When We Are Dead, We Are Dead! (150)

Matthew 28:1-6

James R. Davis

The great First Lady of Country Music, Tammy Wynette, died this week at the age of 55. A memorial service was held at the Ryanman Auditorium in Nashville. I watched a news bite of the great things people were saying about her. One of the fans said, "She is not dead, she will continue to live on through her music." Her music will certainly live on.

We leave the impression, if you are going to accomplish anything in life, that you had better do it while you have life, because "When you're dead, you're dead!" This is really our way of saying, if there is immortality to be had it must be had in this world. We believe in what someone called "the life-giving lie." The lie is that we can achieve immortality by leaving a legacy behind when we die. We live in a world that has deceived itself into believing immortality, in one form or another, is something one can actually achieve by something we do while we are alive. We delude ourselves into believing  we can become immortal if we can leave an indelible impression upon the world so that our work continues to live after we are dead. Many believe there is hope for immortality, but it must be of our own making.  Yet, even at that the average person has little chance of leaving a great legacy behind.

If we believe this we are in for a big disappointment. How many of the presidents do you remember? How many could you name? So much for immortality. The greatest sacrifices in life, the greatest accomplishments in the arena of the living, nor the greatest heroics upon the battlefield or in a hospital or on a football field win no one immortality.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all who breathe away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

The ravages of death cannot be alleviated through cheap consolation, no matter how well meaning or finely crafted the lie.

We Cannot Defy Our Mortality

The longer we live, the more we realize that our lives are on a dead end street. We cannot defy the boundaries of our mortality. Humanity is condemned to death and no promises of remembrances will change this. No memorial will deter the inevitable. No legacy, no matter how great, will give us immortality.

No one says it better than Solomon does as he writes, "All share a common destiny-- the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope-- even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:2-6) So much for immortality in this world. So we cry out with Solomon "All is vanity and vexation of the spirit."

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. (KJV)

Psa 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

We must accept death for what it is. Pursuing a false concept of immortality will not change the nature of death because "When you are dead, you are dead!" We look around and understand that there is humanly nothing we can do in this life that will make us live beyond the grave because "When you are dead you are dead!" As far as this world is concerned, when we die we will pass into oblivion.

We are also bombarded with another idea nowadays about how to use your faith to acquire more things in this world. A well known teacher said, "The next revival will be a financial revival. God is going to pour out financial blessings on all believers." If we only have hope in this life we are miserable because death is our final end no matter how we look at it. If one is looking for his labor in the Lord only to make this life better, then death is all one has to look forward too. The greatest attempts of humanity will never make it other wise. If all your hopes and dreams are centered in this world then "When you die, you die!" Paul wrote, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:16-19)

Before Jesus died on the cross the disciples were discussing who would be the greatest. This seemed to be one of their favorite discussions. Mark reveals the disciples discussion about greatness as they were walking down a road one day. In Matthew 18, the gospel writer records such a discussion about who would be greatest. Jesus tells them that to be great they must humble themselves as a little child. (Matthew 18:1-3) But Luke records that the discussion took place in the upper room at the Last Supper only hours before Christ death. It is no wonder that John recorded the foot washing that took place at the Last Supper. They could only think of who would sit on the right hand and on the left hand. All their hopes and dreams were this world oriented.

This world teaches us that if you want to live you must get caught up in a cause bigger than self. On one occasion Peter asked Jesus, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" (Matthew 19:27)  Considering the disciples' discussion of who would be the greatest the question reveals that they were like multitudes today who have given up family, friends and every thing near and dear to pursue a career that will enlarge self. It is usually a pursuit to discover self. I remember Ted Kennedy eulogizing Jacquie Kennedy when she died. He said of her, "No one had a better sense of self than Jacquie." Yet a self driven life is one of the most destructive ways to live.

Matthew 16:24-28
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Ironically Life Is Discovered In Death

In a very real sense life is discovered only in death. It is in the finality of death that the resurrection gives meaning. The resurrection presupposes an understanding of the finality of death.

When Jesus died on the cross, the disciples' hopes and dreams of greatness were nailed to that cross. They literally gave up all hope and went and hid from the authorities. Then they discovered that empty tomb and Jesus appeared to them. It was only then Peter could write, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ [Emphasis mine] from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5) It was in death that they found hope.

Vance Havner said, "The hope of dying is the only thing that keeps me alive." Jesus Christ has succeeded where every eulogist, every martyr and every idealist has failed. Jesus has broken the mortal bonds.

I saw a quote by Chuck Colson that said in essence that in a world where there is nothing worth dying for, there is also nothing worth living for.

Paul wrote, "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. (Philippians 1:20-26)

John 10:17-18
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

Matthew 28:1-6
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only thing in this world that gives us any hope for immortality. "He is not dead, he is risen, just as he said." It is his resurrection that frees us of any notion that our immortality depends upon some human achievement. It is Christ death that gives us the freedom to live.

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:4
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

It Is Our Labor in the Lord That Is Not Vain

Solomon has already pointed that our memorials will be forgotten after our death. Have you ever visited a cemetery and noticed all the old tombstones with all the forgotten names. I was reading a story about a cemetery someone visited in England. There was a sign, "We will never forget you!" over a section of the cemetery where 50 young soldiers were buried. The person visiting began asking the residents of the city about those young men buried in the cemetery and the sign placed over that section of the cemetery. Now one knew why the sign was there or how the young men died. So it is with all our earthly endeavors. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ assures us that our labor in the Lord will live on.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Conclusion:

The beauty is that the power of Christ resurrection exalts us whether we live or die. Paul prayed that we might understand the resurrection power of Christ at work in our lives while we live. "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,  far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (Ephesians 1:18-23)

Ephesians 2:6
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

We can begin to live the resurrected life today.

Romans 6:3-11
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.