even as he said

“He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
(Matthew 28:6)

Today’s verse passage is both instructive and encouraging. The powerful angel who encountered the women at Christ’s tomb declared to them that the Lord was risen from the dead “even as He said.” That last phrase is particularly heartening. It reminds us that God always delivers on His promises, even those that seem impossible. Jesus had predicted His death and resurrection on several occasions. His disciples, however, were unable to conceive of these things being fulfilled literally (Mark 9:9-10). Like many others, they believed in a general resurrection at the end of the age (John 11:23-24); the idea of a resurrection in time, much less that of a dying and rising Messiah, hadn’t entered their minds even as a remote possibility. Nevertheless, the Lord fulfilled His promise “even as He said.” Our Lord does the unimaginable, the inconceivable, and the seemingly impossible. His incarnation is a similar example of this. The prophets Micah and Isaiah both predicted that the coming Christ would not only be an Israelite male, he would also be in some way eternal and divine. “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah,” wrote Micah, “which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). Isaiah made a similar prediction, which was so guaranteed to come to pass that the great prophet recorded it in past tense: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). In the days of His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus asked the religious leaders about their understanding of the coming Christ. “What think ye of the Christ?” He asked, “whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David” (Matthew 22:42). To this Jesus replied by pointing out that David Himself refers to his Messianic descendant as “Lord” (Matthew 22:43-44 cf Psalm 110:1). “If David then calleth him Lord,” Jesus demanded, “how is he his son?” (Matthew 22:45). The religious leaders were stumped. Once again God had promised something that seemed impossible to imagine. In the light of New Testament revelation, however, we understand that these promises found their fulfillment in the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. When God the Son took a human nature (Philippians 2:5-9) He came into the world as a physical descendant of David (Romans 1:1-4) and rightful heir to Israel’s throne (Matthew 1:1-16; 2:1-3; 27:11; Luke 23:3). God has made many other wonderful promises to us concerning our blessed future with Him. Though we cannot conceive of their fulfillment in detail (1 Corinthians 2:9), we may rest assured they will come to pass wonderfully,“even as He said.”

God bless

pastor john