Isaiah 26:1p, 20: ” Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. 

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out her dead.

Come, my people, enter into thy chambers, and shut the doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a moment, until the indignation be overpast.”

Beautiful portrait painted of the resurrection of the dead in Christ.

As with his dead body, all that are in him shall arise and will live again.

And those who are alive will be taken away to be hidden from the battle to end all battles as the Lord takes his rightful place, reigning over earth as in heaven.

If we want to reign with him and be in that blessed multitude, whether resurrected or taken up in glory we must hear him and answer him while he is calling.

John 11:20-29: “Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not (would not have) died.

But I know even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee (to you).

Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life, he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come (was to come) into the world.

And when she had so said, she went her way, and called her sister secretly, saying, 

The master is come, and calleth for thee. And as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.”

Mary was devastated by the death of her brother, especially since they knew that Jesus could heal him, and they did not understand why he hadn’t.

They did not know that what would transpire was for such a greater glory.

She sat still in her mourning, her sadness, and in her waiting, I believe that through it all, she never lost her trust in him,

She didn’t understand it and she suffered but she knew that he would somehow take her pain and give her his peace and she waited.

But the moment she heard that he called for her, she did not hesitate, she quickly went to meet him.

We know the story of how he resurrected Lazarus after four days dead  and the glory of God that was displayed that day, as the sisters were reunited with their brother.

They were still yet to face the unimaginable heartache of the crucifixion of Jesus

As the suffered that pain and sorrow, little did they know that in three days they would behold a glory unlike anything they had ever witnessed.

Far surpassing the resurrection of their brother, this would be the resurrection of Jesus himself, the Lamb of God giving himself to atone the sin of the entire world and in doing so offering eternal life for all humankind.

Mark 16:1-20:” And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of sepulchre?

And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great (extremely large).

And entering the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted (afraid).

And he said unto them, Be not affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen: he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

And they went quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he cast seven devils.

And she went and told them that and been with him, as they mourned and wept.

And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

And they went and told it unto the residue (those who remained): neither believed they them. 

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat (were eating dinner) and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of their heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues; 

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

And they went  forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

I want to quickly just note a couple of things.

When studying the Gospels, please read this account in Luke, Matthew, and Mark also.

Each account contains different details, and this particular account is summarized.

I love that the Lord specifically had Peter mentioned by name, as we can imagine and read from scripture the sorrow of Peter as he had denied the Lord, as we being human never know what we may do in a situation until faced with that situation.

I truly believe this is why Jesus had Peter specified by name, so that Peter would not fall to the whispers of the enemy that he would no longer be welcome at the table of the Lord.

I also believe that God will call us by name, when necessary, times when our minds are so troubled that we can’t hear his voice, in those times he can call us by name to let us know that we are indeed who he is speaking to.

This takes away the power of the enemy to tell us that salvation is for others, and that God would never accept us as his children, which is a lie from Satan, but one he uses often to keep people bound.

We also notice how they didn’t believe when they were told that he had risen, life and circumstance can deafen our ears to the truth so always listen carefully.

Jesus instructed them to teach repentance and baptism, please notice when he said that those who do not believe will be condemned, he did not mention baptism with the condemnation only the refusal to believe.

Many have been unnecessarily hurt and tormented by those who preach that if we are not baptized along with salvation we will be eternally lost.

But there are those who accept Christ on the deathbed and are unable to be baptized and in my opinion the most powerful proof is the thief on the cross, who asked Jesus for forgiveness as they both were crucified.

Jesus told him that he would be with him in paradise that same day and this man had no way whatsoever to be baptized but Jesus had forgiven him and promised him eternal life as they both suffered.

Luke 23:42,43:“And he said unto Jesus, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou (you will) be with me in paradise.”

We are to be baptized and should as soon as possible after accepting Christ, but it is not always possible to be baptized.

We can have hope through that account and the promise from the word:

Romans 10:13:”For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Today, as we celebrate the greatest event in human history, the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, and his promise to us that all in him will also be resurrected in that great and glorious day, listen for his voice as he calls.

Be careful to not ignore or disbelieve those voices that cry out the reality of him and his kingdom and his love for you and his desire to save.

Be careful to protect your heart that it does not harden through pain or disappointment or grief.

Be like Mary, go to meet him, when he calls with the offer of salvation, the offer of peace, the offer of beauty for ashes.

Whatever your need is this day, answer him when he calls.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2026/ Rev N Brown Johnson

Special dedication: In memory of Pat, my beautiful sister in Christ who took me under her wing as I was a completely clueless new Christian, scared out of my mind and trembled if called on to testify.

She blessed with her song; she blessed with her prayers and would go the extra mile in reaching out showing others that she really cared.

Her love for Jesus and her kindness and generosity to everyone was a light that will continue to shine through her memory.

She did not judge, she simply loved.

Her courage and boldness against the misogynistic ministerial powers that will be forever appreciated as stood by me as I suffered spiritual lashings from the pulpit for the “heresy” of being female.

She was hurt, she was angry, and she hugged me and encouraged me as I had to leave the only church I had ever known  and my church family to be obedient to the call of God upon my life.

Twenty years she continually showed her support, reading, chatting, and talking with me about my concerns.

I will forever thank God for her, knowing had I not had her support I would have given up.

As I would not have been able to hear God  calling me above the voices that came against me.

She has won her crown, race her race, and her battle is over, and she is now rejoicing at the feet of our beloved King.

As always, no copyright infringement intended. Shared from YouTube.