“Death has been swallowed up by a victory”

In 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul knew his earthly life would soon end. The Roman emperor hoped killing him might stop others from becoming Christians; Paul was confident it wouldn’t. Scholar N. T. Wright said, “The picture we get… is of a man facing serious trouble and likely death…. He lives in the present world, Caesar’s world, as already a cheerful citizen of the world to come, Jesus’ world.” * Paul asked Christians in Corinth, who’d grown up in a skeptical Greek society, “How can some of you say, ‘There’s no resurrection of the dead’?” (1 Corinthians 15:12). He quoted Hosea 13:14, where the prophet used an ancient form called a “taunt song” to ask, “Where is your sting, Death?” “Paul’s perspective on death in the light of Christ’s resurrection is best captured by his citation of Isaiah 25:8 when writing to the Corinthians, ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’ (1 Corinthians 15:54)…. in the hospital Susan [near death] joined me in repeating [the words I speak every year at the close of the Easter sermon]: ‘I not only believe it; I’m counting on it.’ Paul was counting on it.” **

• Hebrews 2:15 said by dying and rising again, Jesus “set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death.” That was clearly true for Paul. Has Jesus’ presence in your life set you free from the fear of death? In what ways is it liberating to surmount that fear? You may feel that you have only a relatively short time left to serve God in this life, or you may be looking forward to many decades of faithful service. Is your life’s direction such that you are confident that, whenever it ends, you can say, as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. At last the champion’s wreath that is awarded for righteousness is waiting for me” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)? If not, what “mid-course corrections” do you want to make so that Paul’s words can also be your personal testimony?