Death was Part
of the Plan
Are you
ready to die? Is that a weird question
to ask on Easter Sunday? But I’m
serious: Are you ready to die? Are you
prepared for death to come at any time?
Because it will. It’s inevitable:
one day you will die. Whether it’s
tomorrow or next year or in 50 years, chances are you are not going to avoid
death. Are you ready for it?
Some of
you may have made plans for that event already.
Some of you have probably picked out the plot of ground you’d like to be
buried in. Some of you may have even
chosen your casket and have paid all of the mortuary fees. But even then, it’s still hard to plan for
death, isn’t it? Because you usually
don’t know when you are going to die and you usually don’t know how you are
going to die. And so it’s hard to plan
for something like that. You can make
preparations to some extent, but are you ever really ready for the moment your
life ends?
Jesus
was ready to die. Not only because he
was expecting it, but because he knew exactly when he was going to die and
exactly how he was going to die! In
fact, he predicted it! Time and time
again in the months leading up to his death, he told his disciples and his
followers exactly what would happen to him, exactly who would do it, and
exactly what he would accomplish. It was
all part of the plan. It was all part of
God’s plan of salvation to win forgiveness for the sins of the people of this
world. And so Jesus was ready to die
because his death was the plan!
Death is a
Consequence
Which is
a little bit strange, isn’t it? Death
usually isn’t the part of anyone’s plan.
A doctor’s plan is not that his patient dies on the operating table;
he’s planning to avoid death at all costs!
A child’s plan is not that his cousin is going to die that afternoon;
death is not even going to cross his mind.
A woman does not plan to get into a car wreck in which her passengers
suffer fatal injuries; instead she drives safely and alertly so that nothing as
bad as death will happen. The death of
someone you care about is never part of the plan. It is not something we want to happen because
death is not only the end of life, it is the enemy of life.
Death
isn’t a pleasant experience to deal with.
It’s sad and scary and depressing.
Death can be frightening when someone is on the verge of it themselves
and horrifying when witnessed by someone else.
Death isn’t naturally good because death, when it comes right down to
it, is a consequence of sin.
At
first, there was no death. When God
created this world and everything in it, death did not exist. Adam and Eve and all of their descendants
were supposed to live forever in this perfect world. But then, of course, Adam and Eve
sinned. They disobeyed God and infected themselves
and this entire creation with the effects of sin. And suddenly there were pains and
difficulties, troubles and disasters.
And in place of eternal life there was inevitable death. Plants died, animals died, people died. And up until this day that is still the way
it is. Death was not part of the original plan, but now it has become a
normal part of this sinful world. And
the fact that you and I are going to die is proof that we are completely filled
with sin - by our own fault - and must face the consequences. Death is a direct result of sin.
But if
that’s true, then why did Jesus die? If
death is a consequence of sin and Jesus didn’t sin, then why did he have to
face death? Jesus had to face death because
that was part of the plan! Jesus came to
this earth as true God in the form of a human being to take our place, to be
our substitute. Jesus wasn’t here to
have a nice life or to gain fame and popularity; Jesus wasn’t here as a good
example for us to try to follow; Jesus was here to step in front of the bullet
for us. Jesus was here to do what we
could not. Jesus was here so that he
would be treated like the sinner. He was
here to shoulder the full effects of sin.
And so Jesus was here to die. It
was all part of the plan. He came to die
in a specific way at a specific time for a specific reason. But his plan wasn’t just to face death; his
plan was also to defeat death. Jesus had
always planned to rise from the dead. Because
not only had he predicted it, that’s what we needed him to do.
Life was Part
of the Plan
Life was
part of the plan. Life again. And so on that first Easter Sunday morning,
that’s exactly what happened. On the first day of the week, very early in
the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the
tomb. They found the stone rolled away
from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord
Jesus. While they were wondering about
this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside
them. In their fright the women bowed
down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look
for the living among the dead? He is not
here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in
Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be
delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be
raised again.’” Then they remembered his
words.
Jesus
wasn’t there! He had risen! Just like he said! He had planned to suffer, he had planned to
die, he had planned to be buried, he had planned to rise. But the women who went to the tomb that
morning had forgotten the plan! They
didn’t realize that was what Jesus had
to do for our salvation. Because if they
had found Jesus body lying in the tomb that morning, if Jesus body remained in
that grave on Easter Sunday, then we wouldn’t be here today. We wouldn’t be gathering together as
believers at all because we would not have anything to believe in. Our God would still be dead, the predictions
he made would have proven false, and the promises he had given to us could
never come true. Jesus had to rise from the dead. Jesus had to beat death, because if he
didn’t, we wouldn’t. But because he did,
we will.
Your Life is
the Only Plan
Jesus
didn’t just rise from the dead just for himself. This was not simply an act of
self-preservation. In a very real way he
took your life with him down into death and back again so that when you have to
face the day death, your life is waiting on the other side. Jesus has already conquered that enemy; your
substitute has already defeated that adversary; and he gives you the
victory. And that was always the
plan. Your life was always the only plan.
The only
reason Jesus came to this earth, lived a perfect life, died a horrible death,
and then rose from the grave three days later was to win eternal life for you
in heaven. You were the plan! You were
the reason why Jesus did what he did, suffered what he suffered, and
accomplished what he accomplished! He
died so that you could be with him when you die. He lives so that you can live with him
forever in heaven. He reigns so that you
can be right there beside his throne for the rest of eternity. Everything that Jesus did, everything that he
does, and everything that he will do is all for you. Your life is part of
the plan. Your death is part of the
plan. Your life again is part of the
plan. You were the plan the entire time.
So are
you ready to die? Are you prepared to
face death whenever it may come and however it may be? Maybe I should ask you this: Are you ready to
live? Because that’s what will happen
when you die: you will live! Death is
life to a Christian because death was life to Christ. And because “he lives, you also will
live.” Because he rose from the dead, you
also will rise from the dead. Because he
enjoys perfection and majesty and glory in heaven right now, so will you
forever. Because of Easter Sunday, you
will have your own Easter Sunday one day soon.
And that has always been part of the plan. Amen.
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