Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Regeneration Viewed
V14. And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!"
He, Jesus, came up, or approached, and touched the coffin. We view two Greek words in this passage to gain insight as to what is happening. One is haptomai – to touch, which also could be to lay hold of. If this is the case we could see Jesus actively holding the bearers load so that they came to a halt. This is plausible. The other word is poorly translated as the coffin. A.T. Robertson and Marvin Vincent translate soros – a bier. Edershiem calls it of wicker-work. This would be a framework much like a stretcher for carrying a body. Coffins were not used in this era. We can readily see this in how Jesus body was prepared in “grave clothes” and placed in a tomb. Matt. 27:57-60 And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him. 59. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60. and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Our scene is now of two large multitudes in amalgamation that could possibly be restricting the traffic flow of the Nain city gate. The exiting crowd may well have been stopped partially inside the city due to Jesus stopping the corpse bearers.
Vv.14b-15a. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" 15a. And the dead man sat up, and began to speak.
What more can one comment on these words? Scripture is crystal clear as to what has just taken place.
Calvin comments, “We ought to know that this young man, whom Christ raised from the dead, is the emblem of spiritual life which He restores to us.” Again we see the authority in the words, “I say to you,” these are the words of authority whose sovereignty encompasses all creation in life and death. G. Campbell Morgan writes, “He talked to him as though he was alive. He was alive! The body was dead. The man was not dead. No man is ever dead when his body lies dead! There is a dissolution between the spirit and the body, but not in death.”
In this case, as in Lazrus’, we see that when all hope humanly possible is gone, the word of regeneration comes instantly and completely when Jesus’ Holy Spirit commands, “I say to you, arise!” There is no argument; the dead man sat up, and began to speak. Only the regenerate can comprehend the command. Rom. 4:17b even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
He, Jesus, came up, or approached, and touched the coffin. We view two Greek words in this passage to gain insight as to what is happening. One is haptomai – to touch, which also could be to lay hold of. If this is the case we could see Jesus actively holding the bearers load so that they came to a halt. This is plausible. The other word is poorly translated as the coffin. A.T. Robertson and Marvin Vincent translate soros – a bier. Edershiem calls it of wicker-work. This would be a framework much like a stretcher for carrying a body. Coffins were not used in this era. We can readily see this in how Jesus body was prepared in “grave clothes” and placed in a tomb. Matt. 27:57-60 And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him. 59. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60. and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Our scene is now of two large multitudes in amalgamation that could possibly be restricting the traffic flow of the Nain city gate. The exiting crowd may well have been stopped partially inside the city due to Jesus stopping the corpse bearers.
Vv.14b-15a. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" 15a. And the dead man sat up, and began to speak.
What more can one comment on these words? Scripture is crystal clear as to what has just taken place.
Calvin comments, “We ought to know that this young man, whom Christ raised from the dead, is the emblem of spiritual life which He restores to us.” Again we see the authority in the words, “I say to you,” these are the words of authority whose sovereignty encompasses all creation in life and death. G. Campbell Morgan writes, “He talked to him as though he was alive. He was alive! The body was dead. The man was not dead. No man is ever dead when his body lies dead! There is a dissolution between the spirit and the body, but not in death.”
In this case, as in Lazrus’, we see that when all hope humanly possible is gone, the word of regeneration comes instantly and completely when Jesus’ Holy Spirit commands, “I say to you, arise!” There is no argument; the dead man sat up, and began to speak. Only the regenerate can comprehend the command. Rom. 4:17b even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
# posted by Castusfumus : 3:10 PM
