Oh death, where is thy sting?
Oh grave, where is thy victory?
Death is our last enemy. The final foe. And we should hate it. We should hate all that it takes from us. We should hate what it does to us. On Friday it mocked us. Death and Hades cackled with joy, thinking they'd gotten us all.
But on Sunday, we get the last, final, and truest laugh--a laugh, not of revenge, but of joy, of hope, of life eternal.
Death will still get us; it will still drag us down to our graves, and we can and should mourn this, mourn what we will miss and miss out on. But now it's only temporary. Now we know that they're just asleep, and one day their graves will burst open and we'll see them again. The dead seeds will sprout. The barren branches will bloom again. Who's laughing now, death?
For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The last and greatest enemy no longer has dominion. It's days are numbered. One day death itself will be cast into the grave never to rise and reign again. And Jesus brings that day--if just a bit--into this day. The day we've been practicing for each Sunday, the day we've been preparing for all Lent has arrived. And today we remember that our Savior has defeated all our enemies. His love has overcome the darkness of hate and sin and death. He is raised forever and all dominion is his.
He's bringing us out of Egypt. We're walking through the sea, and, as Pharaoh and his armies descend to their watery graves, we walk through on dry ground, untouched. The grave couldn't keep him. It wasn't strong enough. And when death isn't strong enough, anything can happen. When a dead man comes back to life, anything can come back to life. Relationships bloom again. Corruption turns to provision. Tears turn to laughing. Death gives way to life.
That's why we sing this song. That's why we can mock death. The joke's on him.
Oh death, where is thy sting?
Oh grave, where is thy victory?
Take that, death!
Here is a place where death dies.
Oh grave, where is thy victory?
Death is our last enemy. The final foe. And we should hate it. We should hate all that it takes from us. We should hate what it does to us. On Friday it mocked us. Death and Hades cackled with joy, thinking they'd gotten us all.
But on Sunday, we get the last, final, and truest laugh--a laugh, not of revenge, but of joy, of hope, of life eternal.
Death will still get us; it will still drag us down to our graves, and we can and should mourn this, mourn what we will miss and miss out on. But now it's only temporary. Now we know that they're just asleep, and one day their graves will burst open and we'll see them again. The dead seeds will sprout. The barren branches will bloom again. Who's laughing now, death?
For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The last and greatest enemy no longer has dominion. It's days are numbered. One day death itself will be cast into the grave never to rise and reign again. And Jesus brings that day--if just a bit--into this day. The day we've been practicing for each Sunday, the day we've been preparing for all Lent has arrived. And today we remember that our Savior has defeated all our enemies. His love has overcome the darkness of hate and sin and death. He is raised forever and all dominion is his.
He's bringing us out of Egypt. We're walking through the sea, and, as Pharaoh and his armies descend to their watery graves, we walk through on dry ground, untouched. The grave couldn't keep him. It wasn't strong enough. And when death isn't strong enough, anything can happen. When a dead man comes back to life, anything can come back to life. Relationships bloom again. Corruption turns to provision. Tears turn to laughing. Death gives way to life.
That's why we sing this song. That's why we can mock death. The joke's on him.
Oh death, where is thy sting?
Oh grave, where is thy victory?
Take that, death!
Here is a place where death dies.