Well, it has finally happened. Jacob has passed on. There’s a sense in which this has been a long time coming. If you’ve been with us through this series, maybe you’ll remember that we started talking about Jacob’s death all the way back in chapter 47. We’ve been looking at this section for quite a while. I know that I initially told the elders that I’d be done with Genesis by the end of January. Here we are almost 3 months later.
It is interesting though that Jacob’s death spans so much papyri. His death receives more space than the death of any other patriarch. You may say more space than any other person in Scripture—maybe even more than Jesus!
But here at the end of Genesis we see the theme of the initial chapters come out. We hear the echo of the curse on Adam: in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.
But we also here in this passage the reverberating echoes of the gospel that God gave to Adam and Eve. This passage records a beautiful picture of a dying Christian. It is a gospel centered death. And we see something of how wonderful Christian death really is.
We are going to take a long look at Jacob’s death today. And I hope that you see that this is far from being a morbid thing. I hope that you see just how wonderful it is to be in Christ when the shades of death are drawn.
I. His composure
We see a different Jacob than we’ve seen in the past. There’s been a radical change in his life. Jacob is not grumpy old goat he used to be. He used to gripe at his kids about how they would bring his head down to sheol. But did you notice how easily he now speaks of death? It is no longer something he dodges or disdains. He is not bemoaning it or begrudging it, as he once did. He simply speaks of it as a simple fact and does not have any concerns about it.
This is not because he is now 147 years old. Someone might say, “Well, now he’s older and he knows that death is right at his doorstep. He’s come to the point where he understands death is inevitable. He’s just facing the music (as they say) because he’s so old.”
But that’s not so. Age did not bring this change. Faith did. Jacob has ripened in the gospel. God has helped him to rest in the promises that were given to his father's, the promise of life and victory over sin and death. And because his faith has been formed around that centerpiece, death can be an everyday ordinary conversation.
Many people cannot bring themselves to think of death, let alone speak of it—no matter how old they are. They deny it right up to the very moment comes upon them. They kid themselves and avoid any kind of thought about it. It is a taboo topic. And that is because death is taboo to them. It is a curse. It is a dreadful enemy. It is an elephant in the room that they do not want to acknowledge. This is because death does not have any good in it. Neither is there any good beyond it.
That’s not the way it is for Jacob, and that’s certainly not the way it is for anyone who is in Christ. There is no fear for us in death. The atonement of Christ makes us mentally prepared and spiritually ready to embrace death. People who know Christ and what the gospel does for one’s afterlife can talk easily about death. Because they know that death isn’t the end, but a beginning.
Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” This makes us very much comfortable with the subject of death.
However, if the gospel has not penetrated your heart, if your faith does not rest in Christ and his promises then you should be very much agitated. The subject should make you queasy. And I will be honest to say, it is a lot worse than you may even think, should you even think about it. There is a sting in death because it is the last of life you will experience.
Death will not just gain the victory over you, it will overwhelm and devour you. Death will be your entrance into the fiery presence of an angry God, who will unleash his terrors upon you.
I only speak of this uncomfortable subject so that you may know the comforts that came to Jacob. If you lack this kind of composure that Jacob had, you should know that it can be yours if your faith is placed in God’s Son.
II. His concern
In verses 29-32 we see that Jacob has one last wish. He desires to be buried in Canaan. He is adamant about it. He does not want to be interred in Egyptian soil. He is so determined that he makes Joseph swear to lay his body to rest in his homeland and in his father’s tomb.
It is interesting that this sort of thing still happens today. You’ll still see today soldiers who may be killed in a Afghanistan or some other country will be shipped back to the United States and given a burial here. There are graves, such as the ones at Normandy, where people are laid to rest in foreign territory. But when it is conducive, we still like that identification with our homeland.
There’s a sense in which Jacob wants to be identified with his home; with his people. And ultimately, this has a greater purpose. There is an eschatological hope implied. You remember that that tomb was their only bit of the promised land that they had acquired.
Jacob’s death wish, you may say, is his theology. Here in his last bit of air in his lungs, he’s fixated with his inheritance and the fulfillment of God’s promise.
This is not the goofy desires of a feeble old man. This was his way of saying, “I believe that I will one day I will take possession of the reality.” Jacob believed in the resurrection and the restoration of the world. He believed that God’s promise was going to be fulfilled in a very literal way. There would be a new heavens and a new earth. Even though death may come, he could still see a day where he and his family would gain the land that God had sworn to give.
