Thursday, March 30, 2017

The Death of Death

Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

—John 11:26

When Jesus died on the cross, He conquered sin. But when He rose again from the dead, He defeated death.

Death is not a subject we usually want to discuss. But when you get down to it, that is what Easter is all about. Easter is about the death of death, because Jesus came to conquer death.

We don’t like to discuss this subject of dying. It is a hard subject for us to talk about. Many don’t even want to use the word death. They will use other words, like passed away or expired. We will refer to someone who has died as “the dearly departed.”

Some, in an attempt to avoid its seriousness, will make light of it with expressions like “kicked the bucket” or “cashed in their chips.” We don’t want to deal with death. It is a hard subject to grapple with.

Easter is a day that marks the death of death. Death died when Christ rose. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).

You may be thinking, “Greg, are you crazy? What are you talking about—death died? People still die. Don’t you watch the news? Haven’t you heard about all of the horrible things that are happening in our world right now and the deaths of so many people? How can you say that death died?”

I understand that we die. I understand that our bodies go into a grave. But here is what I am saying to you: death is not the end. Sure our bodies go into the ground, but the soul lives on forever. The Bible says that one day our bodies will be resurrected as well.

This is the hope of Easter. Death is not the end of the road; it is only a bend in the road. When Jesus died and rose, He rendered death powerless.