Mary Magdalene at the Tomb (John 20), by Harold Copping (1863-1932)
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(…continued) “Believe in me,” said Jesus, though there is a problem. This is a nice story, but can we believe it? 2,000 years is a long time ago, and the whole thing is pretty unscientific. Eternal life is a nice hope; but is it possible or is it wishful thinking?
I did not automatically believe this story. In fact, not long after Sunday School I began to question it. However, I did not immediately forget about it, as many people do, deciding ahead of time that miracles cannot happen. That is what Thomas Jefferson did, cutting out anything miraculous from his Bible. But how did he know miracles can’t happen? Just because we don’t see miracles, and just because miracles like that do not happen very often, does not mean they cannot happen. I kept looking, and after a few years and much study, I came to the conclusion that a miracle did occur on Easter, and the story is historically true, and that Jesus is the Son of God, and that Jesus can and will raise me from the dead. (In many previous Emailmeditations I have told more of the story of my search, and the reasons that finally convinced me of the truth of the New Testament. See HERE and HERE and HERE .)
I began by saying that my top priority in life is to be prepared for death. This might seem like a rather morbid preoccupation, but actually, the exact opposite is the case. The most morbid, most hopeless way to live is to not be prepared for death, and to not have any hope when that time comes. If death is all there is in the end, then its awful shadow is over all our entire life. Not only does death then obliterate you in the end, but the threat of death affects your every day. Death removes all guarantees, putting a question mark over all your plans, even your plans for this afternoon. When the 23rd Psalm speaks of the ‘valley of the shadow of death,’ it is not only speaking of death-bed situations; it is describing all of life. We all live, every day, in this valley of the shadow of death. This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:21 when he says we are in “bondage to decay.” We live in bondage to this threat and the fear of it. There is no way for us to escape on our own.
But Easter changes everything. To believe in Jesus, and in his resurrection from the dead, frees us from this bondage to the hopelessness of death. By faith in Jesus, we receive the promise of eternal life. No longer is death the end of everything. Now, death gets only a moment of our time, and then we go on to live somewhere else. We fall asleep here, and we wake up there, with Jesus.
This does not mean death is ever easy. Death usually leaves in its wake much sadness, and can also leave a big mess of unfinished business. So we do grieve. Jesus also wept at the grave of a friend. But as Paul wrote, “we do not grieve as those who have no hope.” We have hope. Believers in Jesus will see each other again. What we must endure in the meantime is a delay, a time apart. And we have all been through that sort of thing. Sons and daughters leave their parents for college, or the military, or a job; and those who, for many years, were together every day, are now separated for long periods of time. Friends move away, and we all promise to keep in touch; but that doesn’t always happen. Job changes take some to a new city, and no one you knew is close by anymore. We look forward to getting together, but for many, the get-togethers are few and far between. So we know how that goes, and we handle it.
In the same way, death is not the end, but a delay, a temporary separation. It is painful, disruptive, ugly, tragic, and shocking—death is all of that. But with Jesus, it is not hopeless.
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James 4:13-14 — Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Acts 16:31 — Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 — If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 14:8 — If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Psalm 23:4 — Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
I Corinthians 15:20-23 — 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. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
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Almighty and merciful God and Father, I pray for my parents, my brothers and sisters and other relations, my children and grandchildren, my friends and acquaintances, my colleagues and helpers; and for all who pray for me and desire my prayers for them, whose names and needs are all known to you. Grant them, O Lord, true faith, sincere love, and a living hope. I pray that you look mercifully upon them; grant them all that is needful for body and soul, and whatever may most promote their present and eternal joy. Help them to remain faithful to you unto their end, so that after this life, all together we may be with you. You are our true joy and you have prepared our eternal home. Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
–Portions from John Doberstein (1905-1965) and Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
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