Ezekiel 39 continues the prophecy against Gog. We read the entire people of God will be destroyed, and the defeat will be so extensive it will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury all the dead. The LORD tells the birds and wild animals they will feast on the flesh of these mighty warriors, because they will all be dead. The chapter ends with another promise of restoration to the people of Israel and Judah. The LORD tells them He will put His Spirit in them.
Ezekiel 40 offers a vision of the rebuilt Temple. This vision took place twenty-five years after the people had been carried into exile, so it was still a long time before the people would return. Yet, the LORD offered Ezekiel an extensive description, and a vision of the restored Temple, including the dimensions of the gates, the outer courts, and the inner court. He described chambers where the priests would stay who had charge of the Temple and of the altar. The descriptions are precise, and continue into Ezekiel 41. In this chapter, we read descriptions of the inner Temple with it’s many chambers, and carvings. This Temple was to be much larger than the original Temple built in Solomon’s time. Because we know the second Temple which was built when the exiles came back from Babylon, was smaller than Solomon’s Temple, it is likely the Temple we are reading about is the Temple we will have in the time of Jesus’ return. The description of the Temple continues into Ezekiel 42, as we will see tomorrow.
As we return to Matthew 28, we come to the most powerful incident in the history of the world: Jesus’ resurrection. Some would say without His birth there could have been no resurrection, which is true. Others point to the crucifixion and say this was the supreme moment in human history, because Jesus satisfied God’s wrath when He died in our places. That is also true. Yet, if Jesus had never risen from the dead, no one would celebrate His birth nor remember His crucifixion. Without the resurrection, Jesus was just a martyr, but with it He is Lord and God, as Thomas would say, the first time he saw Jesus after His resurrection. Matthew offers us one detail about Jesus’ resurrection that none of the other gospel do. Matthew tells us the guards went to the Jewish leaders to tell them Jesus had risen, and the Jewish leaders came up with a story about the disciples taking Jesus’ body away to make it look like He had risen. We’re told that the Jews believed it up to the day the gospel was written. Indeed, Jews the world over believe that account to this day. Jesus was, however, quite alive, and He appeared to the disciples before returning to heaven. Matthew tells us of only two post-resurrection appearances by Jesus. The first, was to the women who had gone to the tomb, to finish embalming Jesus. When they saw Jesus, He told them to have His followers meet Him in Galilee. Eventually, they did meet Him there. He told them to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation. We call these words the Great Commission. As Jesus’ followers living nearly 2,000 years later, we haven’t completed the task. Our challenge is to go to our homes, places of work or school, out into our communities, and then beyond them, eventually to the ends of the earth, making certain every person has the opportunity to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. That’s the task we must complete, because every person must have the opportunity to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord in his or her lifetime, before it is too late. Thank God for His amazing grace and mercy in our lives, shown through Jesus’ call for us not only to be disciples, but to make disciples everywhere!