April 9, 2020
Life is short. This truth is cloaked as an abstraction in the mind. It is sort of invisible. Yes, we know it. But not really. Not until a loved one dies does this truth become painfully concrete. Life is so short! It’s like a vapor that appears only to quickly vanish. It is like a blade of grass that stands for a moment only to be swept away by the wind. Our days are numbered. Death awaits us. And this crystalizes a basic question that our soul longs for- What is our only comfort in life and death?
This past Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday. Matthew 21:1-11 narrates Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. The Sovereign King enters as the Humble King. The crowd could not fathom what Jesus would do. Instead of a political victory, Jesus would die on an old rugged cross. What good could come from a most wretched, humiliating crucifixion? The greatest good! The cross is essential in God’s plan of redemption for the propitiation of our sins. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God’s justice on the cross. Why would He endure such infinite torment? Because He loves you. Jesus willingly chose to enter Jerusalem because of His great love for you. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Holy Week reminds us that God is both loving and just. And that He fully reigns. Although Jesus died on the cross, He was raised to life by the power of God. The tomb is empty. Death is defeated. And it is His death and resurrection power that becomes the framework for our living. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Life is short. Death awaits us. Though believers will succumb to it while on this earth, it will fade faster than darkness against the noonday sun. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death has no sting. The future glorious resurrection awaits His children.
And so during this Holy Week, let us be comforted and encouraged by the answer to every soul’s deepest question- What is our only comfort in life and death?
“That I am not my own,[1] but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,[2] to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.[3] He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.[5] He also preserves me in such a way[6] that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;[7] indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.[8] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life[9] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.[10]” (The Heidelberg Catechism, Question 1).
[1] I Cor. 6:19, 20 [2] Rom. 14:7-9. [3] I Cor. 3:23; Tit. 2:14. [4] I Pet. 1:18, 19; I John 1:7; 2:2. [5] John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14, 15; I John 3:8. [6] John 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; II Thess. 3:3; I Pet. 1:5. [7] Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18. [8] Rom. 8:28. [9] Rom. 8:15, 16; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14. [10] Rom. 8:14.