Three Letters and Three Days Later

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (v3).

Three letters and three days later. Pete uses the little three letter Greek prefix ana- in two HUGE ways here in this verse. Because Jesus’ tomb was empty three days after His burial, these three little letters change everything. Christ’s followers have the mind-blowing privilege of being born again because He is risen. And when you look at this amazing passage in the original language, three little letters make a massive difference.

Three letters. Three days later.

Jesus’ heavenly Dad has such overflowing mercy that He’s “caused us to be born again” (v3). The apostle uses the Greek verb anagennao. It only appears twice in the entire Bible. And Pete’s the one to do it, here and just a few verses later in 1:23. The term means to regenerate or bring to birth again. It describes God’s act of bringing spiritual rebirth causing a definite change for the better. 

It’s where we first see those explosive three letters ana-. This prefix can have several different meetings. A couple of them are “again” and “up.” Slap this together on the front of the root word gennao (to give birth) and you’ve got an absolutely dynamite combination. It can literally mean to be born again or born up. I think Pete’s not making us choose but wanting us to see BOTH meanings in the word. God hasn’t just miraculously caused us to be born again but to be born UP! A huge part of our new birth is living with our eyes on the eternal prize. Born again. Born up. Three little letters that make all the difference.

God generously gives us new birth “to a living hope” so we can enjoy and explore new life right here and right now. Eternal life isn’t some heavenly benefit package that we cash in like a 401k. By causing us to be born again and born up, this jaw-dropping eternal life starts now. It’s a “living hope.” Dive into now. You don’t have to wait. You’re born again and born up for life now.

Pete uses those three letter prefix again when he writes of Jesus’ “resurrection” (Gr. anastasis). The Greek noun describes an arising or a raising up of the dead. It’s the act of coming back to life after having died. Living again after dying. When you take a closer look at the original language, there’s ana- one more time. Here the apostle teams it up with the word meaning stand. So this combination literally means to stand again or stand up. Again, I’m pretty sure Pete wants us to see BOTH ideas. Three days after dying, the resurrected Jesus stands again. Three days after dying, the resurrected Jesus stands up with eyes on heaven. 

Don’t miss one VERY important point. Jesus died. Christ was dead. He didn’t swoon. He wasn’t in a coma. He didn’t lower his heart rate and go into a trance like some swami. He died. And just to make sure their victim was dead, His executioners jammed a sword through His ribcage and into His heart. Jesus bled out at Golgotha. A couple of friends took His lifeless body off the cross. They prepped the cadaver for the grave with nearly one hundred pounds of burial cloths and spices. They placed His corpse in a tomb and rolled a huge stone over the entrance to keep the smell of rotting flesh contained. Jesus. Died. But the radical Rabbi/Carpenter would stand up and stand again.

Three letters. Three days later.

When Christ showed up late for his friend’s funeral, He made an incredible claim to Lazarus’ grieving sister Martha. “I am the resurrection (Gr. anastasis) and the life. Whoever believes in Me though he may die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (Jn 11:25-26). A few moments later, Jesus would call Laz back to life. Laz would stand again. He would stand up. I’m pretty sure that Laz, his sisters and everybody who came to pay their respects to the dearly departed lived life after that. Things change drastically when you go to someone’s funeral and they personally thank you for coming when you leave. Laz personally knew the power of those three little letters.

Let’s never forget the power of those three letters. Let’s never forget the power of those three days.