The following is from a sermon I preached on Easter Sunday in 2024.
Death is a hideous monster dogging our steps. It casts a black shadow over everything. It devours everything and everyone we love. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ means the undoing of Death. The risen Jesus dealt Death a death blow. His resurrection was the beginning of the end for Death.
Yes, we still die. And even on this side of Jesus’s resurrection, death is something to grieve. But here’s the thing, Death no longer has the final word. Death will not win. Not ultimately. Not in the end.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). Because Jesus rose from the dead, all who trust him will rise with him in the end.
The English poet John Donne wrote a poem titled “Death, Be Not Proud.” It’s full of Easter hope. This is how it ends:
One short sleep past, we wake eternally /
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Christ is risen!
Ryan Wentzel