Victory over Death

Easter is the time we ponder Resurrection—and perhaps we think a bit about what’s next for us. Because of Jesus’s Victory over Death, and his Ascension 40 days later, we have faith that when we take our final breath that’s not the end for us, either. The Bible tells us this life is followed by eternal life with God in heaven. This gives us Hope that is beyond the reach of the world.

What many of us may not know is this belief is uniquely Christian. Jewish people living in Jesus’s day (and before) didn’t share this belief. If you read the Psalms carefully you’ll see that most references to what comes after death is…well, more death—or at least sleep. If you look up Ps 88 as an example, you’ll see that the Psalmist says there’s no thought in Sheol, neither is there awareness of God or anything else. The “Pit,” the “Grave,” & “Sheol” are places where Israelites pictured their souls going after they died…and it’s basically a lot of nothing. Some Jewish people (like the Pharisees) did believe in a general resurrection at some point in the future, when their souls would be reunited to their bodies. But many others (like the Sadducees) didn’t believe there was ever anything else after death—that was that, and there was no more.

By 55 AD when Paul wrote his second letter to the believers at Corinth, Christian faith had developed a lot different view of the afterlife—for life after death it most certainly was! In 2 Cor. 5:6-8 Paul says: “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” The idea of resting mindlessly in Sheol is GONE; living on in a conscious state in the presence of God has taken hold. In fact, this view was so popular that some Christian brothers and sisters had started doing very little in this life—choosing to simply dream of the one to come. So Paul felt it was necessary to remind believers not to simply coast to the finish line: “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Cor. 5:9-10)

In 2 Cor. 5:17-20 Paul drives two points home on this topic: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” Paul is saying:

First, we ARE a part of a totally new Created Order. We are a kind of second Eden. So eternal life isn’t just something we get after we die—we have it now. And,

Secondly, while we’re still present in this life, we’re supposed to be telling other people about the one to come—most notably that Jesus has made it available to them, too.

That’s what the “ministry of reconciliation” means. We’re supposed to let people know that Jesus loves them and wants them to experience a full, rich, and rewarding life after death. To use Luther’s phrase, we need to tell people “God is for you.” He is on our side…he is on all people’s side. He wants us to have eternal life—that’s why Jesus did everything he did. May we be busy sharing the Hope we have in this life because of Easter!

Peace be with you!

Pastor Derek +