We are not looking for a pie in the sky dwelling. We are not simply being whisked away to an ethereal world. God has said, “The meek will inherit the earth.” The Bible tells us that one day the world will be cleansed by fire and all God’s people shall dwell in it. Jesus will come and all the dead will be raised, and each of us will have an home right here on this planet.
Jacob saw the day and embraced it by requesting to be committed into the very tomb that marked the initial fulfilment of that reality.
The next thing we notice about Jacob is...
III. His calmness
Look at verse 33. Notice what it says about how he died. It says he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last.
Jacob died in complete peace. There was no agitation, no feelings of distress. He just got into bed, laid down and he passed away –just as peacefully as one might go to sleep. This is a serene scene; completely calm and certainly beautiful.
As we observe this man’s dying we can ask, “Where, O death is thy sting?” There is none witnessed here, is there?
I have not had a lot of experience with death through my life. I just don’t know many people who have passed away. But I am told by pastors that there is typically a great difference between a Christian’s moments of death and an unbeliever’s passing. I am told that this kind of peace is quite characteristic of believers when they leave this world. There is no sting of death, but it is kind of welcome.
And perhaps this is why so many drugs are used today for those who are in hospice care and in the throes of death. There’s that agitation. I wonder if it is not so much because of the pain, but because of the reality that they on the verge of coming before God. Could it be that it is that piercing sting of death that must be doped?
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it to you. Years ago I listened to an audiobook. I can’t even remember the title exactly it has been so long. It was something like, “Dying testimonies of the Unsaved” or “Horrifying Deathbed Scenes.” It sounds like Christian horror genre, doesn’t it? But there were several testimonies of men who were great apostates and Christ deniers all their lives. And each chapter recounted their last days and moments, and how miserable they were. Not by physical pain, mind you, but their mental pain. The anguish of soul they expressed because they were creeping closer and closer to leaving these mortal shores.
That is not Jacob’s testimony, is it? And, that is not the testimony of most Christian people. Calvin talks about this in in his commentary on this passage. Calvin says that “wonderful torments agitate the wicked when they perceive they are summoned to the tribunal of God.” But he then talks about the Christian’s dying. He says that the exact opposite is the case. The Christian’s testimony is that of a tranquility in death. He says, “we do not deem it grievous to leave this failing tabernacle.” He says that Christians “welcome it” and “go willingly to God,” having “confidence respecting a better life” and “an everlasting abode which is prepared for us.”
This peace of Jacob, this sweet deathbed scene, speaks to how calmly we too can greet death. The gospel allows us great consolation and enables us to bid farewell to this life with a calm repose.
One of the great points of this text is found in verse 29/33. It speaks of Jacob’s communion – the fellowship he has immediately after his death.
IV. His communion – he was gathered to his people
Look at verse 29. Jacob knows that death is upon him and he says, “I am to be gathered to my people.” And, in case you missed it, it is mentioned again in verse 33. It says, that after he drew his feet up into the bed he “breathed his last and was gathered to his people.”
This is talking about the afterlife. Jacob’s body remained on that bed and was sent to be buried, but something else happened to his soul. His soul went into heaven where he was reunited in perfect communion with his loved ones. He joined Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebecca, Rachel and Leah in heaven. He was gathered to his people and he is still there today, enjoying their company.
Now, this language is interesting, because it talks about YOUR people. There are people that are yours. Flip back to Genesis 25. Verse 17 talks about Ishmael’s death. It says that he breathed his last, and was gathered to “his people.” Interesting, isn’t it?
Who were Ishmael’s people? Ishmael was not the son of the promise, remember. He was an unbelieving son of Abraham. He became the father of a blasphemous people. And when it says he was gathered to his people, it isn’t the same people that Jacob had.
Ishmael’s people were those in rebellion to God. He was gathered to them and he suffered with them. Jacob was gathered to his people—the godly, believing people. And he has been enjoying the communion of the saints ever since.
So it is important to ask, who are your people? That’s one of the reasons why we believe in church membership. You’re showing who you’re people are. You’re identifying with this people and the God of these people. You are known by the company you keep, so to speak.
