Jump Start # 438 

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

  Death. That word seems so final and so scary. Most folks don’t like to talk about dying. The thought is depressing, and so we find ways to avoid it, ignore it, and live as if we get a “free pass” from it. Reality and the mirror reminds us that we are marching toward that appointment with God.

  This passage gives us two insights into death. First, death is the power of Satan. Death is not God’s gift to the world, it’s Satan’s curse. The Corinthians were told that Christ will reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy is death (1 Cor 15). Death is God’s enemy. He allowed it and introduced it because of man’s rebellion and sin. Death was not a part of God’s plan. We must stop blaming God for death and put the blame where it belongs, on Satan.

  Secondly, there is a fear of death. I think there are several reasons for this. Nothing else is like death. Divorce is hard, but it’s not like death. Getting fired is tough, but it’s not like death. Rejection, embarrassment, failure are all bad, but not like death. We fear death for a number of reasons.

• Death is final—it’s a permanent condition. Everyone that you have met personally that has died, has remained dead. No one comes to work on Monday proclaiming that he had a terrible weekend. He died, but now he’s back. Doesn’t work that way. When you die, there’s no coming back here.

• Death generally involves pain. The body shuts down and quits. The thought of dying is scary.

• Death leads us to God and the judgment. That’s the way Hebrews 9 presents it—it is appointed unto man to die once and then comes the judgment. It’s the “then comes” that is troubling. We all look in our lives and see stuff that isn’t right. There were times we said things that we shouldn’t have, been places that we had no business being there, had bad thoughts, bad behavior. We all have sinned. It’s not only the bad stuff, we know there were times we slept during church services, complained about brethren, didn’t feel like reading God’s word when we should have, not talked to God in prayer and generally lived apart from God. The Bible doesn’t apply only to those who believe it—it’s the universal law of God—whether I acknowledge Him or not. Someday we all, someday I shall, stand before God. That’s scary.

  The point of this Hebrew passage is that because of Christ the fear of death has been removed. How? First, we will be raised. We will live on. Death is not the end of the story, not for any of us. Secondly, and most importantly, because of Christ we have forgiveness. We can stand before God because of the grace of God and the blood of Jesus.

  Our hope is not finding a cure for cancer. Even if doctors did, we’d die from something else. The one cure they cannot find in their research is a cure for death. There is none. But Christ takes the fear out. We look beyond the doorway of death and see the smiling Savior who is awaiting us and ready to greet us into His home. The focus of the New Testament writers is not upon death, but upon the glorious Savior that awaits us beyond death.

  We can become fixated upon death and fear it so much that it cripples our life. We need to live, live in Christ. Our hope is in the Lord. The death of a Christian, although sad because we miss them, is a glorious event. They made it. They finished. They are through with temptation, sorrow, pain, pills and suffering. No more heartache. No more bad news. No more sin. No more having to pray for forgiveness. I often feel, when I attend the funeral of a Christian, that they are the blessed ones. In many ways they are the lucky ones—they are through with this old world.

  In many ways, the Hebrew writer is telling brethren that it is going to be ok. Don’t be afraid. Jesus will make it right—He always does!

Roger