Across the globe there are millions of graves filled with the bodies of believers in Jesus Christ who breathed their last breath calling out His name. Some did so as they died a slow and painful death of natural causes, others as they were burned at the stake, torn apart by lions, crucified upside down, and shot in the head, for no other reason than their allegiance to Christ. Many of those graves are marked, most are not.
The grave of the last Welsh Martyr, David Lewis.
Several of us have stood at the fresh graves of a family member or friend recently and watched as they were lowered into the ground. We struggle to find any ray of light in the darkness of death. As the dirt covers the casket it's as if darkness overwhelms any light of hope. There are others among us who have visited the graves of martyrs for Christ and wonder at their bravery when faced with so much pain.
As we contemplate death we realize that the grave swallowed all of these heroes and they have never been seen again. Their bodies lie in various stages of decay. It seems death has won. The grave holds their bodies in chains, and we are powerless to rescue them. The situation seems even more bleak as we realize that, short of the rapture, none of us is getting out of this alive. In time the grave will claim each and every one of us. The defeat is palpable, the despair suffocating. It's surely the way the family, friends, and followers of Jesus must've felt in the days after his crucifixion as His body remained in the grave.
Jesus called graves the "Gates of Hell." Gates are meant to keep something in, or out. In this case, the gates of Hell, or graves, are used by Satan to keep the church in the ground. Satan won a victory by tempting our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, to sin which introduced death to the human species.
In
Matthew 16:18 Jesus promised that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the church. This promise assures us that even though everything we've seen, heard, and felt tells us otherwise, death is not final, and the grave's power is temporary. At some point in the future the dead in Christ shall rise from the grave. The gates of the grave will burst open at "the trump of God" and every believer who has ever lived will meet the Lord in the air. This is our blessed hope. It's the will Of God to restore our bodies, souls, and spirits to permanent relationship with Him.
Easter is the firstfruit of that future event. It's proof of God's power to resurrect the dead. The gates of Hell SHALL NOT PREVAIL. The same God who rolled away the stone of the tomb of Jesus will eventually supernaturally remove all obstacles between the bodies of the sainted dead and their eternal destiny!
In
Revelation 1:18, Jesus declared "I am the living one. I died, but look--I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."
Easter isn't about a cross. That's a previous story. Easter is about an empty grave and a resurrected Savior! This Easter I encourage you to visit the graves of those you've lost. As you stand in reverence read this verse with gusto:
"But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corinthians 15:51-56
This isn't a day of sorrow. It's not a day to cry. Easter is Celebration Sunday. This is the day we rejoice. It's not over. Death is not final. Because He lives we will always live, too!
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