But this is a verse that testifies to the great joy that is laid up for those who are trusting in Christ. Upon death, we will be united in fellowship with those who have gone before, beyond the grasp of the grave.
There is one interesting little thing I should bring out here though. There’s a difference between the OT and the NT on this point. In the OT you are always “gathered to your people.” But in the NT, the focus is on our communion with Christ. Remember what I said about Paul. He desired to depart and be with Christ.
On the cross Jesus said to the penitent sinner beside him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
There’s an emphasis in the NT that the believers are gathered to the Lord and have communion with him. I just thought that was an interesting little factoid.
V. His care
By that I mean the care that was given to Jacob’s remains after he died. You’ll notice that the first few verses of chapter 50 talk about the embalming of Jacob’s body. The Egyptians are renown for the embalming techniques and the great ability they had to preserve the bodies of those who had deceased. Many of the mummies that have been discovered in Egypt are amazing because they have been so well preserved.
You see that care being given to Jacob. The only difference maybe that the text says that the physicians took care of the embalming. A physician is someone who takes care of you while you are alive. They had special embalmers in Egypt who took care of the deceased.
Some people say that Joseph made that switch because the embalmers would have performed pagan rituals over the body while they embalmed it. Joseph, having the physicians do it, would have been protecting Jacob in this respect.
But the idea here is that Jacob’s body was taken care of. And even though this was an Egyptian practice, there was something right about it. There was something in their religion that fit with the Christian principles of respecting the dead.
We don’t often talk about this, but it is something we should recognize: even though we die, our bodies still remain united to Christ. Our souls may go to be with the Lord. Our bodies may be left here on earth and go through the process of decay. But our flesh still has union with Christ.
I’m not going to get into the debate about cremation or embalming. I don’t know that that is necessary here. And really, no matter which you choose, you end up with ashes. Embalming only slows the decaying process.
What is expressed here is that there is a sanctity of the lifeless flesh. And there was a hope that this flesh would be resurrected. It breeds the hope that there will come a day when our bodies will be raised up. The body’s union with Christ will not be forgotten, but will be a newness and glory with which it is raised.
We remember the words of Christ: “I am the resurrection and the life.” And we never are to discount the flesh or act like it doesn’t matter. We testify to the world that there is a future and it is glorious.
VI. His commemoration
That’s found in the rest of chapter 50. We read that there is a lot of pomp associated with Jacob’s death and burial.
First, there was 70 days given over to mourning by the Egyptians (v. 3). But then there is a large funeral procession that makes its way over to Canaan. It is a grand and regal event. Verse 7 says that it involved servants from Pharaoh’s court and other Egyptian dignitaries. Not only did the whole household of Jacob go up (which would have been around 70 people), but they were accompanied by military figures too. It says that they went up by chariots and with horsemen, which would have been the soldiers and commanders of the army. All of it was quite imperial in its composition.
And then there was the lamentation that they gave. For 7 days they mourned. And they really, made a scene of it. So great was the mourning that it says that the Canaanites took notice of it and even named it Abel-mizraim.
To be sure this was to honor and commemorate a great man; a great patriarch that Jacob was.
But it should be noted that it all came to an end. The mourning was 7 days and then they went on with life. The commemoration at total of 70 days, then life went back to normal.
Sure, they may have had more grief in the days to come. They may have had times when they would remember their father and perhaps shed a tear over it. But the fact of the matter is they did not let that grief consume them. They mourned, but they did not allow themselves to become morbid.
We see this happen to people in our world. When they lose a loved one, they feel that their world has come crashing down. They maybe fall into depression and the whole of their life becomes characterized by the death of their beloved. Some may even shake their fist and blame God for it.
But that’s not what was to happen among the Israelites. That’s not what happened with Jacob’s household. They mourned, for sure. They grieved the fact that death had come in their midst. And that is grievous that death is in this world. Sin and its consequences are a terrible thing.
But, as Paul says, “we do not grieve like the rest of men.” We have hope in the midst of death. Our grief is tempered by the resurrection of our Lord.
Our Lord was brought down to the depths of sheol. He died and was laid in a tomb. But he rose again and he has brought us life and salvation. He has secured for us eternal life beyond the grave and in the world to come.
The gospel shouts: Where is thy victory, O grave?
Christ’s resurrection tempers our grief and sadness. It discards our fear of death and truly cheers our hearts in the face of death.
