Never See Death

Jesus told both groups the same thing: “You’re spiritually dead, and apart from me you can never experience spiritual life. However, if you turn from your sin and from your self-righteousness and place your faith in me alone, I will give you eternal life. You will never be cut off from God” (my paraphrase). In John 3 Jesus spoke one-on-one with a religious leader, and in chapter 4 he had a private conversation with an immoral outcast. As different as they were on the outside, they shared a common state: spiritual death, a common future: separation from God, and a common need: a Savior. Jesus gave them both the same message—the message he gives these Jews in chapter 8, and the message that applies to us today: believe on me and you will not see death.

You don’t believe everything you hear or read. What criteria do you use to determine what’s believable, to decide who’s trustworthy? A couple of criteria guide all of us. First are a person’s qualifications. What about them makes them trustworthy? Jesus lists his qualifications in verses 54-58. He’s the one and only Son of God who came down to this earth as a man to save mankind from the penalty that our sin demands. But he’s not just the Son of God; he’s God himself.

Abraham had been dead for nearly two thousand years, and Jesus claimed to exist prior to him. Jesus is not to be regarded as a good man or a moral teacher but as God in the flesh. Jesus demonstrates he is God by taking the divine name and claiming it as his own. In the Old Testament God revealed himself using the name “I AM” (Exod 3:14). Here Jesus takes that name to himself (John 8:58). Jesus is not a man God adopted. He himself is divine. Jesus is also the promised Savior (v. 56).

When God created the world, he created it perfect. Mankind was made to live in perfect harmony and communion with God. We were designed to worship and enjoy him in his presence forever. However, man sinned, and with that sin came the awful penalty of death—separation from God. In that moment when God revealed to the first humans the penalty for their sin, he also made a promise that one day he would send a Savior who would reconcile man to God, who would restore that broken relationship (Gen 3:15). A number of generations later, God promised Abraham that this Savior would come through his offspring and that through this child all of the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:3). The rest of the Old Testament is tracing this lineage with anticipation for the fulfillment of this promise.

The New Testament begins with a record of births. From Abraham’s line of descendants, Jesus of Nazareth was born. But he was no ordinary baby. God had sent his own Son to take on human flesh and be born as a man. This was the fulfillment of God’s promise. The coming of Jesus as the Savior of mankind was what Abraham was rejoicing about. He believed God would fulfill his promise of a Savior who would reconcile sinners to a perfect God. We can believe Jesus’s promise because he is the Son of God who came to this world to bring life. His qualifications are impeccable.

A second reason we believe someone is because of their experience. If you’re scheduled to have surgery and are nervous about it, the best people to talk to are a doctor (because of his qualifications) or a patient who’s successfully gone through the procedure (because of his experience). Best of all would be a doctor who had the surgery successfully performed on himself. We not only believe Jesus’s promise of victory over death because of who he is but also because of what he’s done.

Sadly the religious leaders rejected Jesus Christ and attempted to kill him (John 8:59). Though this attempt failed they would later succeed. The religious leaders would turn Jesus over to the Romans to die the cruel death of a criminal. He was beaten, mocked, tortured, and then stretched out to hang on a cross until dead in chapter 19. If the story ended there, we’d have no reason to believe his promise. But in chapter 20 a woman visits his tomb and finds it empty. She weeps, thinking his body has been stolen. All of a sudden, Jesus, resurrected from the dead, appears to her. He’s no longer dead; he’s alive!

We believe his promise of victory over death because he has experienced it. He has triumphed over death—both physical and spiritual—and now he stands ready to allow us to experience the same victory. If we turn from our sin and trust in him as our Savior, then we too can be assured that death will not conquer us because Jesus has conquered death. The separation from God that our sin demanded was taken by Jesus upon himself so that we don’t have to bear it, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ has left death powerless. “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54). Because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we have nothing to fear—we will never see death. His death in our place has freed us from the paralyzing fear of physical death. The beautiful lyrics penned by Henri Malan, a nineteenth-century Swiss pastor and hymn writer, capture the confident hope available to every Christian.

It is not death to die—to leave this weary road,

and join the saints who dwell on high who’ve found their home with God.

It is not death to close the eyes long dimmed by tears,

and wake in joy before Your throne delivered from our fears.

It is not death to fling aside this earthly dust

and rise with strong and noble wing to live among the just.

It is not death to hear the key unlock the door

that sets us free from mortal years to praise You evermore.

O Jesus, conquering the grave

Your precious blood has power to save.

Those who trust in You will in Your mercy find

that it is not death to die.