Elijah, Elisha, Jesus, Peter and Paul - the men through whom God worked these miracles.
We've all seen movies where someone dies and then comes back - changed. Normally, these movies come out around this time of year and the change the person experiences is something less than friendly. Revenge is just about always a key factor. Gore ensues.
The other twist on this, of course, is when the focus is not so much on the change of the person who dies, but a change in the person who brings them back - represented most often by a tear or a kiss. Sappiness ensues.
In the real world, we see folks who are dead for minutes at a time brought back to life by an electrical charge or a forced compression of the heart. Medical bills ensue.
The concept of resurrection is not foreign to our culture. We see it in horror films, romances and our weekly medical dramas. But, do we believe it? For each example of a doctor successfully reviving a heart, there is a counter example of one doctor reaching out to stop a colleague with those hollow words, "It's too late, we've lost 'em." 10 minutes is the limit that WikiAnswers (very scientific) puts on how long a human brain can live without oxygen.
After those 10 minutes, is resurrection just something for Hollywood?
Science tells us so. Nature seems to tell us so. Yet the Christian faith rests on this not being the case. Without Jesus' resurrection, we should be pitied. Without Jesus' resurrection, where is our hope? Without his conquering of death and sin, where is our strength to conquer the sin in our own lives? Without Jesus' resurrection, where am I?
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."
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If coming back from the dead was scientifically possible, I think God would have saved us in a different way (at least I hope He would have).
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