Jesus won the victory over death Isaiah promised
Daily Scripture
Isaiah 25:8, 1 Corinthians 15:23-26, 54-57
Isaiah 25
8 He will swallow up death forever.
The LORD God will wipe tears from every face;
he will remove his people’s disgrace from off the whole earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
1 Corinthians 15
23 Each event will happen in the right order: Christ, the first crop of the harvest, then those who belong to Christ at his coming, 24 and then the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every form of rule, every authority and power to an end. 25 It is necessary for him to rule until he puts all enemies under his feet [Psalm 110:1]. 26 Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end.
54 And when the rotting body has been clothed in what can’t decay, and the dying body has been clothed in what can’t die, then this statement in scripture will happen:
Death has been swallowed up by a victory [Isaiah 25:8]
55 Where is your victory, Death?
Where is your sting, Death? [Hosea 13:14]
(56 Death’s sting is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.) 57 Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Sometimes, trying to be comforting, people say something like, “Death isn’t so bad.” Unlike many Greek philosophers, the apostle Paul didn’t view death itself positively, writing, “Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end.” In his view, only Jesus’ resurrection, making real God’s promise of eternal life, robs death of its “sting.” “Mortality, which is connected to human sin (see 1 Corinthians 15:56; Romans 5:12), is humankind’s final and unwavering enemy until the resurrection.” *
- “To say that death is anything other than an enemy is to deny the goodness, beauty and power of God’s good creation. The point of resurrection is that it is the defeat of death…. since death is the unmaking of God’s creation, resurrection will be its remaking. That, and nothing less, is the Christian hope.” ** How did Jesus’ victory over death give reality to Isaiah 25’s promise that “The LORD God will wipe tears from every face” (quoted in Revelation 21:4)?
- Because of Easter, Paul laid out the “plot” of the Bible’s sweeping story of redemption this way: “Death came through a human being: See Genesis 3:17-24; Romans 5:12-14. the resurrection of the dead came through one too: See Romans 5:15-18. *** Only as a human could Jesus die and then defeat death by rising fully alive. How does that truth link Christmas with Easter in your faith?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we say death is as sure as taxes. But by defeating death at Easter, you made eternal life a sure reality for me, and all who trust in you. Thank you. Amen.
GPS Insights
Janelle Gregory
Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as Human Resources Lead Director. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.
When I was in college, one of my favorite things to do was to rent a movie and watch it with friends. Pop the popcorn, turn down the lights, throw the movie in the DVD player, and curl up on the couch for the evening. It never failed that our friend, Andrea, would fall asleep halfway through the film. I don’t mean that this happened on occasion. This happened every single time we’d watch a movie! Sometimes I’d think about what Andrea thought of the films since she never saw the endings. In Andrea’s version of “Shawshank Redemption,” is Andy still rotting away in prison? Who did she think Cher ended up with in “Clueless?” Did Rose and Jack live happily ever after once the Titanic sank?
I like to imagine the wildly inaccurate movie plots Andrea probably carried in her head. But honestly, I think a lot of us do the same thing with life. We’re living in what feels like the first half of the movie–the part with all the struggle, the questions, the pain, and the plot twists that don’t make sense yet. We get so wrapped up in what we can see and experience in this lifetime that it’s easy to forget there’s more to the story.
As Christians, we believe that this life isn’t the full movie. Life on earth with all its beauty, heartbreak, joy, and chaos is only Act One. We haven’t seen the final scenes yet, and that’s where the plot gets really good! Act Two is where wrongs are made right, pain is relieved, good has the final say, and spoiler alert… Jesus defeats death!
We’re called to be Act Two people, even when we’re living in Act One. So, on days when you feel weighted down with life’s burdens, remind yourself that we’re only in Act One. The credits aren’t rolling yet! Act Two is coming up–where joy never ends, love reigns, and we get to live in the presence of Jesus for all eternity!
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Charles A. Wanamaker, study note on 1 Corinthians 15:26 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 330 NT.
** Wright, N. T., Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (The New Testament for Everyone) (pp. 214-215). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
*** Charles A. Wanamaker, study note on 1 Corinthians 15:21 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 330 NT.
