Destroying the sting of death (Pt.1)

(Part 1 of 2)

 “If a man dies, shall he live again?-Job 14:14

 The book of Job is considered one of the oldest books of the Bible and in it Job poses a question that has occupied the heart and mind of mankind sing the Garden of Eden-“If a man dies, shall he live again?” According to Romans 5:12:

 “Therefore, just as though one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

 Death entered the world through sin! Because of it’s intimate association with sin, death became characterized with dread, separation, grief, fear, despair and loss. King David describes it like this in Psalm 55:4-5:

 “My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.”

 As a minister, of course, I’ve performed and attended my fair share of funerals. My observation from nearly 20 years of ministry is that death always carries with it an element of fear. Fear of the known and the unknown. The craziest thing about death is, should the lord tarry, we are all going to experience it:

 “And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.”-Hebrews 9:27

 However, nobody wants to talk about it. Probably the broadest way to define death is this: It is the end of life. It isn’t medical or scientific, but it is the way that humanity views death. It is this concept of death that I believe, Jesus came to address. I say this because of how the Word of God defines Jesus:

 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”-John 11:25-26

 Multiple passages describe Jesus as Life and giving life: John 1:1-4, John 6:35, John 10:10, and John 14:6

Jesus came to dismiss the idea that life ends with death! He came to break the fear of death off of people’s lives and although death would still be a reality, the fear of death would be destroyed. He did this through His own resurrection:

“But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”-2 Timothy 1:10

Essentially, He had to die to defeat death!


Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
Owensville, IN.