The Fear of Death
As I’ve reflected on John chapter 11 the last few weeks, I’ve been impacted by Jesus’ intentionality during His last weeks of “earthly” ministry. Of course, His earthly ministry has continued for 2,000 years, but we’re talking pre-resurrection here ;)
As you may recall, we dove into the story of Lazarus (John 11) and soaked in the layers of revelation Jesus showed to His disciples (faith/unbelief), Martha (Life/Resurrection), Mary (Tears/Anger), and to all (Defeat of Death).
In this scene, Jesus is navigating a variety of conflicting factors.
He’s returned to the Jordan river where John the Baptist baptized Him into His public ministry. There, a messenger arrives with the news that His friend Lazarus is dying. Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s brother and Jesus’ close friend, are needing Jesus to come heal. But going to heal Lazarus means going into a high-conflict zone where the religious leaders are ready to stone Him and His disciples.
The crowds are already divided on who Jesus is and what His miracles mean for Israel. And Bethany, where Lazarus lives, is only two miles from Jerusalem, the religious center of Israel where Jesus ultimately will be crucified.
His disciples think they are ready to follow Him to death (viva la revolution!) but, unbeknownst to them, they are really in need of preparation and faith to endure Jesus’ upcoming arrest and sacrifice.
In the midst of this, Jesus is relying on the Father’s guidance for timing and ultimate direction as He shows His complete mastery of Death in all its forms—and then as He enters into it Himself.
Phew! That’s more drama than some full-length films!
One aspect of this that was challenging for me in the wake of the recent years was Jesus’ intentionality of showing His power over Death itself. We utilized a passage from Hebrews 2 for insight on Jesus’s overarching mission as He enters this milieu fraught with grief and danger:
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
- Hebrews 2:14-15 (ESV)
There are a few things that stood out to me here.
Death isn’t the problem. It’s the fear of Death that actually enslaves us. And the writer of Hebrews is harkening back to the ancient Jewish writings, affirming that Death (as separation from God) wasn’t just a nonchalant step away from God, but a step into relationship with another power at work in the world. The author of Hebrews notes that this fear of death is actually enslavement to a finite fallen angel—the devil—and this slavery is not a physical bondage, but a spiritual one.
Well, at first it’s hard to see…are we really in bondage? Or are we just living in a rough world? And it’s not like this devil is making bad choices for me, right? I can choose good…I can choose bad…is there really even a bondage at all?
We can be confident there is bondage because of the scriptures, but also, if we just adjust our lens and peer at the world from God’s perspective…we see sin, suffering, division, fear, racism, abuse, doubt, rejection, cynicism, faithlessness, idolatry, etc., etc., etc. You can glimpse how far we’ve diverted from a holistic, open, trusting relationship with the Father in the Garden of Eden to a world full of division.
It’s not that our decisions are predetermined, it’s that our realm is pre-programmed for death—situations that, apart from God’s intervention—always lead to separation from God and from one another. We—as a whole human race—are in bondage to death.
It may help to mediate on Paul’s reflection of the helplessness of bondage to death in Romans 7:
I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise.
So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.
But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
-Romans 7.17-24 (MSG)
Does this resonate with you? Now, here’s the powerful reality of John 11—Jesus shows His unlimited power against Death in raising Lazarus—which is a phenomenal miracle. And the fallout of this move against Death was His own submission to carry the results of our separation/death from God and each other to the cross. Even our fear of death is an area we can see Him bring breakthrough and can glorify Him!
The fear of death manifests itself in grief—but grief itself is not fear—it is the fruit of being in a world enslaved to the fear of death. Grief is the natural human response to Death (see Jesus’ gentle and powerful response to Martha and Mary in John 11). Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7 that:
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
At times, there is a death at work inside the grief that can actually lead us away from God! And, it can steal the life that He wants to give us. But when our hearts are uniquely opened in grief, this is an opportunity to receive Jesus’ revelation of intimate understanding. What would it be like for you to enter in to grief with God, not as a slave but as son or daughter? I talked a bit about this in the sermon when I shared about Lament (see sermon video).
So what do we do with our bondage to the fear of Death?
We name this powerful reality around us—this is why there is so much pain in the world.
We bring our grief in faith (like Martha and Mary) to Jesus, even when it doesn’t make sense.
We receive the Faith of Christ as a gift, and exchange it for the fear of death.
“Wait, I don’t have the faith of Christ.” Well, Paul says we do in Galatians 2: 16:
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
We want to emphasize that our saving faith in Jesus wasn’t based on our faith-capacity, but our trust in His faith-capacity. As we trust Jesus, it doesn’t require us to amp up our faith, but to turn from our fears and trust His faithfulness. For example, all David brought was a sling to fight Goliath (a metaphor for Death in this case). And that little sling and His faith in God’s faithfulness was more than enough to break the slavery to fear that paralyzed all of Israel. Could it be the same for us in the New Testament Church?
Norm Nason said it this way on Sunday, “the Bible says, ‘Faith is a gift’”. Isn’t that true! We may not believe in the all-out defeat of death in our own powers, as we may be intimidated by death or grief; pain now or pain in the future….but Jesus isn’t! He defeated death. We can receive His faith (or put another way, we can receive His faithfulness) and know that it is so so strong, it’s powerful over death, it endured death, and in the resurrection, for believers, it flooded Death with Life!
His death would be the death of Death in all its forms. And He would end the separation from God forever, bringing life into the areas where fear has taken root. His Life would flow everywhere, for where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.
What comes up for you as you think about Death?
What do you see when you consider being in bondage to the fear of Death?
What would it be like to talk to Jesus about how He thinks of Death (and its symptoms)?
How might He respond to your thoughts? Your heart? Your needs?
Take a few moments to be with Him and, when you’re ready, thank Him for being your freedom from the fear of Death.