There are many facts in life that we are called upon to remember—appointments, vital pieces of information, names of acquaintances, even incidents from the past that are supposed to have significance. “Remember the Alamo” was a rallying cry to Texans at the time of the war with Mexico. “Remember the Maine” served the same purpose at the time of the Spanish American War, following the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in 1898. In World War II the saying was “Remember Pearl Harbor.” The interesting fact about these sayings is that each refers to a defeat. The saying that I want to take you to today is different and is also more important, for it is a challenge to remember a victory.
There are many facts in life that we are called upon to remember—appointments, vital pieces of information, names of acquaintances, even incidents from the past that are supposed to have significance. “Remember the Alamo” was a rallying cry to Texans at the time of the war with Mexico. “Remember the Maine” served the same purpose at the time of the Spanish American War, following the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in 1898. In World War II the saying was “Remember Pearl Harbor.” The interesting fact about these sayings is that each refers to a defeat. The saying that I want to take you to today is different and is also more important, for it is a challenge to remember a victory.
But at the same time, Jesus’ death is not just a literal death; it is also a literal resurrection. A real resurrection with a real body and a real person standing there that they could handle and touch and furthermore the kind of person who could eat broiled fish to demonstrate the reality. It was no ghost.
Fourth, I want you to see not only that death is an enemy, not only is death the ultimate enemy, and not only is there an ultimate victory over death for us. But I also want you to see that there is a present victory now because the resurrection of the Lord transformed even the kind of death that we know now in our own time and in our own existence and experience.
When the Lord Jesus Christ transforms us, He saves us in spirit and soul so that we have a new spirit and a new soul, and by means of death are taken into the presence of Himself. And then at our resurrection He saves us in body also. It becomes, not just a spiritual salvation, not just a soul salvation, but a whole salvation.
And may I say something else? Death, if you understand it spiritually, is not only an enemy, it is, secondly, also the ultimate enemy, the greatest enemy there is. I think we sense this in our fear of death. We are afraid of death, even though death is transformed for Christians and fear is changed in some sense.
I do not think I need to say a great deal about the importance of this chapter as concerning the resurrection. Next to the resurrection accounts as we find them in each of the four gospels, this chapter is of the greatest importance. What I have discovered to be quite interesting, however, as I have studied it, is that it deals with what we would consider a depressing subject as much or even more so than it deals with the glorious theme of the resurrection. I am talking about death, of course, and the two are connected because it is only as we understand the significance and the horror of death that we understand the importance and glory of the resurrection.
We may be weak and utterly helpless, unable to resist temptation for a single minute. But He is strong, and He lives to give help and deliverance in every moment of our days. Victory isn’t a question of my strength, but of His power. His power is what I need.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
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