Love That Conquers Death

Intro:

I. CONNECTION/TENSION

Avengers: Endgame

Biggest opening maybe ever. Over $1 billion in sales.

Saw it with the kids on opening day. No spoilers.

I will point out one thing: it’s all about how to overcome death.

Backstory from previous movie. 1/2 of all living things in the universe zapped out of existence by Thanos with his infinity gauntlet.

World is a sad, broken place.

Avengers are going to get everyone back.

Now, that theme doesn’t sound at all familiar, does it?

The world is sad, broken by sin. Death is the ultimate fate of all living things.

Who will conquer?

Today we are continuing the series we began on Easter Sunday. We’re talking about how the resurrection changed everything.

Because of the resurrection, we know what the cross (death) was all about. Because of Easter, we understand the meaning of Good Friday.

At the cross, Jesus died in our place for our sins; Jesus entered into our pain and our shame; Jesus came and took the weight of Evil itself—so that its power could be broken.

And because Jesus didn’t stay in the grave, we see that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is God in His love freeing us from sin . . . God in His love overcoming death . . . God in His love announcing that one day a new creation will come.

You see, it’s because of the death and resurrection of Jesus that we see the love of God. When we look at Jesus, we can say, “This is love.”

I want to talk to you today about how the resurrection of Jesus is about God conquering death.

Death is the great tragedy of the human experience.

Many of us are catastrophizers (i just made that word up). Someone who imagines catastrophes around the corner all the time.

Remember the “Drama in Real Life” stories in Reader’s Digest?

These days its on YouTube videos or documentaries on NatGeo or something.

They were interesting and exciting, but also terrifying! In hindsight, I don’t know if it was the smartest idea for me to read those because it took my already tentative nature and filled my very active imagination with all the possible ways an everyday occurrence or a leisurely activity on holiday could turn deadly. A walk by the sea could lead to a bite by a rare crab, which triggers a deadly infection. A hike in the mountains could be shrouded by a fast-moving storm that turns the weather cold and the conditions extreme. A road trip for a friend’s wedding could become a nightmare when a semi-truck gets a flat tire.

And on and on it goes.

Whether or not you are a “catastrophizer”—someone who imagines catastrophes around the corner!—we all live under the shroud of death. As the saying goes, “No one gets out of here alive.”

Even the avoidance of aging is a burgeoning industry. We do everything we can to feel, in Bob Dylan’s words, “forever young.”

And all kidding aside, the fear of all fears is death.

Sociologists have observed that just about every society has its own version of “immortality symbols”—things that give the assurance of living forever.

Egyptian ankh.

Ouroboros

Infinity symbol

Celtic knot

In ancient times, it was about being properly enshrined or buried among the gods. Think of the pharaohs in Egypt or the Taj Mahal in India. For Americans, it’s about big houses and cars, big trust funds and retirement accounts—things that we think will live on long after us. We want to make a name for ourselves, leave our mark, and therefore carry our legacy forward. Some of these things are not bad; they may even be decent motivations. We may be thinking about leaving the world a better place for future generations.

But as far as being immortality symbols—something that makes us live on after death—they come woefully short.

Death is the great ending, the great finality, the inescapable curtain call.

So when Jesus went to the cross on a Friday, it was anything but “good.”

His followers were devastated. The dream was over. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus said, they “had hoped that He would be the Messiah,” but now that hope had ended. Their heads hung low, their bodies felt lifeless, their hearts felt hollow, and their eyes were swollen from weeping. How could this be?

If you’ve ever seen Les Miserables—the Broadway play or the movie—I think the scene where Fantine sings, “I dreamed a dream that cannot be” captures the kind of heart-broken despair that the disciples must have felt that Friday.

It’s good not to rush past that moment. You see, the darkness and the tragedy of Good Friday capture how we often feel in life: overwhelmed by brokenness in the world, filled with discouragement or despair, aware of the darkness and fear in our own hearts.

Death is the end of all possibilities. And if there is no answer for death, then all other answers do not matter.

What can lift our heavy heads?

II. TEXT/PARTICIPATION

Song of Solomon 8:6 NLT

6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.

“Love is as strong as death,” the poet sang in the Song of Solomon.

“Love is as strong as death,” the poet sang in the Song of Solomon.

Song of Solomon 8:6 NLT

6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.

“No,” said the Father on Easter morning. “Love is stronger.”

In the resurrection, God the Father showed the world that there is a love that is stronger than death.

The preaching of the New Testament—particularly in the book of Acts and in Paul’s writings—makes a point to say that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. This matters because we are not meant to see Jesus as some sort of Superman figure, brought to the brink of death by some evil villain, who somehow musters up the last bits of life to burst free. The Gospel writers and the first preachers of Jesus want us to know that Jesus did really and truly die. He was buried. Fully dead.

But God the Father did not abandon His beloved Son in the grave. He vindicates His faithful obedience and sacrificial death by raising Him up to new life!

Here are a few ways the New Testament says it:

Peter said in :

Acts 5:30–31 NLT

30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. 31 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

Paul expanded on this in :

Acts 13:32–37 NLT

32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ 34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’ 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

Paul would develop this even further in his letters to the churches he started or was trying to encourage. He understood that the resurrection of Jesus is not just good news for Jesus; it’s good news for the world!

Paul would develop this even further in his letters to the churches he started or was trying to encourage. He understood that the resurrection of Jesus is not just good news for Jesus; it’s good news for the world!

But some Christians in Corinth weren’t sure. They wondered if all of this was really necessary to believe. Couldn’t they just say that Jesus was a good teacher and was still here spiritually? Why did it matter if He had actually been raised from the dead?

