Life After Death or the Living Dead

1 Corinthians 15:35, But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”

Life after death is such a fascinating subject. Our culture today loves the concept of life after death. Zombie movies are a dime a dozen and everyone has a different idea of what the “living dead” would look like. Do they move really slowly or are they quicker, like savage animals? Do they lumber around moaning and groaning or is it worse? Zombies aren’t the only living dead that fascinate us. Vampires do too. But vampires are sexy. From the Twilight books to the vampire movies, vampires are sexy and seductive and powerful and even, in some eyes, beautiful. But they’re all WRONG! All of this begs the questions that are asked in 1 Corinthians.

           How are the dead raised? It is not some mystical incantation or ancient reading of a scroll or a magical potion. The dead are raised by the power of God and according to His time. That answer doesn’t satisfy us very well. We’ve seen the dead raised in movies and it always has something to do with a ancient curse or a virus or something. But when we look into scripture, the power of God, the breath of God, the Word of God is the only way that the dead are raised. Ezekiel 37 shows us that the breath and the word of God brings dry bones back to life. In Matthew 11, it’s the voice of Jesus that raises Lazarus. Again in Matthew, this time Chapter 27, after Jesus’ death on the cross, God raises a number of those who had “fallen asleep” and they wander into the city. How are the dead raised? The power of God and by his will.

            With what kind of body do they come? This is another intriguing question. What will we look like when we’re raised from the dead? Zombies generally look pretty nasty. Their skin is falling off and they’re sometimes oozing gross stuff from various parts of their bodies. Vampires often look really cool and Goth and sophisticated, except for their pointy teeth. Again, wrong idea. Lazarus, from Matthew 11, was raised in the same body that he died in. The soldiers from Ezekiel 37 had bones, muscle, tendons and skin, a normal human body. The dead that arose in Matthew 27 were seen and recognized in the city. People knew them. And Jesus himself, when he appeared to his disciples was recognized by his body. He even still had the wounds from the crucifixion. Paul has this to say, “But God gives it a body as he has chosen…” We don’t get to determine what we will look like when we “come back.” It’s God’s will and God’s power.

            We are human beings with bodies and souls. That is the only way that I can be human. God created me that way. My thought is this: when Jesus comes back and raises all of the dead to life, I’ll still be human. A human that won’t ever die again. A human that won’t be sick again. A human that won’t cry tears of fear and sadness again. But I will be human. We don’t turn into angels or spirits of light or anything weird. Paul says that we will be changed and made imperishable. No zombies or vampires, just imperishable humans and what looks like, I have no idea.

 

Heavenly Father, we put our hope in the resurrection of your Son Jesus. Through baptism, we are given his resurrection to be our resurrection. As our bodies change through the years, we look forward to the day when we will be made imperishable, according to your power and your plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.