Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
The Big Idea
Are you afraid of dying, and of what comes after? Everyone dies, and our conscience tells us judgment follows. But Jesus died a death that wasn’t His to die, and rose again. He swallowed death up in victory. Death is now a lion without teeth, a bee without a sting, because Jesus took the sting of sin and fulfilled the Law that condemned us. So believers can mock death, and live without fear. And the same resurrection life frees us not only to die unafraid, but to live unafraid, steadfast and abounding in the Lord’s work.
Are You Afraid?
Are you afraid of dying?
I don’t mean getting hit by a bus. (Personally, I have an unreasonable fear of falling into the Grand Canyon while chasing my kids. I’ve seen cartoon characters bounce off cliffs, and I don’t think I’d bounce like that.)
I mean: are you afraid of what happens after you die? Of not existing? Or of being judged?
A researcher who interviewed more than a thousand of the oldest Americans about their life wisdom admitted that death troubled him deeply: it’s the one event no one gets out of. Psychologists even have a theory that awareness of our own death creates a potential for paralyzing terror, and that much of life is spent finding ways to defend ourselves against it.
So the world recognizes that everyone dies. Good for them.
- Some atheists say we simply become worm food and that’s it.
- Some spiritual movements say we drift into a vast cosmic oneness.
Both ignore the most important part: judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
If you just die and disappear, that’s better than facing God’s judgment. But what if it isn’t true? You might think you’re a great singer, but the talent-show judge will tell you the brutal truth. The celebrity chef will tell you exactly what he thinks if your food doesn’t measure up!
Most people are honestly afraid of dying, and for good reason. Deep down they reject the idea that life is meaningless. And they have a little voice inside, a conscience God put there, telling them clearly that they’ve sinned (Romans 2:14-15). Then the Bible confirms it, and tells us the consequence.
Spurgeon warned that the unrepentant will rise again too, and will face God’s judgment in the very bodies they sinned in.
But he also described the opposite expectation for the believer: “I will not fear thee, death, why should I? Thou lookest like a dragon, but thy sting is gone. Thy teeth are broken, oh old lion, wherefore should I fear thee? I know thou art no more able to destroy me, but thou art sent as a messenger to conduct me to the golden gate wherein I shall enter and see my Saviour’s unveiled face for ever. Expiring saints have often said that their last beds have been the best they have ever slept upon.”
Swallowed Up in Victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-58)
Paul says that when our perishable, mortal bodies are clothed with the imperishable and immortal, then the Scripture will be fulfilled: death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory now? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. But thank God, He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! So, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, don’t be moved, and always give yourselves fully to the Lord’s work, because your work in the Lord is never wasted.
Not for Himself
When Jesus died on the cross, He really died. But not for Himself. Daniel prophesied centuries before that the Messiah would be “cut off, but not for Himself” (Daniel 9:26).
He was cut off from life for us, as the substitute for the punishment we deserved.
Isaiah prophesied that by His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). His suffering brings us forgiveness and grace. His blood cleanses us from all sin. Only His blood. Not good efforts, good intentions, a good family or good performance. Only His blood (1 John 1:7).
Because Jesus died on the cross, I can be forgiven.
Anyone who calls on Jesus in faith to forgive them will be forgiven! Have you called on Him? Have you asked Him to be your substitute?
If you’ve believed in your heart, you’re saved. You’re forgiven. But that’s only half the story. That’s Good Friday. This is Resurrection Sunday! There’s so much more to the Christian life than forgiveness. He doesn’t forgive you so you can keep living the same old way. He has a new life for you.
A New Body
- When Jesus died, He died without sin, so death had no rightful claim on Him (Acts 2:24). He could die the death we deserved and still rise three days later with a new body, full of glory and power.
- When Jesus died, He didn’t deserve to feel any of death’s pain or curse. But He felt it all, for us.
- When we die, God promises us a new, glorified, perfect body, ready to live forever in His presence (Philippians 3:20-21).
- All the aches and pains, cancers and broken bones, temptations and weaknesses will be gone, replaced with perfection.
- Perfect senses. Perfect understanding. Perfect bodies. Immortal.
Isaiah says the LORD will swallow up death forever and wipe away tears from all faces (Isaiah 25:8).
