Remember Me!
Last week we looked at John the Baptist and listened in as he questioned rather Jesus really was the Messiah (since John was still a prisoner). This week, we’re going to be looking at another set of prisoners – the thieves on the cross.
Take a couple of minutes to read Luke 23:39-43. We’ve always referred to these two guys as the ‘Thieves on the cross’ but they weren’t really thieves.
The only people who got crucified were people who openly resisted Rome. So these guys were up there because they had tried to kick Rome out of Israel – and failed.
In a sense, they were after the same thing Jesus was: they wanted to see God’s Kingdom come about.
The important difference is that Jesus was talking about a totally different Kingdom than they were. We see that in his response to the second man:
Jesus tells him that he’ll be with Jesus in paradise. The word paradise is an interesting one; it’s the word the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) uses for ‘garden’.
Given that, what do you think Jesus was talking about?
And, as you prepare for EPIC this week, consider where you are trying to do something for God, but maybe not in the way God would want you to.
Nathan Collier said,
July 27, 2010 at 8:11 am
I came away from Sunday wondering about the “grave has no power” part of it.
I get the gist of what that means: As humans, we are stained with the curse that comes from Adam’s sin. Thus, our bodies still die. But as Christians, we believe that, because of what Jesus did on the cross, we do not have to face eternity away from God. In that way we can say that we saved from death.
But does this mean “the grave has no power” or “death has been completely and utterly destroyed?”
I ask because of someone who came to our small group. She’s in her early 20s and a month or two ago she lost her Father unexpectedly in a work accident. How do I tell her, “death has been completely and utterly destroyed?” I don’t think I could say that to her with a straight face, because that can’t make any sense to someone who just lost her father.
Her response might very well be, “if death is destroyed, why did my Dad have to die?” To which I have no answer.
It seems to me that we’re lumping together “death” and “separation from God.” The consequence of Adam’s sin really included both, and salvation really only saves us from the”separation from God” part. Death and the grave are still very much a part of our lives.
Is it just a language problem? It’s confusing because death has not been destroyed, at least not yet. Do we mean the power of death—separation from God—has been destroyed, even though death itself is still very real?
JR. Forasteros said,
July 29, 2010 at 5:59 pm
@Nathan – thanks for your thoughts. You’re right to point out where theology impacts real life. I had to wrestle with this same issue back in March when my grandfather died. I remember asking a lot of those same questions.
But when the Scriptures speak of Death, they’re speaking as you describe at the end of your comment – Death IS separation from God, not just physical cessation of life. I have found John 11 (the story of Lazarus) very helpful… Jesus says much the same thing to Martha in vv 21 and following… check it out:
11:21″Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27″Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
As Christians, we confess a mystery that Death is still a reality and yet is not reality. That we still die, but do not despair. This is what sets apart a Christian funeral from a non-Christian funeral. When I stood at my grandpa’s casket, I knew he was not gone forever, that his absence was like Lazarus’ (though a bit longer) – temporary.
So short answer is Yes to your final question, but it’s not a language problem. Rather, learning to confess truthfully helps us to understand Death rightly.
What do you think?
Nathan Collier said,
July 30, 2010 at 1:53 am
Well, I guess for me it’s a question of audience. I keep thinking about this young lady from small group. A detail I should have mentioned before is that I don’t think she is a believer.
I think it’s one thing for me to talk with you about what the scriptures say about death. I love the idea that death is a mystery, a reality and yet not a reality. Bodily death is still very much a reality, but the power of death to separate us from God was broken on the cross. Death has no power to stop God love.
What’s more, through the Spirit, I have direct access to God right now. I don’t have to die to rest in God’s presence.
But I would hesitate to say the mystery part of it or “death has been destroyed,” (as Paul does in 2Tim 1:10) to someone who isn’t familiar with scripture. I don’t think I would start there anyway.
Because all they would really know is bodily death, and if I start in talking about death without specifying I’m talking about spiritual death–separation from God–I can see that being confusing. Especially if I’m speaking to a group–like at my small group–and the person doesn’t stop me to ask what I really meant. Like often happens when someone’s new.
It is such a great comfort to me to know death itself is nothing to fear. I still don’t like the idea of my body decaying and dying, but the part after death I no longer fear, and I can’t wait to be in the actual direct presence of God.
I want to be able to share these things, but I’m not sure I have the right words to say to someone not familiar with the scriptures.
How does one gracefully explain death (both bodily and spiritual) to a non-believer who just lost a loved one?