VICTORY OVER DEATH
In a
recent magazine interview, two aging actresses and longtime friends, Jane Fonda
and Lily Tomlin, bantered about death. Tomlin recalled a time when she was four
years old, visiting her grandmother in rural Kentucky. A little girl had died,
and they laid the body out in the house. "Everyone was oohing and aahing
over her," said Tomlin. "Death didn't make sense to me then, and it
doesn't make any more sense now."
Jane
Fonda had a different reaction. "I feel the opposite," she said.
"The past few years, I've made a real point of cozying up to death and
making it a friend. That's what I always do with things that frighten me. Death
is inevitable, so why not make peace with it? I'm not scared of it at
all."[1]
How do you view death? Are you afraid of it, or should you make it your friend?
Listening to different views of death, from a
biblical viewpoint, neither actress has the whole story, although Tomlin may be
closer to the truth. Death is an enemy. It's not our friend. The Bible calls it
our "Final Enemy." But Christ has conquered this enemy. Easter's
story shows how Jesus got the Victory Over Death by rising from
the grave on the third day. That victory is what we celebrate worldwide on this
Resurrection Sunday. John 20:11-23
On
Easter Sunday, we are supposed to celebrate new life. One wonders, how come I
am talking about death? We won't be able to appreciate life and its fullness
without considering death because it is very much a part of life. We look at
the biblical perspective of natural death, its impact, and how to overcome it,
as the Bible calls it, the second or eternal death.
I.
Death of Humans is Universal and Inevitable.
I was scared to death at
age eight, hearing my Mom telling me about her colleague's daughter dying of a
snake bite in India. I didn't know what to make of death and dying.
Since
then, I have seen many of my family and friends die. As a pastor, I have
officiated several funerals and consoled the grieving. Yet, death remains a
frightening and mysterious subject. If you wonder why people die, the answer is
found in God's commandment to Adam and Eve. He said, "But you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you
will surely die." Gen 2:17. They couldn't keep it and violated it.
That
resulted in the physical death of all human beings. Paul picks up that theme in
Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to
all people because all sinned." The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus Our Lord." Romans 6:23
From
Adam, all have sinned, and death reigns over all people. We may delay it at
most, but eventually, we all succumb to death. Unlike Hinduism's understanding
of reincarnation or the seven cycles of life, Christians believe, "Just as people are destined to die once and after
that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins
of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to
bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Rom 8:27-28.
Jesus' death brought salvation to our souls. By rising from the grave, Jesus
defeated death.
II.
Jesus defeated death by conquering the grave.
Jesus shared
with his disciples three times, predicting his death and Resurrection. In Luke
9:22, he says, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by
the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and he must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life."
No one
in human history, except Jesus, accurately predicted the manner of their death
and the time of their Resurrection from the dead.
Jesus'
disciples had difficulty understanding and believing this. The Pharisees and
the chief priests took Jesus' words seriously and went to Pilate with an
unusual request. Sir, "we remember that while he
was still alive, that deceiver said,
After three days, I will rise again.' So, give
the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. "Take a
guard," Pilate answered. Go, make the tomb as secure as you can. So, they went and made the tomb secure by putting a
seal on the stone and posting the guard." Matt 27:63-66 Approximately sixteen armed guards guarded a sealed tomb.
No
one could break away that security ring, break the seal, roll the stone away,
and steal the body of Jesus, as the elders suspected that would happen. But
none of that could keep Jesus in the tomb for more than three days. As he predicted,
Jesus conquered death on the third day, defeating his final enemy. A
day will come, and He will annihilate death forever.
Who witnessed
Jesus' Resurrection from the dead for the very first time? Mary Magdalene stood
outside the tomb, weeping, and bent over intently, looking into it. Two angels
appeared and asked Mary Why are you crying? Mary responded, "They have
taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put him. At that time, she
saw the risen Lord Jesus but couldn't recognize Him due to His glorified body.
Jesus
asked her, "Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? Thinking
he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me
where you have put him, and I will get him." Mary sure looked determined
to get Jesus' body back. Then Jesus must have called her name tenderly, "Mary."
She turned and cried out in Aramaic, Rabboni! (which means Teacher). This tells
me that Jesus not only knows but also remembers our names.
Mary Magdalene became the first witness to Jesus' Resurrection. She was sent back to the doubting eleven disciples with a message that Jesus was returning to the Father. Mary returned to the disciples with the news, "I have seen the Lord! No one could discount that personal experience of her seeing the risen Lord. What is your experience like this Easter Sunday morning? Have you experienced the Risen Lord changing you and granting you eternal life?
III.
Because of Jesus' Resurrection, we, too, can have victory over death
What does Jesus'
Resurrection mean for us today? How does it impact our lives? The Crucifixion
and the Resurrection of Christ are two core doctrines of our Christian faith.
From Jesus' time to today, many have tried and are still trying to
discredit these truths.
For
those who doubt Jesus' Resurrection, the Apostle Paul has something to say,
"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." I Corinthians 15:17-22
As Prophet Isaiah predicted, when Jesus rose from the grave,
"Death has been swallowed up in victory." Isaiah 25:8. Hosea
prophesied, saying, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Hosea 13:14. Because
of Jesus' Resurrection, we, too, can have victory over death. It doesn't mean
we will not die. The natural death due to sin is something no one can escape,
but we can have victory over the second death, as recorded in the book of
Revelation.
Listen to the words of the one who conquered death and
ascended to heaven. "To the thirsty, I will give water
without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are
victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will
be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars they
will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second
death." Rev 21:5-8
On
this Resurrection Sunday, the message is clear: Jesus says, "I am the
Resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though
they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe
this? You have to decide whether to believe in Jesus or not today. If you do,
you, too, will have Victory Over the Second Death.
