The Death of Death in the Death of Christ

Anchoring our hearts in the hope of the gospel

“This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.” (John 21:19)

Death is a putrid stench on the face of the earth — an unwelcome intrusion, a foreign invader. It is a twisted and perverted and blasphemous thing that, despite its pervasiveness throughout all of creation, nevertheless stands in gross defiance of God and His good world, like leeches on the skin of a newborn or a carcass rotting at a wedding feast.

Death, in other words, is a terrible thing, an aberration and a horror. And yet, in the mysterious wisdom and goodness of God, this is not all death is. For through the powerful, redeeming, sin-destroying work of the Son of God, death is also an occasion of strange wonder: a stage upon which the saints live out their final moments, and in so doing give glory to the King of ages: “This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God” (Jn. 21:19). 

To make such a statement is not to diminish in any way the horror that death is. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, after all, despite knowing that He was going to raise him in a few short moments (Jn. 11:35). Death, in every instance, is a tragic thing. Rather, the purpose in making such a scandalous claim is simply to highlight the even more scandalous reality that Christ, the Redeemer and Lord of the human race, has trampled death underfoot so completely that a thing once marked by ignominy and shame has become an occasion for glory. The nature of death has been transformed, such that on this side of the cross saints don’t merely die: they give praise and honour to their God as they pass through the River into endless life. 

The reason this is so is because, as Owen said, death itself died in the death of Christ. The sin-bearing Saviour, through His crucifixion and resurrection from the grave, defanged the beast that had long been the devourer of men and exposed the principalities and powers of this fallen world to open shame (Col. 2:15). Death’s dominion, in other words, was shattered through the cross of Christ, with the result that “as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21). The groans of creation have been replaced by a triumphant strain: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55).

Practically, this means that Christians can now face death in a manner utterly foreign to the rest of the human race. We can face it, not with an eye toward grim defeat, not in terror or shame, not in helpless surrender, but in hope. We can face it knowing that we come to a conquered foe and that on the other side stands a Saviour ready to receive us and wipe away whatever tears of anguish stain our cheeks. 

To put it another way, death’s power has been gutted through the death of Christ. Thus, though Christ’s little ones die, yet shall they live (Jn. 11:25). Though they sleep, they will wake (1 Thess. 5:10). Though they fall, they will rise through the grace and life that has overflowed to them in their crucified and risen Lord. Death could not hold Christ, and neither will it hold us if we are hidden securely in Him. O how full the triumph of Christ is! How sweet His mercy!

This is a hope to hold on to in times of trial and affliction. Yes, the curse is bitter and suffering is painful, but Christ has borne the weight we could never bear, and thus all our afflictions in this life, however severe, no longer carry with them a merely despairing note. Each is infused with sanctifying love and is therefore an instrument in the Father’s hand that will carry us safely home: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39).

As the Heidelberg Catechism rightly has it: “What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong — body and soul, in life and death — to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

To Him be glory forever. Amen.