God’s Answer to Death

Back in 1349, the bubonic plague was taking over Europe. The Black Death, as it was known, would end up taking 60% of the population of the continent. But there was one area that it had not reached, and that was Norway.

And Norway was determined to keep death from coming to their shores. To do so, they instituted a blockade and a quarantine. Any ship that would be coming to their shores would be stopped well out of distance.

It would be examined, and if any were found to be ill, it would be turned back. They knew that the disease was spread by rats by this time, and if there were any rats on the ship, they would also turn the ship back away and no one could enter the shores.

And it seemed to be working until one ship refused to stop. It ran the blockade and eventually came crashing on the shores of Norway. The reason was simple. The crew was already dead.

They had become infected at sea, and they died. And when the ship crashed, the rats were still alive. They got on the shore, and the bubonic plague, and the Black Death, came to Norway.

As much as we’d like to think that we can stop death, we can’t. We can live healthy, eat all the right things, do all the right exercises, but death will still come for us.

So how can we ever have a victory over death? What does God tell us about death? Today we’re going to look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it finally gives us a hope of overcoming death.

INTRO

You know, death is a topic that when we think about it, we like to ignore it, right? We like to pretend it doesn’t happen, and until it comes crashing in on us, do we really sit and think much about it? But death is an inevitability for all of us.

If the Lord doesn’t return, all of us one day will face death. Death is an inevitable part of life. It began when human beings began, with that sin in the garden.

You know, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul is talking about the questions that come alongside the resurrection. You know, even in that day, there were some people there who would deny that there would be a resurrection.

You know, the Sadducees were famous for that. They had denied the resurrection for years. They thought that this life was all that life was. And so many today live in the same thought, that this is all that we have, and that when death comes, it’s just the end of everything. It’s anything that we were and anything that we had just goes by the wayside.

Yet, the Bible teaches us that we are not beings that only exist in this state. In fact, there is a coming resurrection.

But we do know that death came into this earth because of sin. You know, in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22  But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.  (21)  For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.  (22)  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

You know, death came through one man. When Adam and the garden seed, when sin entered the world, it brought forth death. And since then, death has been a problem for all of us.

As much as we try to run from it, it still comes from us. Death is an opponent that had for a long time a perfect record. No matter how hard we tried, no matter how much we advanced in technology, no matter how healthy we lived, no matter how safe we tried to be, it doesn’t really matter. Death will come for us.

And it doesn’t always come for us expectedly. Sometimes we think that we have a long life ahead of us, like the man who built his barns bigger because he thought he would have all these good days coming. That very day, his life came to him. What could he do? Death had come.

Death is an opponent that always seems to beat us. That is, until Jesus Christ came. Because in Jesus Christ, as the verse says, we have a hope there.

Why? Because through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have hope. That’s why the resurrection is such a vital, important part of Christianity. Paul would say in this chapter, he would say that those who deny the resurrection, he said, if we are people who believe there is no resurrection, then Christians would be the most pitied people of all. Because we’re believing in something that we base our religion on, something that isn’t true.

That’s why the resurrection is such a vital, important principle for all Christians. Because it is in the resurrection that we have hope. Is it in the resurrection that death can be conquered?

You can look at this as you get to the end of the chapter. If you go all the way down to verse 54, he says (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)  “But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.  (55)  “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”

You see, when death comes, it hurts. It hurts the people that are faced with it. No one who has ever lost a loved one, or seen someone that meant something to them die has said, “Well, it didn’t bother me any.” Because there’s always a sting with death.

But that sting is taken away because of the victory that comes in Christ Jesus, because that death is no longer a permanent separation, but a hope for something more, the hope of a resurrection.

(Job 14.14) “If a man dies, will he live again?” That’s what Job asked. But Jesus Christ gives us the answer to that with an exclamation point.

Yes, he can. And he can have a life that isn’t a life of punishment, a life of pain. But rather a life of victory, of hope, of redemption. And that’s what we find in Christ. Jesus is the hope of redemption.

As much as we try to protect ourselves from death, it’ll eventually come for all of us. But we can overcome that death in Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:57) Thanks be to him who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are times when we might face an opponent and at the end of that contest, like in some athletic event, we may not have the score that gives us victory, but we know we did what we had to do, and we gave our best. And we don’t hang our heads down because we say, you know, we overcame. We may face death, and we may die, but we never have to look down because we have overcome because Jesus has overcome. Because the tomb was empty.

You see, death came, but Jesus overcame. He overcame death and through the power of his resurrection, we have the power of hope.

That’s what happens in this life, isn’t it. That our time isn’t just limited to however many years that we get. What if we’re lucky 70, 80 years? No, our time means a lot more because we have eternity with him.

You see, we will all be changed. We’ll be raised again. Our bodies and our life here isn’t everything that we have.

But the question is, is what kind of life will we have in eternity? Will it be the eternal life that Jesus promises through the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Or will it be the eternal death that is given to those who are outside of Christ, who are still in sin?

Because sin has the power to destroy and corrupt. Through Adam, the whole world was infected with sin. Much like the ship that crashed into Norway, which brought black death to the continent. Sin came, and it crashed into our world and brought death upon every one of us. But Jesus Christ comes to give us hope, a cure, a resurrection.

That came because he overcame death. Because he died, was buried, and rose again. And that’s why we die to sin, are buried in baptism, and raised to the newness of life. (Romans 6:4) Because if we come united with him in his resurrection, in his death, we will also be united in his resurrection.

And the resurrection that Jesus came, the power of victory over death is a path that we can follow. But it requires us to know and to live for Jesus.

And that’s why it’s so important that we understand the power that death has in this world. But we also understand the power that Christ has to overcome it. What a great hope that we have.

What a great power we have in Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:57) But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you so much for spending this time with us today.

And if you have any questions or you have some things that you would like to discuss with us, we’d love to hear from you. The phone number is available on the screen. You can also contact us through the website.

There are also some other videos that deal with similar topics. There was a previous video that talks about the effects of death and you might want to click on that and follow that. Or there’s lots of other videos that you can follow.

Or if you have questions or maybe you’re looking to put on Jesus Christ in baptism, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us through the email, give us a phone call, send us a message through the website.

We’re so glad that you’re watching and we hope that this has been helpful for you today.