April 8, 2012
Dear friends in Christ.
Today is truly an incredible day, because today we
are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior! We are celebrating the fact that even though
Jesus gave up his life in our place and
died; even though Jesus lifeless body was sealed in the tomb from late Friday
afternoon until early Sunday morning, his tomb is now empty. His tomb is now empty because Jesus took back
his life from the dead. He rose from the
dead and completely destroyed the power of death forever, by simply swallowing
it up in victory! Just as Paul wrote in
our lesson today, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death,
is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:54–57, NIV84)
What greater message could there be for us today
than the message that death has been swallowed up in victory! Death has been swallowed up in our Savior’s
victory over death by his resurrection from the dead on Easter Morning. Death has been swallowed up in victory
because through Jesus death and resurrection we have been declared not guilty
of all our sins in the sight of the Lord God our Heavenly Father. Now, through faith in Jesus, our Crucified
and living Savior, we have peace with God.
All our sins, iniquities, trespasses, transgressions, misdeeds, wrong
doings, lies, omissions, and simply our lack of perfection—all of it has been
washed away.
This was the reason that Jesus came to the earth in
the first place! He came to do what we
could not do. He came to carry the full
burden of our sins to the cross so that he could suffer the punishment in our
place; the punishment that we deserved because of our sins. This is why he was conceived in such a miraculous
way by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. This is why Jesus, our divine Savior, took on
human flesh and blood and was born just as we are, so that he could be our
brother and free us from our slavery to the devil. Yes, Jesus, our Savior was both God and man
in one person. He was like us in every
way, except that he was without sin. Though he was tempted in every way, just
as we are, Jesus never allowed one temptation to permeate his heart, and he
lived a completely perfect and holy life for us, in our place. Then, when the time came he felt the full
power of God’s righteous law and the terrible sting of death as he gave his
life over to death in our place so that he might make us his own.
But, even though Jesus did indeed die for us, we
know that death could not hold him, because on that first Easter, so many years
ago, Jesus took back his life, he rose from the dead, and now we sing with Paul
and all believers everywhere, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting
of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians
15:54–57, NIV84)
Yes, through faith in Jesus, our crucified and risen
Savior, we now have victory over death as well.
Neither sin nor death hold any power over us because Jesus himself has
made death nothing more than a doorway through which we will all pass when we
travel from this life to our Savior’s side forever in heaven. This is our comfort and this is our
assurance.
Yet, before we close today I feel that I have to ask
you a question. What will you do after
today? Today you have been reminded and
assured of everything you need to know for eternal salvation! Will you seek to grow in that knowledge by
reading and studying God’s Word for yourselves?
Will you grow in that knowledge by making a regular habit of gathering
with other Christians in worship so that your faith might be strengthened along
with them? Or will you simply disappear
after today and not be seen again until Christmas time or maybe the following
Easter?
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where,
O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death
is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:54–57,
NIV84) This is our assurance! This is our victory! This is our comfort! Live in it as you leave here today. Live in the victory that Jesus won for
you. Live in it, grow in it, and always
be confident in the absolute truth that death has been swallowed up in
victory.
Amen.
Pastor
David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
