Victory Over Death

Easter means Victory over Death. [See full sermon notes]

So it is not just that Jesus is victorious over death, but that for all of his followers, they too will receive this same victory over death.

Paul writes, “[51] Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. [53] For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. [54] When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” [55] “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57, ESV).

We have victory through Christ! We will be changed! We will put on the imperishable! We will put on immortality! What great good news! There is nothing like it!

Recently, I have stumbled my way into a bunch of health podcasts. The Huberman Lab and Peter Attia’s podcast. They have these longform podcasts where they interview scientists and doctors about achieving better health and longer life. It is all very interesting, and I am grateful for their work and expertise and for their willingness to share this information for free. But the more I have listened, the more I have also been struck by the weight and the emptiness of it all.

The weight: There are so many regimens to follow. I need to get up every morning and get sunlight on my retinas and not through glass. I need to mind my water intake. I need to delay caffeine for 90 minutes after waking up. But I need to hold off on caffeine up to 14 hours prior to bedtime. And I need to load up on supplements. I need to take cold baths and alternate them with really hot sana treatments. I need to go at least 12 hours every 24-hour day without eating. You get the picture? The more I listen to these great podcasts, the longer the list gets.

But it is all ultimately empty. Not only do these methods not address my deepest needs as a person and soul, but they do not address my fundamental problem: death. The fittest bodies still die. And honestly, the irony of all this health-focused living is that if there is no resurrection from the dead, you really should do just the opposite. Why? Because you might get hit by a bus tomorrow. So why waste your time in ice baths and avoiding dessert? And that is what Paul points out. In verse 32, he says, “…If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (1 Corinthians 15:32a).

But the promise of Christ’s resurrection is that we too shall be raised. Death is swallowed up in victory! Oh, how I wish all these doctors and scientists would know the hope of putting on immortality.

Friends, though we die, yet shall we live. Though friends and family depart, yet shall we be reunited. This is the hope of Easter.

And we’re invited to look forward to this resurrection. When Lazarus dies, his sisters are of course very upset. And do you know what Jesus’s first word of comfort is? Not “It’s part of God’s plan,” though it was. Not “My presence should be enough,” though it should be. No. What is the very first thing he says? “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23, ESV). When two dear friends confront death, his encouragement is the promise of resurrection.

So, Easter means victory over death! Let us cling to that victory! Cling to it today!