Just as He Said

What a wonderful celbration of the gospel is Easter! The resurrection of Christ and the events preceding it are perhaps the most important events in human history. All of man kind finds themselves either looking forward or backward to this glorious resurrection day. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the Apostle Paul was inspired to write the following words regarding these events; “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”. That Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that on the third day He was raised from the dead, are said to be "of first importance". Without these truths, as revealed "according to the Scriptures", there can be no gospel message, no good news.


Jesus emphasized these truths when He repeatedly told His disciples of there coming occurrence. We read the following accounts 
(Matthew 17:22-23) “and while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." And they were deeply grieved."


(Matthew 20:17-19) “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up."


(Mark 8:31) “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”


(Mark 9:30-32) “From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later." But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.”


(Mark 10:32-34) “They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."


(Luke 9:22) "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day."


(Luke 9:43-44) “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men."


There is no question that His repetition of these truths stressed their importance and significance. I appreciate the last reference where Jesus told His disciples to "Let these words sink into your ears". He was as sure of these events as He was of anything. Not simply because He knew the sinfulness of men and what they were capable of doing, but because He knew the perfect plan of God. The plan, the authority, to “deliver Him into the hands of men” had not been made by men, but by God.And praise God, He rose on the third day!

This was the purpose for His coming to dwell amongst men. This was God’s will being done. He was simply using the sinful hearts of men to accomplish His perfect will. May we never forget and may we never allow someone to persuade us to believe otherwise, that the manger He laid in at His birth, lie already, in the shadow of His cross.

The proclamation made that resurrection morning was grand; "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying." (Matthew 28:6)

Yes, just as He said! Today we celebrate the fulfillment of His word. He is faithful and true. So, just as He had said:

He was delivered into the hands of men.

He was condemned to death.

He was mocked. He was spat upon. He was scourged.

He was crucified.

He was buried.

He rose the third day!

What a wondrous day is Easter!

Epaphrus, A Faithful Servant

In his letter to the church at Colossae, the Apostle Paul was inspired to commend Epaphrus, a man who had been involved in Christian service to the Colossians, as being a "faithful servant of Christ". Throughout Paul's letters one would see that Paul did not make such statements lightly. He was a man much about proven character and not just words.

There is not a lot of scripture concerning this man Epaphrus, but it seems that what we have is quite telling. In Colossians 1:3-8, Paul wrote, "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit." And in Colossians 4:12-13 we read, "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis."

From these verses and their context, we gain some insight as to why the Apostle Paul would refer to Epaphrus as a "faithful servant of Christ". Consider these three points. First of all, he had been God's vessel or instrument in the sharing of the gospel of Christ with the people in Colossae. Having been a good steward of the gospel, He had declared unto them the "word of truth". Secondly, it appears that he had been a defender of the gospel of grace. Seemingly aware of it's importance and led by the Spirit, he taught the Colossions in a manner which they "understood the grace of God in truth". And thirdly, though imprisoned for his faith in Christ, out of a God inspired "deep concern" for others, he continued to serve the Colossian believers by "laboring earnestly" for them in his prayers.

Although it is not intented to be a complete list of qualities that might be seen in a faithful servant, in Epaphrus we can learn the following. That a "faithful servant of Christ" is one who lives and shares the gospel of Christ, defends and teaches the gospel of grace, serves in whatever situations they find themselves in and is a person of earnest prayer. The place of service and specifics of it may change but the heart of the faithful servant remains the same. May God so work in our lives that we might be found to be faithful servants of Christ. To God be the glory!