Jesus to Suffer No Corruption

Another Old Testament prophecy that nobody remembered or understood is found in Psalm 16. David describes his hope in the resurrection, and endless joy in the presence of the Lord in glory. His flesh rested in hope, because God would not leave his body in the grave.

But intruding into his rejoicing is this promise: God will not permit Messiah to see corruption!

No doubt the saints wondered, why would David say such a thing? Everybody knows that Messiah lives forever, reigning over the whole world, as promised by God. So isn't this promise to Messiah meaningless, since obviously He won't rot in the grave since He never dies.

But it was a promise hidden in plain view, and the promise of No Corruption could only have meaning if Messiah was promised to die.

Christ's disciples missed the promise, even when Jesus Himself articulated it in different words: that He would die, and rise again the third day.

The women who went to the tomb that Sunday morning certainly thought Jesus would rot in the grave. They brought spices and ointments to anoint His body, to stave off for a moment the decay that destroys all dead bodies.

Jesus had already intimated that they would not be able to anoint Him after His death, because Mary unwittingly did so before His burial at the celebration given for the raising of Lazarus.

The public certainly forgot the promise of Psalm 16. When Jesus, at the end, spoke of being lifted up on the cross, and dying like a kernel of wheat buried in the ground, the Jews objected that He must not be Messiah after all, because Messiah could never die.

But God hadn't promised Messiah would never die - only that He wouldn't stay dead long!