This was originally written as an evangelistic tract in 2013 while I was a youth pastor for my church. Paper copies were printed and delivered into letterboxes of homes in the suburb of Henderson where our church is located. The phrase “Firstborn from the dead” in the title is a description of Jesus given in Colossians 1:15-20
It is still commonly known today that the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was to purchase forgiveness for sin. But the significance of Jesus’ resurrection is not so well known. On the third day following his death on the cross, Jesus was restored to life in his body. By this resurrection he has secured a hope for his people: that they too will conquer death.
Death and dying is a fact of life as we know it. But life as we know it is not life as it was made to be. We were not made to die: it is an experience of life that is unnatural. The experience of dying is one we will all face, and when our turn comes we will must leave behind everything we know and love. When death comes to claim us we will be helpless to deny it.
But God the Creator has not left us helpless against this enemy of death. He has given us a Redeemer. Jesus, the Son of God who became also a son of man, was given so that he could enter into death just as every one of us will do. But he passed through death and re-entered life in his body. Because of this he has opened the pathway for his people to one day follow him out of death and to enter into the new life that he now experiences. Jesus gives relief from the lonely plight of the dying, and peace when death prowls by our door. He will be with those who love him, ready to escort us to God not only as welcomed guests but even as loved sons and daughters.
Death for the Christian is an end but not the end. Thanks to Jesus, death has no permanent hold over us! The people of Jesus receive a patient, expectant, confident hope. It is a confident hope based on Jesus’ resurrection. It waits expectantly for our own resurrection: to live forever with the living God. It is a hope that lets us face the trauma of death without despair or terror. It is a hope that lets us see beyond the waiting grave and to the life that lies beyond.
Have faith! Christ has conquered death and has secured resurrection life for us as well. Entrust yourself to him – his hand is ready to take hold of yours and carry you through death and into the life he promises on the other side. Christ’s people will live again on this earth and have lives to enjoy with one another and voices to give praise to our Redeemer.
Join us in this confidence! Put your hope and trust in him!
Chris Northcott 