The Holy Feast of Easter
Swallowed Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In today’s Old Testament, God promises through His prophet Isaiah, He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. Dear Christian friends, If you look at some of the artwork that was painted during the Middle Ages, you will see that death is often depicted as a great, opened mouth filled with horrible teeth. The devil and his demons are often shown dragging people into the jaws of death, where they are consumed. You might be familiar with a world-famous book from the fourteenth century called The Divine Comedy, by Dante. In that book, Dante depicted Judas Iscariot as being eternally chewed in the jaws of death. Hundreds of years later, in the 1850s, Lord Alfred Tennyson drew upon the same image of death when he wrote his poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” describing a scene of war: Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell. More recently, a soldier named Robert Sargent shot a photograph of the boats that carried American forces to the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944. That photograph became famous, in part, because of its vividly descriptive title, which was given to describe those boats: “Taxis to Hell – and Back – Into the Jaws of Death.” This is a good image, to think of death as a set of jaws. Of course, death does not actually have a mouth or teeth. “The jaws of death” is only a figure of speech—an analogy—but the point is well made: In the same way that a bird can swallow a bug in a moment, in the same way that a fish can make a minnow disappear instantly, so quickly can death swallow any one of us. Or at least, that is the way it used to be. But Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! Now I would remind you… of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-3). “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” Stated another way, Christ Jesus our Lord entered the jaws of death for us and for our salvation. Jesus was swallowed by death. But wait a minute! Look at what the prophet has written in today’s Old Testament. Jesus is not merely the One who got swallowed. Jesus has done the swallowing! Your God has promised and your God has begun to fulfilled: He will swallow up… the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. This is vitally important for you to know. It is “of first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3) that you know, not merely “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [and] that He was buried,” but also that “He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! The Swallowed One has become the Swallower; and the One consumed by death has now consumed death. This is “the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you now stand, and by which you are being saved” (1 Corinthians 15:1). What does this mean for you, that Jesus “will swallow up death forever”? It means that: • Your Lord Jesus is greater and larger and more powerful than even death. What your teenaged son can do with a doughnut, Jesus has done with death. Your Lord Jesus is so great in power that He can fit death entirely into His mouth. Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! • You also will gain victory over death. This is the Gospel “which you received, in which you now stand, and by which you are being saved” (1 Corinthians 15:1).You have received the Gospel of your Lord’s resurrection from the dead, much in the same way that a medical patient would receive a blood transfusion or chemotherapy. You now stand in the Gospel-power of your Lord’s resurrection from the dead, in exactly the same way that you can stand in a room or in a wheat field or in a mud puddle. In this Gospel you are now being saved, that is, you are now snatched free from the jaws of death by the One who consumed death for you. Christ is risen! (He is risen, indeed!) Alleluia! “Hold fast to the Word I preached to you,” Christians! Hold fast so that you shall not believe in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. In His resurrection, so you shall rise. Then will be filled—both finally and eternally—then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). For He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