A Toothless Lion
Death is often pictured as the Grim Reaper. Today, picture it as a lion: ferocious, with sharp teeth to destroy everyone.
When Jesus died, He let that lion bite down on Him so hard that its teeth broke out.
Now it’s a toothless lion. Still roars, but can’t actually hurt the believer. “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
The Father asked the Son to drink a cup. Jesus said, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” (John 18:11). That cup was the death we deserved, the horror of the punishment for our sins. He swallowed it, drank it down to the last drop, and it’s never coming back up.
Mocking Death
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Paul is taunting death because of what Jesus has done. “I thought you were a big, scary lion! What’s up now? You want a piece of me?”
The world can’t do that. No matter how tough someone is, no one dares mock death on their own.
But we can. Why do you think so many believers could sing praises as they were burned at the stake or thrown to lions?
Ignatius of Antioch, facing death by wild beasts in Rome around AD 110, wrote to the believers there begging them not to try to rescue him. He spoke of his coming death as his birth into true life, and asked them not to stand in the way of his “coming to life.”
Death is nothing for a forgiven person to fear. It may hurt a little, but the sting is gone. Physical pain is a small thing, and it will soon be over.
The Sting Removed
Sin is the sting of death, and the Law is what gives sin its power. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord!
- In Jesus, death’s stinger has been pulled. The lion’s teeth are knocked out.
- The Law that pronounced every one of us guilty before a holy God has been fulfilled by Jesus and its condemnation removed from us (Romans 8:1-4).
- If it were a game, you win simply by being on Jesus’ team. Victory is given.
- But this is more than a game; it’s a war. And the victory of the cross is now offered to every person in the world.
Will you accept it and thank Him for it?
Not Afraid to Live
So stand firm. Don’t be moved. Always give yourselves fully to the Lord’s work, knowing your labor in Him is never wasted.
If we’ve already won, what do we do now, while we’re still alive?
Be steadfast, immovable. Always remember it’s what He has done, not what you’ve done. Stay planted in faith, in humble dependence on His victory at the cross.
This works every day:
- I wake up and read the Word.
- I’m reminded of my failures and shortcomings.
- I look to the cross, thank Jesus for it, and stand on what He offers me there.
- Then I move forward to abound in the Lord’s work, by faith in Jesus and through His Spirit.
That’s how the gospel works in me every day. That’s how I know my labor isn’t in vain. That’s how my life matters. God has good works prepared for me (Ephesians 2:10).
So now I’m not afraid to die, and I’m not afraid to live. I’m not afraid I’ll constantly let my Father, my family and my friends down.
Because I can experience the resurrection life of Jesus today. As I lay my life down as a living sacrifice, He fills me with His own life by His Spirit. I’m not afraid to live, and I’m equipped to live.
Paul says that through the Law he died to the Law, so he could live for God. He has been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives in him, and the life he now lives in his body, he lives by trusting the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him (Galatians 2:19-20).
For a Christian, death isn’t scary, because in a sense we’ve been dying every day:
- Our own plans and dreams: we died to them.
- Our expectation of a happy, self-pleasing life: we nailed it to the cross.
- Each day we count ourselves crucified with Christ, saying no to the flesh (Luke 9:23).
Each day we taste a little of death’s “sting” to self, so we can enjoy the sweet fruit of real life with Jesus: His full life poured into our empty cups.
Paul lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him. Our whole focus is the Son of God: His love and His sacrifice.
- When we fail,
- when we seem fine,
- when we feel needy,
- when we doubt,
- when we fear death:
Trust the Son of God. Trust Jesus. And His resurrection life will flow powerfully into your heart and drive out all fear, because perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
Your life will start to look like His resurrected life. Your heart of stone will be replaced with a heart that loves God’s Word and keeps His commands by nature, not by effort (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Isaac Watts wrote:
Their inbred sins require
Their flesh to see the dust;
But as the Lord their Saviour rose,
So all His followers must.
Grace Takeaway
Death is the one appointment no one escapes, and without Christ it leads to judgment. But Jesus let the lion bite down on Him until its teeth broke. He drank the whole cup, rose again, and swallowed death up in victory. If you trust Him, death has lost its sting and its claim on you. You’re free to die unafraid, and free to live unafraid, steadfast and fruitful, because His resurrection life is already flowing in you.
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