The gospel reminds us that we as believers have people and a lord. And one day we will be gathered to those people and to our Lord. We will be reunited in the life to come. And most of all, we will stand again on the face of the earth when the resurrection hails.
It is interesting though that Jacob’s death spans so much papyri. His death receives more space than the death of any other patriarch. You may say more space than any other person in Scripture—maybe even more than Jesus!
But here at the end of Genesis we see the theme of the initial chapters come out. We hear the echo of the curse on Adam: in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.
But we also here in this passage the reverberating echoes of the gospel that God gave to Adam and Eve. This passage records a beautiful picture of a dying Christian. It is a gospel centered death. And we see something of how wonderful Christian death really is.
We are going to take a long look at Jacob’s death today. And I hope that you see that this is far from being a morbid thing. I hope that you see just how wonderful it is to be in Christ when the shades of death are drawn.
I. His composure
We see a different Jacob than we’ve seen in the past. There’s been a radical change in his life. Jacob is not grumpy old goat he used to be. He used to gripe at his kids about how they would bring his head down to sheol. But did you notice how easily he now speaks of death? It is no longer something he dodges or disdains. He is not bemoaning it or begrudging it, as he once did. He simply speaks of it as a simple fact and does not have any concerns about it.
This is not because he is now 147 years old. Someone might say, “Well, now he’s older and he knows that death is right at his doorstep. He’s come to the point where he understands death is inevitable. He’s just facing the music (as they say) because he’s so old.”
But that’s not so. Age did not bring this change. Faith did. Jacob has ripened in the gospel. God has helped him to rest in the promises that were given to his father's, the promise of life and victory over sin and death. And because his faith has been formed around that centerpiece, death can be an everyday ordinary conversation.
Many people cannot bring themselves to think of death, let alone speak of it—no matter how old they are. They deny it right up to the very moment comes upon them. They kid themselves and avoid any kind of thought about it. It is a taboo topic. And that is because death is taboo to them. It is a curse. It is a dreadful enemy. It is an elephant in the room that they do not want to acknowledge. This is because death does not have any good in it. Neither is there any good beyond it.
That’s not the way it is for Jacob, and that’s certainly not the way it is for anyone who is in Christ. There is no fear for us in death. The atonement of Christ makes us mentally prepared and spiritually ready to embrace death. People who know Christ and what the gospel does for one’s afterlife can talk easily about death. Because they know that death isn’t the end, but a beginning.
Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” This makes us very much comfortable with the subject of death.
However, if the gospel has not penetrated your heart, if your faith does not rest in Christ and his promises then you should be very much agitated. The subject should make you queasy. And I will be honest to say, it is a lot worse than you may even think, should you even think about it. There is a sting in death because it is the last of life you will experience.
Death will not just gain the victory over you, it will overwhelm and devour you. Death will be your entrance into the fiery presence of an angry God, who will unleash his terrors upon you.
I only speak of this uncomfortable subject so that you may know the comforts that came to Jacob. If you lack this kind of composure that Jacob had, you should know that it can be yours if your faith is placed in God’s Son.
II. His concern
In verses 29-32 we see that Jacob has one last wish. He desires to be buried in Canaan. He is adamant about it. He does not want to be interred in Egyptian soil. He is so determined that he makes Joseph swear to lay his body to rest in his homeland and in his father’s tomb.
It is interesting that this sort of thing still happens today. You’ll still see today soldiers who may be killed in a Afghanistan or some other country will be shipped back to the United States and given a burial here. There are graves, such as the ones at Normandy, where people are laid to rest in foreign territory. But when it is conducive, we still like that identification with our homeland.
There’s a sense in which Jacob wants to be identified with his home; with his people. And ultimately, this has a greater purpose. There is an eschatological hope implied. You remember that that tomb was their only bit of the promised land that they had acquired.
Jacob’s death wish, you may say, is his theology. Here in his last bit of air in his lungs, he’s fixated with his inheritance and the fulfillment of God’s promise.
This is not the goofy desires of a feeble old man. This was his way of saying, “I believe that I will one day I will take possession of the reality.” Jacob believed in the resurrection and the restoration of the world. He believed that God’s promise was going to be fulfilled in a very literal way. There would be a new heavens and a new earth. Even though death may come, he could still see a day where he and his family would gain the land that God had sworn to give.
