Death is more certain than life.”
–D.C. Adkisson (The Shepherd)
“As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.”
–Proverbs 11:19 (NKJV)
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Tomorrow is what we call “Good Friday.” Stop, try to understand the depth of what took place. There was so much that happened, but concentrate for a moment on the concept of death. Dare to contemplate the chorus of this old hymn by Robert Lowry, that deals with Death.
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain…
Stop there, the dark domain–Death. We read the third verse of that song: “Death cannot keep his prey, Jesus my Saviour! He tore the bars away Jesus my Lord!” WOW! Death could not hold Jesus. Death, who takes all mankind and took the man Jesus, could not hold Him down. He tore Death apart!
We all die a physical death, but I do not know of a single person who was born to die. No one, except the Son of God was born literally to die. Man does his best to postpone death, but Jesus came to conquer death, to give hope to mankind. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, “Our Lord came, then, into this world in order to rid us from the tyranny and from the power of the devil. It was on the cross that He did it supremely and finally.”
Right from the beginning, death was in the picture. Genesis 3:4 states, “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.'” (NKJV) I’m not sure what concept of death that Adam and Eve had. Most likely the thought of death was very foreign. God did mention it when He warned them not to eat of the tree for if they did they would die. When they ate, something happened, death–physical (though not immediate) and spiritual was inevitable. Man was in need of a Redeemer! And the devil, off to the side, smiled as he shook hands with his cohort–Death.
Hebrews 2:14 is a wonderful verse, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” (NKJV) Hanging on the cross, when Jesus cried as He died, “It is finished,” He was saying His work was done. In the spiritual realm there must have been havoc, because this meant the end of Death and the devil. I really like the way Chad Bird puts it, “Death would be destroyed by death.” Christ died to give life, to win the victory over death.
One more thought, there definitely is something mystical and supernatural regarding death. We are told we must be born again, new life. Why? We read also in Revelation, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (20:14, NKJV) Yes, death is still around us; it is inevitable for the human body, however, the death of the spirit has been defeated and ultimately the body will also resurrect. This is what the prophet Hosea proclaimed about the Messiah, the man who hung on that cross, Jesus, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.” (13:14, NKJV) “Hallelujah, Christ arose!”