These questions brought out some of Paul’s clearest teaching on the resurrection. I want us to take a closer look at what he said. I’ll make three big observations from it.

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:20–26 NLT

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. 24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Paul is saying at least three things to us.

Paul is saying at least three things to us.

The first is this:

Resurrection is the defeat of death.

Paul calls death an enemy. Let us be clear about this: death is not a friend; death is not a doorway into eternity; death is a beast. It is an enemy. But it is an enemy that will be destroyed because of Jesus’ victory over death on Easter.

Can you imagine being free from the fear of death? How much fear is related to the fear of death and its finality? But what if we can look the monster in the face—imagine the worst scenario of all—and say that even that, even death, will not be the end?

When power is abused, the weapon that is wielded is the fear of death. Tyrants and thieves, dictators and despots, all resort to one ultimate threat: the threat of death. But when death no longer holds a sting, tyrants no longer have any power. This is what happened in the early centuries when Caesar after Caesar would threaten to kill Christians if they did not renounce Christ and worship them. Yet these Christians were free of the fear of death. They knew that they belonged to the One who had conquered death, the One who have been raised up.

This is why it’s so important that we understand what really happened to Jesus. He did not have a near-death experience and then get resuscitated. He did not pass out on the cross, only to be refreshed by the cool air of the tomb. He died. The piercing of His side, which caused blood and water to flow out, is a medical note on the finality of His death.

The disciples were not hallucinating when they saw Jesus. That is why the Gospel writers recount stories of the disciples not recognizing Jesus at times. There was something familiar, but also something very different about Him. His body seemed to have new—perhaps spiritual—properties that allowed Him to appear in a room with locked doors, and yet His body seemed to have the same or similar physical properties that made Him hungry and able to eat. Thomas could touch His scars and see the wounds.

The disciples weren’t using the word “resurrection” to describe Jesus going to heaven after dying. They had other ways of talking about something like that. When they said He was alive, they did not mean, “in their hearts,” the way we sometimes speak at funerals of a person living on.

The ancient world had categories for spiritual journeys in the afterlife or hallucinations or visions of a ghost. But what happened to Jesus shattered all their categories. They had no words to describe this. That’s why the four Gospels give somewhat differing accounts of the resurrection. So many stories. So much breathless recounting of something they had no words for.

So by the time Paul is writing to the Corinthians, he can say to them that he is simply last in a long line of witnesses to the resurrection:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 NLT

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

This is the second thing we can note from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians about the meaning and significance of the resurrection: Resurrection is God’s new beginning when all possibilities have ended.

Here’s is the second thing we can note from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians about the meaning and significance of the resurrection:

Resurrection is God’s new beginning when all possibilities have ended.

Resurrection is not resuscitation—like what Lazarus may have experienced. Resurrection is not hallucination. Resurrection is not a spiritualization of the afterlife. Resurrection is what only God can bring about when all other possibilities are gone.

GOSPEL/INVITATION

Do you need resurrection in your own life?

What things are dead, what possibilities have ended, where has the story gone off the rails?

Maybe you don’t want to think about those places or areas in your life because, really, what’s the point? How could you possibly change the story anyway? It’s over, right?

Well, that leads me to the last thing about resurrection that we learn from Paul: Resurrection is a gift!

Paul wrote,

1 Corinthians 15:21–22 NLT

21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

You see, just as death entered the world through one man, so has resurrection life come through the resurrection of one Man. Remember: The resurrection of Jesus is not just good news for Jesus; it’s good news for the world!

You see, just as death entered the world through one man, so has resurrection life come through the resurrection of one Man. Remember: The resurrection of Jesus is not just good news for Jesus; it’s good news for the world!

What did we do to deserve this? Nothing. What can we do to earn it? Nothing. Resurrection does not emerge from potential. Resurrection is not an achievement. No one can raise themselves up from the dead. But in Christ shall all be made alive!

Hallelujah! Are you catching why this is such good news?

One day, all who are in Christ will be raised up with glorious new bodies. We will have bodies like Jesus. We don’t know much more about what those bodies will be like, but we know that it will seem similar and yet radically different. Using the same materials, it will have new properties. All of that is wonderful. And it has led to Christians saying for 1700 years now—in the words of the Nicene Creed—that “we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”

But you know what? Resurrection life can begin in you today. Right now.

Paul, after writing to the Corinthians about the significance and meaning of the resurrection, wrote this to the Christians in Rome:

Romans 8:11 NLT

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (ESV)

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (ESV)

The Holy Spirit, who with the Father raised Jesus from the dead, is bringing new life to you. The same love that did not abandon Jesus to the grave will not let you go. He loves you with a love that is stronger than death.

Paul finishes out the chapter——with this powerful assurance:

Romans 8:37–39 NLT

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

rom “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (ESV)

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (ESV)

Because Jesus took on death and let it exhaust its power on Him.

Because the Father in His love raised Jesus up from the grave, vindicating His faithfulness and demonstrating His love.

Now for all who are in Jesus, nothing—nothing, not even death—can separate you from the love of God. This is love.

Let’s pray.

Gracious God, you have loved us with an everlasting love. You sent your Son to earth because you love us. Jesus, you laid down your life, willingly. You are one with the Father. His love and your love are one. In your death on the cross, we see this love. And in your resurrection we see the Father’s love that would not let you go. Jesus, we say “Yes” to you today. We want to let you love us. We want to be in Christ so that the Holy Spirit can be in us. Come now, Holy Spirit. Bring your resurrection life in us. Make our hearts that were dead in sin alive again. Stir us with new power to obey you and to love you. Send us into the world with this life. Fill us with the hope that one day we will know this resurrection life in fullness. In Jesus’ name, amen.