Death Destroyed | Dana C. Baldwin

Introduction

Of all the letters Paul wrote, none is more intimate than 2 Timothy. This is Paul’s last letter, written just prior to his death. One can read through this letter and hear the sigh of resignation as Paul faces what he knows to be certain death. In this final letter he wants to encourage his son in the faith, Timothy. The one concept which comes through time and again in this letter is the idea of suffering and variations on that theme. Time and again Paul tells Timothy to learn to suffer as he has suffered. Timothy, a shy and timid minister, is to learn not to be ashamed of the gospel. Verse 8 summarizes this well: “Don’t be ashamed to testify about our Lord or be ashamed of me. But join with me in suffering for the gospel.” Learn to suffer and in your suffering do not be ashamed.

An intriguing thought, and one worthy of our attention. But tonight I want to focus on something else. Gospel means good news. We usually associate the good news or gospel with Christ and what he did for us on the cross in that he saved us from the penalty of sin. That is indeed good news and it is correct news. But in this first chapter of 2 Timothy Paul mentions another part of the good news. It is this other aspect that I want us to focus on tonight. It is one which we may recognize but have not spent as much time working through.

The Gospel

Paul begins in verse 8 asking Timothy to join him in suffering. We should not assume by this that Timothy isn’t already joining Paul. Instead we should understand this as Paul’s way of encouraging Timothy to remain focused. Timothy is to join Paul in suffering for the gospel. This good news came from God who has saved them and called them to a holy life. With the gospel, God calls us to a holy life—a life set apart for his purposes and for his service, a life which is to represent a morally high ethical purpose. Why did God call us?

Not because of anything we have done, but because of his desire to be gracious. We didn’t do anything to make God act on our behalf. God’s call came in spite of sin in our lives. His call came because God is full of grace. He favored us with a call to change our lifestyle and made it possible for us to change because he is gracious. This grace was given to us in Christ before the beginning of time. In other words, God had a plan laid out before the beginning of time to save people and to call them to be his people. This plan was finally revealed to all people through Jesus. Despite the sin of the world, despite people’s rejection of God’s plan, the master planner intended to carry through with his plan. And when Jesus came, God’s plan was fully revealed.

This is the crux of the good news or the gospel. But when Christ came, God wanted us to know that his plan could be fulfilled. It wasn’t enough to bring Jesus into the world and save us. It wasn’t enough to reveal his grace. No, our God wanted to convincingly reveal his plan through Jesus. And he did that through destroying death. This is the other part of the good news. Part of the gospel message includes that Jesus destroyed death and in that act he has brought life and immortality to light. He has revealed that death does not have the final word.

Every day in the U.S., 140,000 people die. That is just a statistic until it is your loved one. The truth is every person who dies is someone’s loved one. And that person’s death has an effect upon those who remain. C.S. Lewis married Joy Davidman. Their marriage was chronicled in a play and then in a movie entitled Shadowland. Their relationship was short-lived. Joy Davidman died of cancer. When she died, Lewis said that the pain of her loss was not localized in certain places or at certain times but that “her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.” Every death is a loss and loss always brings pain. The pain that we feel is the price for loving someone.

Every one of us will die. Leo Buscaglia used to say, “Remember, no one will get out of this world alive!” That’s the truth. Unless Jesus returns, we will all die. We cannot escape death. There is a legend about a servant of a wealthy merchant who was in the marketplace of Baghdad securing provisions for his master when he had the most frightful experience of his life. No one will get out of this world alive. We have to face our death in order to appreciate life. Paul says that Jesus destroyed death. The word destroyed means “to make thoroughly inactive.” Jesus did not do away with death, but he did away with the impact of death. For the one who is called to a holy life because of God’s grace, death doesn’t have the same impact on us as it does on those who have not responded to God’s call.

What Does This Mean?

Jesus experienced death just like all humans have and will. By his death, he shared in every experience just like all people. But unlike us, Jesus won a victory over death through his resurrection. All who are baptized share in the power of this resurrection. As Paul says in Ephesians 1:19, we have resurrection power at work within us. Or in Philippians 3:10-11, Paul prays that we will know the power of the resurrection and eventually experience that power ourselves. Our baptism in Romans 6:4 is placed in the context of the resurrection and its power to bring new life.

Because Jesus has overcome death, we no longer have to fear death. The mystery of death has been taken away. As one writer said, none of us will know what happens after death until we die, but what Jesus did in his death and in the resurrection is to remove the mystery. We know that death does not need to be feared any longer. For the Christian, death is the beginning of a journey in which we come into God’s presence. This is not intended to be a discussion of what happens to the soul after death, but it is to remind us that when Jesus overcame death he demonstrated that we have nothing to fear in that experience.

Jesus in his death took away the finality of death. Death is a part of life, but life and immortality are God’s answer to that dilemma. Death does not have the final word. We are born and we spend our lives learning how to be comfortable in this world. We become very attached to this world. We learn how to provide for ourselves. This world becomes a part of us. Then comes death. For us, death is an end to this life. It appears to end a person’s personality and existence. But that is a this-world’s perspective. For the Christian, death is not an end but a beginning. When Jesus died, he took the finality out of death. His resurrection three days later serves to remind us that we are going to be raised as well. When Jesus died, he entered the place that all of us will enter—the realm of death.

In that realm he experienced all that we will experience. And when God empowered his body to live again, he was giving us a sign. He was showing us that life and immortality are going to be found in his son, Jesus. This is the good news. Jesus destroyed death and ensured that life will be ours forever.

Turn to hymn 786. Notice the writer of this song. Thomas Dorsey is better known as Tommy Dorsey, a jazz musician. Dorsey was in St. Louis performing when he received a telegram: “Your wife is dead.” Dorsey had last seen his wife as she was sound asleep in her final month of pregnancy. She had given birth to a son. She died. The son died one day later. Both were buried in the same casket. Tommy fell apart. His faith shaken. The following Saturday he sat down at his piano and began to fiddle with the keys. A melody appeared in his hands, and lyrics formed in his mind and out of the sorrow of death came these words of faith we still sing.

“Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.”

Here is the reason for our faith. Jesus destroyed death. But when death comes we can face its mystery and finality with the words “Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”

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