Genesis 35:2-4
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears…
… and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
When I think about the resurrection, I do not just think about an empty tomb. I think about a God who still calls people back.
That is what is happening here with Jacob.
By the time we get to Genesis 35, Jacob and his household have picked up all kinds of junk. There are idols in the camp. Pagan trinkets in their hands. Worldly attachments hanging on them. And yet God does not say, “Get your act together, clean yourselves up, and maybe I will speak to you again.”
No. God says, “Rise up. Let us go to Bethel.”
That is the resurrection.
The resurrection is not the message that man climbed back to God. The resurrection is the message that God made the way back for man. The resurrection is not heaven saying, “Fix yourself, then come.” The resurrection is heaven saying, “Because My Son died and rose again, come back to Me.”
That changes everything.
Jacob does not clean up first so God will call him. Jacob cleans up because God already called him. Maybe that is why he turns to his family and says, “Put away the strange gods. Be clean. Change your garments. We are going to Bethel.” In other words, “Because God is still calling us, it is time to leave the junk behind.”
That is what grace does.
A lot of people think the resurrection is for good people, religious people, cleaned up people, people who have finally straightened themselves out. Not so. The resurrection is for people in distress. The resurrection is for people who have wandered. The resurrection is for people who have made messes. The resurrection is for people who have picked up things they should never have carried.
And the risen Lord still says, “Come on. Let us go to Bethel.”
That is the wonder of it.
Then Jacob takes all that stuff and buries it under the oak by Shechem. And you cannot help but see the picture. The tree points us to the Cross. He takes the idols, the trinkets, the defilement, the compromise, and he leaves it there.
That is the resurrection too.
Because when Jesus went to the Cross, He did not only deal with the penalty of sin. He broke the power of sin. Then on the third day, He rose again to prove that sin, death, hell, and the grave do not get the last word.
Romans 6:9-11
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more
death hath no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, he died unto sin once
but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That is not just theology for a classroom. That is freedom for real life.
Because of the resurrection, you can say, “I do not have to keep bowing to this anymore.” Because of the resurrection, you can say, “This thing is not my master.” Because of the resurrection, the addict can have hope, the bitter man can be softened, the bound woman can walk free, the ashamed soul can lift up his head again.
The resurrection means Jesus did not merely make forgiveness possible in theory. He made new life available in reality.
That is why the resurrection is such good news.
It means you do not have to stay in Shechem.
It means you do not have to keep the idols.
It means you do not have to drag yesterday into tomorrow.
You can leave it at the tree and rise to walk with God again.
1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Notice that. Not only forgiven. Not only pitied. But dead to sins, and alive unto righteousness. That is resurrection power. That is new life. That is the victory of Christ reaching right down into the stuff that has tangled you up and saying, “You do not belong to that anymore. You belong to Me.”
So maybe the word for somebody today is very simple.
The Lord is still calling you.
Not because you have done everything right.
Not because you have cleaned everything up.
Not because you finally became worthy.
He is calling you because He is merciful. He is calling you because the tomb is empty. He is calling you because Jesus Christ is alive.
And because He is calling, you can answer.
You can hand over the junk. You can bury the idols. You can leave the shame at the Cross. You can get up and go to Bethel.
That is the resurrection.
The stone was rolled away so prodigals could come home. The grave was emptied so sinners could walk free. The risen Christ still meets people in the day of their distress, and He is still with them in the way.
So rise up.
Go back to Bethel.
Leave it at the tree, and walk in resurrection life.