Easter Robs Death of its Sting!

          Doesn’t it seem like Easter has lost its importance in our world? The simple answer is “Yes”. But why has Easter lost its importance, maybe even for you? As the world around us loses the true God, then something else must step in and take care of the number one enemy, “death”. That is why many consider death to be natural. With that thinking, we are born, we live, and then we die. That is the end of a cycle of life.

          Originally, death was not part of man’s nature; he wasn’t created to die. He has died though and returned to the dust he was made of because of sin. Sin has provoked God’s anger and wrath. The wages of sin is death. We see that it is God Himself who executed the death sentence. So death is not natural; it was never meant to be.

          But, if you lose this understanding of death, then there must be ways to avoid it or at least delay it. Advances in medical technology have prolonged death and has, at least temporarily, lessoned the effects of aging and disease. Improved diet and regular exercise are thought to delay death. Efforts in education are done to increase public safety, making death less likely on the highways and in the workplace. There is a constant effort to renew and repair the body to maybe even make death obsolete. But again, when these things fail then we may try to set the time and place of death which of course only leads to the wrong things of euthanasia and or suicide.

          For all of our attempts to naturalize death and prevent it, when we lose the true God with the link of sin to judgment, we then at least want to have our life mean something, to have been worth something. Thus we see the long obituaries and eulogies at funerals. The only thing going for those who have lost the true God is their eulogy at the funeral. They attempt to justify or give God a résumé as to why God should have this person in heaven. Think about this: If death is part of life, why do people work so hard to avoid it or to defend themselves against it?

          Christians are able to see death for what it is—God’s own termination of sin. God’s law speaks and carries out a death sentence. For, human beings are sinners who must die. The answer to death is not found in trying to find a way around death but to find the forgiveness of sins. For, where there is the forgiveness of sins there is life and salvation. Death is robbed of its terror by the forgiveness of sins. Death is swallowed up by the death

of Jesus on the cross.

          By Jesus’ death, the last enemy is disarmed, for where the forgiveness of sins is, death is deprived of its sting; for there is only life and salvation with sins removed. Easter robs death of the ‘dignity’ it claims for itself. It gives us the sure and certain word that Jesus died for our sins and, therefore, the grave

cannot hold us.

          Jesus’ resurrection from the grave is more than a confirmation that there is life after death. Death is not part of the inevitable cycle: life to death and then back to life again. Jesus is raised from the dead without our sins that He took to the cross; they are buried forever. Put to death for our trespasses and raised again for our justification, Jesus, through His resurrection, declares that our sins are forgiven.

           All of us will die. Unbelievers die in their sins. The result of that dying in sin is hell. Believers die to their sins. The result of that is heaven. The forgiveness of sins gives the gift of the resurrection to life everlasting. That is what your pastor is telling you in the absolution in-the-stead and by the command of Jesus.

          Easter robs death of the dignity it claims for itself. Easter frees us from all the false ideas and false hopes that the society would want us to have. Easter gives us something far better. Easter gives us a sure and certain word: Jesus died for your sins. God raised Him from the dead. The grave did not and could not hold Him. Neither will it be able to hold those who belong to Jesus. Happy Easter! Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Arie D. Bertsch

North Dakota District President