DEATH AND THE SEARCH FOR IMMORTALITY
After the day’s operating I returned to the ward to talk with a middle-aged lady whom we had operated on that morning. