Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (2009)
Christ, the Conqueror of Death
Hebrews
2:14-15 (ESV)
Since therefore the children share in flesh
and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death
he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and
deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Each
passing day we are faced with the challenge of grasping the infinitely great,
meaning and blessing which God has given us in our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Why, we ask, was it necessary for Jesus to suffer crucifixion and
death? Why was it necessary for Him to be sentenced and executed? Our Lord was
blameless. He had committed no offense deserving of trial much less death.
Perplexed by this great tragedy, we are unable of ourselves to comprehend its
true reason. However, we have others who were eyewitnesses to its occurrence,
who testify of its significance. It is through their testimony, that we come to
understand that in the death of Jesus Christ the sting and power of death is
forever conquered. Through His sacrificial death, He has liberated us from our
bondage to death so that our lives might be free to serve Him. Thus, through
this testimony, God blesses us with the gift of faith to believe that Christ is the conqueror of death and that
Holy Scripture is the revelation of this truth. Therefore, we need to, “pay
much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (v.
1).
As
mortal creatures we take a definite and rather obvious view of the meaning of
death. In human terms death is a word that laments the end of physical life. It
is always something we speak of in terms of a future event. Without question we
always speak of it as being the opposite of life. It is where life is not.
Moreover, death is shrouded in mystery. Death for many is described in the
words of Hamlet; who said death is, “that undiscovered country from whose bourn
no traveler doth return.” Death has nothing in common with life. That’s why we
place our cemeteries outside of town, away from the activity of life.
Furthermore, even though the embalmer’s art attempts to restore lifelikeness into
the lifeless corpse, the glow and touch of life that once animated the body is
delivered by death into the clutch of an enemy against whom we are helpless.
Death,
as man views it, is a menacing prospect. However, to lessen that prospect,
man’s thoughts have evoked some classical interpretations of death’s meaning.
In some of the great monuments of human literature and art, death is portrayed
as a relentless character whose inevitable victory nonetheless entices
something heroic out of the human spirit. The classic tragedies of literature all
point to a noble struggle by man against the invincibility of death and thus
credit man with some heroic seal of human greatness against the impossible odds
of defeating death. However, beyond this praise of man as the rebel against his
certain destiny is the depressing awareness that it is always death that writes
the last word on the last page of every book of human life.
As
fearsome as our views are concerning death, the Biblical view of death
penetrates far deeper than our mere human associations with the term. The Biblical
view of death pries open a vastly superior dimension to its meaning. Death is
not only that which waits at the end of life, death is that demonic power which
also surrounds life and enslaves it at every point. The author of the letter to
the Hebrews speaks of the power of death to subject men to lifelong slavery through
fear (v. 15). Moreover, the Biblical meaning of death can be compared to a man
who finds himself in debt, that, to his horror, is not only owed for all time
to come, but it is also retroactive from his birth! Death for Holy Scripture signifies
a condition of life. It describes a whole way of being and most ominous of all,
death means life apart from God.
Many
speak of death as simply another part of life. However, God reveals death to be
the result of evil and rebellion made personal. It is the result of sin. The
Epistle Reading for today speaks of, “the one who has the power of death, that
is, the devil” (v. 14). In this context, Death should be capitalized
because it refers to the personal sway and rule which the devil holds on life. The
power of Satan’s tyrannical rule through death manifests itself in the fretful
anxiety which descends upon us at the realization of death. The stories are
countless of wealthy people who begged their doctors, offering fortunes, if
they could only prolong their lives. However, the fear of death cannot be
bought off by human means. For most of us, death seems impersonal until it
comes closer to home. At such times you recognize the tremendous force that the
awareness of death exerts upon you. Then, you begin to think in terms of
squeezing each day of life more selfishly because the realization that living means
you are one day closer to the end. Possibly, you are even living your last day?
Thus, the philosophy of so many becomes, “life must be lived to the hilt while
the living is good.” However, the attitude of Holy Scripture regarding death is
conveyed in the words of the writer to the Hebrews, when he writes that death
makes us, “subject to lifelong slavery” (v. 15). Realizing this truth
helps you to understand the subtle tyranny of Satan’s grip upon life through the
fear of death? This is what it means to be a sinner: to live under the illusion
that you are free when distant from God, free to be your own master. The truth
is you are under bondage, and the relentless hold which is upon you is made
real by the fact that there is an end to you. Death is sin’s final wage (Rom.
6:23).
However,
given these frightening facts, we do not have to live our lives in fear because
there is great and joyous news worth hearing and that is the great and joyous
message which the writer to the Hebrews conveys in today’s Epistle; our Lord
Jesus has broken the grip of death over life and delivered us from its bondage. Christ is the Conqueror of Death. The
good news comforts our hearts with the truth that God has vanquished the prince
of darkness by the death and resurrection of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Our
heavenly Father did not abandon us to a plight of lifelong slavery under the
satanic fear of death. The work of His Son on the cross broke the tyranny of
Satan. The climax of the Savior’s mission to this world lies in His triumphant
words while still impaled to the cross: “It is finished” (John 19:30 ESV).
There, upon the cross, a symbol of man’s brutality, God created an altar upon
which to place the final and perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin; His
Son, Jesus Christ. There, the former sway of death and fear was defeated. Its
ability to hold men in slavery was finished. Since Christ has Conquered Death, God, “has delivered us from the domain
of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13
ESV).
When
we look carefully at the full picture of our Lord’s last days upon the earth,
as the four gospels reveal it, we gain a striking and impressive insight into
Christ’s own view of His impending death. As the events of His earthly ministry
led through mounting conflicts and crisis, He could have avoided the cross
simply by retiring to some remote area far removed from the danger which
awaited Him in
No,
the startling truth is that our Lord, Jesus Christ went freely and willingly to
the cross, trusting completely in His Father’s will that “He, for whom and by whom all
things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their
salvation perfect through suffering” (v. 10). This is why our Lord said
of His life, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have
authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge
I have received from my Father” (John 10:18 ESV). Therefore, Jesus is
in no way a helpless leaf driven to destruction by the winds of circumstance.
Standing before Caiaphas, or Herod, or Pontius Pilate, He was calm and composed
while His enemies were engulfed in a delirium of panic and rage. Moreover,
while He hangs from the cross, His words reveal not only the anguish of One who
bears the full weight of divine wrath upon the sins of the whole world but also
a tender concern for those who torment and kill Him. If ever the powers of evil
would have appeared to have triumphed, it was at the cross. However, just the
opposite is true! The power of the Evil One was vanquished by the death and
resurrection or our Lord, Jesus Christ. By His death, our Lord destroyed the
one who had the power of death that is Satan, and therefore He rescued us who
were held bondage to the fear of death (vv. 14-15).
Thus,
we come to worship today not to lament the tragic death of our Lord, but rather
to gather around the Word of Him who tasted death for the salvation of us all
(v. 9). His death altered the destiny of man, both now and for eternity.
Because He is the risen Lord, He bids us to lift up our hearts and rejoice that
through His death He has done for us what we were helpless to do for ourselves.
He has vanquished the paralyzing power of Satan over us. He freed us from the
bondage to fear because of the guilt of our sins and He brings us peace and
power for renewed living through His Gospel. It is because of this that we can
rejoice this day and everyday: our death, our guilt, our sins lie behind us,
not ahead of us. They have been atoned for and forgiven through the work of
Jesus. He has liberated us from our last and great enemy – death. Christ has conquered death!
The
person who knows this truth about his own death is in a position to know the
fullest and grandest truth about his own life. The Redeemer, who removed the
sting and power of death, invites us to share with Him in the fruits of His
victory. Through the waters of Holy Baptism you were joined with Christ in His
death and raised, in victory, to the newness of life! Moreover, through the
bread and wine of Holy Communion you are offered the opportunity to commune
with the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus given into death for the
forgiveness of your sin. Both of these sacraments are a bridge connecting you
to our Savior’s conquering power over death.
The
writer to the Hebrews asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect such a
great salvation?” (v. 3). Truth is if we neglect such a great
salvation, we shall not escape. Therefore, you must hold fast to the staggering
truth that death no longer rules over you and never let this truth grow dim and
powerless in your life. Never let the great gladness of God’s gift of His life
to us through Christ sag and founder upon the bare skeleton of an intellectualism
or a charismatic system.
Yet,
we know, because of our sinful, human nature, times will come when the victory
of our Lord will seem to fade from our minds and hearts. When we are overcome
by severe illness, heartache, financial calamity, or other sudden emotional or
physical burdens, it becomes difficult to recall what God intends to do within
us through the death of His Son. However, “we know that for those who love God all
things work together for good, for those who are called according to his
purpose” (Romans 8:28 (ESV). The comforting truth is that you have been
called according to His purpose. It is deliverance He grants. Moreover, that
deliverance comes again and again to us by the good news that our sins are
forgiven for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Death
is a certainty that no one relishes. We are all reluctant to face the final
moment of our life on earth. The thought of being separated from our loved ones
and familiar places of this world sends shudders even through the bravest of
men. However, as inevitable as that fear of death is, Christ has made it
unnecessary for everyone who trusts in Him as the Good Shepherd who will lead
you through the valley of the shadow of death. Christ who is the life of all
the living, and the Death of death our foe, delivers us through His death into
the kingdom of life; God’s
May the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Amen.