We are not looking for a pie in the sky dwelling. We are not simply being whisked away to an ethereal world. God has said, “The meek will inherit the earth.” The Bible tells us that one day the world will be cleansed by fire and all God’s people shall dwell in it. Jesus will come and all the dead will be raised, and each of us will have an home right here on this planet.
Jacob saw the day and embraced it by requesting to be committed into the very tomb that marked the initial fulfilment of that reality.
The next thing we notice about Jacob is...
III. His calmness
Look at verse 33. Notice what it says about how he died. It says he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last.
Jacob died in complete peace. There was no agitation, no feelings of distress. He just got into bed, laid down and he passed away –just as peacefully as one might go to sleep. This is a serene scene; completely calm and certainly beautiful.
As we observe this man’s dying we can ask, “Where, O death is thy sting?” There is none witnessed here, is there?
I have not had a lot of experience with death through my life. I just don’t know many people who have passed away. But I am told by pastors that there is typically a great difference between a Christian’s moments of death and an unbeliever’s passing. I am told that this kind of peace is quite characteristic of believers when they leave this world. There is no sting of death, but it is kind of welcome.
And perhaps this is why so many drugs are used today for those who are in hospice care and in the throes of death. There’s that agitation. I wonder if it is not so much because of the pain, but because of the reality that they on the verge of coming before God. Could it be that it is that piercing sting of death that must be doped?
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it to you. Years ago I listened to an audiobook. I can’t even remember the title exactly it has been so long. It was something like, “Dying testimonies of the Unsaved” or “Horrifying Deathbed Scenes.” It sounds like Christian horror genre, doesn’t it? But there were several testimonies of men who were great apostates and Christ deniers all their lives. And each chapter recounted their last days and moments, and how miserable they were. Not by physical pain, mind you, but their mental pain. The anguish of soul they expressed because they were creeping closer and closer to leaving these mortal shores.
That is not Jacob’s testimony, is it? And, that is not the testimony of most Christian people. Calvin talks about this in in his commentary on this passage. Calvin says that “wonderful torments agitate the wicked when they perceive they are summoned to the tribunal of God.” But he then talks about the Christian’s dying. He says that the exact opposite is the case. The Christian’s testimony is that of a tranquility in death. He says, “we do not deem it grievous to leave this failing tabernacle.” He says that Christians “welcome it” and “go willingly to God,” having “confidence respecting a better life” and “an everlasting abode which is prepared for us.”
This peace of Jacob, this sweet deathbed scene, speaks to how calmly we too can greet death. The gospel allows us great consolation and enables us to bid farewell to this life with a calm repose.
One of the great points of this text is found in verse 29/33. It speaks of Jacob’s communion – the fellowship he has immediately after his death.
IV. His communion – he was gathered to his people
Look at verse 29. Jacob knows that death is upon him and he says, “I am to be gathered to my people.” And, in case you missed it, it is mentioned again in verse 33. It says, that after he drew his feet up into the bed he “breathed his last and was gathered to his people.”
This is talking about the afterlife. Jacob’s body remained on that bed and was sent to be buried, but something else happened to his soul. His soul went into heaven where he was reunited in perfect communion with his loved ones. He joined Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebecca, Rachel and Leah in heaven. He was gathered to his people and he is still there today, enjoying their company.
Now, this language is interesting, because it talks about YOUR people. There are people that are yours. Flip back to Genesis 25. Verse 17 talks about Ishmael’s death. It says that he breathed his last, and was gathered to “his people.” Interesting, isn’t it?
Who were Ishmael’s people? Ishmael was not the son of the promise, remember. He was an unbelieving son of Abraham. He became the father of a blasphemous people. And when it says he was gathered to his people, it isn’t the same people that Jacob had.
Ishmael’s people were those in rebellion to God. He was gathered to them and he suffered with them. Jacob was gathered to his people—the godly, believing people. And he has been enjoying the communion of the saints ever since.
So it is important to ask, who are your people? That’s one of the reasons why we believe in church membership. You’re showing who you’re people are. You’re identifying with this people and the God of these people. You are known by the company you keep, so to speak.
But this is a verse that testifies to the great joy that is laid up for those who are trusting in Christ. Upon death, we will be united in fellowship with those who have gone before, beyond the grasp of the grave.
