this story were just like normal people with thoughts, emotions and memories. The rich man realized what it meant to be tormented for eternity and requested Abraham to send Lazarus to preach to his siblings. This was Abraham reply
Luke 16:31
He (Abraham ) said to him ( Rich man), ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:31 is a prophetic sentence because God will be doing just that. Sending a dead Lazarus and the old prophets back to witness for Jesus. In a real life twist, Lazarus was also the brother of Mary and Martha. Jesus performed 3 documented raising of the dead. He raised Jairus daughter, a widow's son and Lazarus. Lazarus was the last and the most dramatic resurrection miracle. He had been dead for 4 days. Jesus planned this spectacular because his own death was near and he wanted to strengthen the faith of his disciples - John 11:14-15.The Pharisees described as "who loved money" had listened to this story before Lazarus was raised - Luke 16:14. In the story Lazarus played the role of Lazarus the beggar and Pharisees played the rich man. After Lazarus was raised, many Jews believed so the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus – John 11:45 to 12:11. Surely this is an irony, instead of believing in the miracle, their plan was to kill a man who was raised from the dead, and to kill someone who could raise the dead.
The best was yet to come. The second raising of the dead was after Easter Sunday. Jesus was the first fruit of the new body and resurrection. This was followed by a resurrection of the old testament saints. I think this meant the old prophets including Moses and the good kings of Judah. Nothing much was written. I postulate that unlike the previous raising of the dead where people came back to life in their old bodies which would die a second time, this resurrection gave the dead saints the new improved body. Matthew 27 clearly states it was bodies not spirits of the dead who roamed around Jerusalem
Matthew 27:52-53
and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
The resurrection of these saints was to bear witness to Jesus testimony, reality of life after death and as a precursor of Jesus second coming. I think Paul would have witnessed this event and was inspired to recount it in 1 Corinthians 15. Though this was a clearly supernatural event, nothing more was written in the gospels. I believe these saints returned to heaven just as Jesus after their work was done. I wonder if the Pharisees saw Moses or the persecuted prophets; did Herod see John the Baptist? Despite this incredible witness, Luke 16:31 corrected predicted they would not be turned from their sinful ways. Quite the opposite, the religious authorities began to persecute the Christians after Pentecost.
2 Lesson I learnt from the story of Lazarus and the rich man
1. Witnessing for Christ is the job of those still living on earth. Do it while we still can. Plain telling of gospel is the greatest power we have to win over sinners - Roman 1:16, 10:17. Good works, healing the sick, not even the greatest miracle of raising the dead will turn a cold heart. That’s the job of the Holy Spirit.
2. Haven, hell, eternal life and final judgment are real.
For more information about Jesus death and his last moments go to
Article 1st published on 17 Apr 2014
by Benjamin Cheah