Saturday, April 19, 2008
1 Corinthians 15:21-26 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
THE ENEMIES OF JESUS ATTEST TO HIS RESURRECTION: DEATH ITSELF
Interestingly, the enemy that spoke the loudest in connection with Jesus' triumphant victory on that first Easter morning did so without ever saying a word. You see, the testimony of this enemy was not compelling because of words it spoke, but rather because of what it was. That enemy is death itself -- that which the Scriptures call "the last enemy."
Figuratively, death holds men by their throats all of their earthly lives because no one escapes it, and from all outward observation, no one comes back from its steely clutches. And yet, Jesus did.
Death was not powerful enough to hold Jesus and because of this we now know that He is the one who holds the key to the issues of life and death. In this regard, Jesus has clearly made known to us through the Scriptures that He will give the power over death to everyone who believes in Him.
He can do this because on the Good Friday cross of Calvary, in a twist of divine irony, by subjecting Himself to sin and death as the sinless Lamb of God, He consequently destroyed the power of sin and death upon that same cross. Therefore, when He slipped into the state of bodily death after His work was finished, death could not hold him.
Yes, "the last enemy," death, made its own clear testimony on that first Easter morning. Death, which is such a snarling, menacing, overpowering adversary to sinners such as ourselves, clearly conceded the victory to Jesus with regard to their Good Friday showdown. It had to -- Jesus was simply too powerful.
By faith in Jesus, we too shall be given this power over death.