There is one interesting little thing I should bring out here though. There’s a difference between the OT and the NT on this point. In the OT you are always “gathered to your people.” But in the NT, the focus is on our communion with Christ. Remember what I said about Paul. He desired to depart and be with Christ.
On the cross Jesus said to the penitent sinner beside him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
There’s an emphasis in the NT that the believers are gathered to the Lord and have communion with him. I just thought that was an interesting little factoid.
V. His care
By that I mean the care that was given to Jacob’s remains after he died. You’ll notice that the first few verses of chapter 50 talk about the embalming of Jacob’s body. The Egyptians are renown for the embalming techniques and the great ability they had to preserve the bodies of those who had deceased. Many of the mummies that have been discovered in Egypt are amazing because they have been so well preserved.
You see that care being given to Jacob. The only difference maybe that the text says that the physicians took care of the embalming. A physician is someone who takes care of you while you are alive. They had special embalmers in Egypt who took care of the deceased.
Some people say that Joseph made that switch because the embalmers would have performed pagan rituals over the body while they embalmed it. Joseph, having the physicians do it, would have been protecting Jacob in this respect.
But the idea here is that Jacob’s body was taken care of. And even though this was an Egyptian practice, there was something right about it. There was something in their religion that fit with the Christian principles of respecting the dead.
We don’t often talk about this, but it is something we should recognize: even though we die, our bodies still remain united to Christ. Our souls may go to be with the Lord. Our bodies may be left here on earth and go through the process of decay. But our flesh still has union with Christ.
I’m not going to get into the debate about cremation or embalming. I don’t know that that is necessary here. And really, no matter which you choose, you end up with ashes. Embalming only slows the decaying process.
What is expressed here is that there is a sanctity of the lifeless flesh. And there was a hope that this flesh would be resurrected. It breeds the hope that there will come a day when our bodies will be raised up. The body’s union with Christ will not be forgotten, but will be a newness and glory with which it is raised.
We remember the words of Christ: “I am the resurrection and the life.” And we never are to discount the flesh or act like it doesn’t matter. We testify to the world that there is a future and it is glorious.
VI. His commemoration
That’s found in the rest of chapter 50. We read that there is a lot of pomp associated with Jacob’s death and burial.
First, there was 70 days given over to mourning by the Egyptians (v. 3). But then there is a large funeral procession that makes its way over to Canaan. It is a grand and regal event. Verse 7 says that it involved servants from Pharaoh’s court and other Egyptian dignitaries. Not only did the whole household of Jacob go up (which would have been around 70 people), but they were accompanied by military figures too. It says that they went up by chariots and with horsemen, which would have been the soldiers and commanders of the army. All of it was quite imperial in its composition.
And then there was the lamentation that they gave. For 7 days they mourned. And they really, made a scene of it. So great was the mourning that it says that the Canaanites took notice of it and even named it Abel-mizraim.
To be sure this was to honor and commemorate a great man; a great patriarch that Jacob was.
But it should be noted that it all came to an end. The mourning was 7 days and then they went on with life. The commemoration at total of 70 days, then life went back to normal.
Sure, they may have had more grief in the days to come. They may have had times when they would remember their father and perhaps shed a tear over it. But the fact of the matter is they did not let that grief consume them. They mourned, but they did not allow themselves to become morbid.
We see this happen to people in our world. When they lose a loved one, they feel that their world has come crashing down. They maybe fall into depression and the whole of their life becomes characterized by the death of their beloved. Some may even shake their fist and blame God for it.
But that’s not what was to happen among the Israelites. That’s not what happened with Jacob’s household. They mourned, for sure. They grieved the fact that death had come in their midst. And that is grievous that death is in this world. Sin and its consequences are a terrible thing.
But, as Paul says, “we do not grieve like the rest of men.” We have hope in the midst of death. Our grief is tempered by the resurrection of our Lord.
Our Lord was brought down to the depths of sheol. He died and was laid in a tomb. But he rose again and he has brought us life and salvation. He has secured for us eternal life beyond the grave and in the world to come.
The gospel shouts: Where is thy victory, O grave?
Christ’s resurrection tempers our grief and sadness. It discards our fear of death and truly cheers our hearts in the face of death.
The gospel reminds us that we as believers have people and a lord. And one day we will be gathered to those people and to our Lord. We will be reunited in the life to come. And most of all, we will stand again on the face of the earth when the resurrection hails.