Facing Death Series

Will we all face all that Jesus faced on the Cross? Will we ever go through all the suffering, agony and pain he went through? NO, we never will. But there is one thing all of us will face and that is the reality of death. When our own time shall dawn upon us, how will we face that moment? What will be the frame of our mind? This question is disturbing for many, they don’t want you to talk about it or even mention it. But Jesus always spoke about it and He also showed us how to face death when our time comes.

Before we talk about it let me be sure and clear : Jesus was not killed/murdered/crucified by the will, power, authority and schemes of Men, rather He gave up His Spirit, in His own time, According to His own will, as part of His own plan and under His own Authority

Reason One: Jesus declared: No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.

• No one took the life of Jesus

• Jesus offered up His life according to His own will

• Jesus has authority to lay his own life and take it up again

While talking to Pilate Jesus reminds him, you would have no power over me if it were not granted from Above. Even when the Scripture mentions that Judas would betray Jesus, John says Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power.

These verses are a definite indicator that Jesus was in absolute control over His death, no one else and nothing else.

Reason two: The Romans devised Death on the Cross with the sole purpose of keeping a man alive for as long as possible and inflict pain as much as possible. People would hang on the cross of two to three days before they died. Scripture tells us when the Jews did not want to keep the bodies on the Cross for the Sabbath, the Soldiers came and broke the legs of the two thieves. Why? this sped up the process of dying. But when they came to do the same to Jesus, they realized that He was already dead.

How is that possible? How did He die so soon? Many say that it was because of the extreme pain and torture that He went through, but we know this happened because Jesus was in absolutely control over His own death. He gave up His Spirit at His own will. Even on the Cross our Savior was Sovereign. His hands were nailed and yet He was in Control.

Jesus at Calvary teaches us to be grounded in God’s Word, Find hope and Strength in it

Even in this most trying time of His the son of God holds on to the word of God. These words that Jesus spoke are found in Psalm 31, a Psalm of David. It is from the Word, Jesus finds hope and encouragement. Just like David Jesus cries out to the Father, you are my Rock and Fortress, you are my Refuge, into your hands I commit my Spirit.

My dear Christian, we will grow weary and tired, weak and fragile, we won’t be strong but we must be grounded and rooted in the Word of God. No matter what, we can constantly dive into God’s Word. His word is the only thing that will give us hope, assurance, comfort, encouragement and much more. That is why we need to fill ourselves with God’s Word. Jesus Christ was saturated with the Word. He faced every situation, answered every question, dealt with every challenge through Scripture. And upon Golgotha he faced death grounded

What about us? Do we draw strength and hope from God’s word? Do we look at our lives and the world through the lens of God’s word? The first place a Christian must run to is the word of God. Read it, meditate upon it, memorize it, fill your lives with it

Jesus at Calvary teaches us that Death is not the End

What happens after death is a question everyone has tried to answer. This whole event at Golgotha tells us that death is not the end of it all. Even the thief on the Cross knew it. Jesus commits His Spirit into the care of the Father reminding us that our Spirits are eternal. Death is not the end. They are either in the care of the Father for glorification or for judgment and damnation

We live in a world where people do not believe that there is life after death, they reject the idea of eternity. But Calvary tells us that our Spirits are eternal. Those wh don’t believe this live for today as if there is no tomorrow. The people of God live eternity and all that we do today is an investment for eternity.