Why did God choose the third day to raise Jesus up?  Is there a reason for the third day?

Sincerely,
Counting

Dear Counting,

There are several reasons that the Scriptures give us for why Jesus was raised on the third day, and there may be more reasons that God didn’t tell us.  The secret things belong to God (Deu 29:29)… some questions won’t get answered until we see Him in heaven.  Here is what we know:

1. Jesus was raised on the third day because that is when He prophesied He would be raised (Lk 24:7).  Jesus fulfilled every prophecy He made, right down to the details of how long He would stay in the grave.
2. Jesus’ burial is compared to Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish (Matt 12:40).  The Old Testament was full of parallels to Christ because the Old Testament was a tutor to lead people to Christ (Gal 3:24-25).  Jonah’s three days and nights in the big fish were another example of an allusion to Christ.
3. Jesus’ three days in the tomb left no doubt that He was truly dead.  Jesus was in the tomb so that all could witness that He did indeed fully die and was buried (Acts 10:37-40).

As we said, there are probably more reasons that the Father had in mind when He chose to leave Jesus’ body in the grave for three days, but those are the reasons He has deemed appropriate for us to know from the Scriptures.

God created humans after animals, and before Adam and Eve ate the apple, they never hurt a fly.  And then Adam and Eve committed sins.  So then we were told to sacrifice animals for forgiveness.  Why did God change His plan?

Sincerely,
Save The Beasts

Dear Save The Beasts,

God didn’t bring death into our world – sin did.  In the Garden of Eden, all life was blessed, and everything was perfect (Gen 1:31).  It was only after mankind sinned that death and suffering were introduced (Gen 2:17).  All of creation was affected by sin (Gen 3:17-18).  The devil would have us blame God for our suffering, but he is the one that created all the chaos and hurt (Gen 3:13).

Animal sacrifice was necessary for God to teach mankind how horrible sin is.  God changed His plan because He interceded to save us from our own sins (Jhn 3:16).

When we have repented and are forgiven of our sins, the Word says the Father holds nothing against us and remembers our sins no more.  How come the curse still remains that Jesus absorbed and sickness, disease, and illness are still present from past sin; wasn't His blood shed for forgiveness, and on the whipping post His stripes freed us from illness and sickness and such?  Help me understand.  Thanks.  God bless.

Sincerely,
No HMO

Dear No HMO,

Jesus’ blood covers the spiritual consequences of sin, but the physical consequences of sin still exist here on Earth.  Jesus’ sacrifice paved the way for mankind to stand before God and enter His holy presence (Heb 10:17-20).  Jesus reconciled faithful people with God through the cross (Col 1:19-20).  The spiritual consequence of sin (eternal spiritual death – Rom 6:23) has been nailed to the cross (Col 2:14).  However, the physical consequences of sin remain as a curse upon this world.  Sin still destroys lives, hurts others, has cursed this world with diseases, and has rippling consequences on a global scale.  Jesus gives us hope that endures to the next life, so we can persevere through the trials of this one (Heb 6:18-20).

A political group recently distributed a questionnaire for candidate endorsements, and it suggested politicians should not worry about global climate change because it is up to God to regulate carbon in the atmosphere.

I am wondering what position you and/or your church take on this notion that carbon regulation is up to God, and not governments, and therefore, global climate change should not be addressed or taught in schools.

Do you think people are responsible to care for our habitat?  Or will God take care of the environment?

Sincerely,
Mr. Green

Dear Mr. Green,

Politics and religion often overlap, but it is important to remember that they are not synonymous.  The Bible says nothing about whether or not global climate change (the latest buzz phrase for global warming) is a scientifically viable issue or not… we leave that up to the scientists to debate.

The Bible says God has delegated a great deal of authority over this earth to mankind, and that means we have a real responsibility to not mistreat this planet (Gen 1:28) – but that doesn’t mean we have total responsibility over what happens to this world.  God also says that this world is held together by His might (Col 1:16-17).  Mankind cannot destroy this earth prematurely… God decides the final long-term fate and timing of this planet’s demise (2 Pet 3:10-11).

People should be responsible in how we behave, but the notion that we are destroying the earth is rubbish… God is the only one who can destroy the universe.

Recently, given all the major events that have been happening here in the U.S., I have gotten a sense that hate and intolerance are swirling up around all of us and that a lot of us who are christians are not seeing it.  I know what the Bible says about some of these issues, but the way that some of these issues are handled just makes me very sad, and I wonder if God would agree with how they are handled.  I hope I'm making sense; I'm just very, very conflicted and frankly becoming very disillusioned with the speed in which this hate is building.  I feel that just because a person is of a different orientation, a foreigner, or has different religious views, it doesn't give us the right to treat them like they are not humans.  Like I said, I know what the Bible says about these matters, but I guess my question is: does it make me a bad person to be a christian and feel opposed to wanting to condemn these people?

Sincerely,
Peace Pusher

Dear Peace Pusher,

The idea of religious tolerance is a new age concept, not a biblical one.  Jesus had zero tolerance for false religion (Matt 23:15).  Jesus taught that there is only one way to heaven – Him (Jhn 14:6).  Those who don’t serve God already stand condemned by the Scriptures (Jhn 3:18).

Christians should always be careful with the language and attitude they take towards others (1 Pet 2:12).  Christians should never be mean or evil with their speech.  Our words should always be seasoned with grace (Col 4:6).  However, being kind doesn’t mean tolerating false religion, homosexuality, abortion, etc.  It is possible to avoid hate and also draw a line in the sand… Jesus did.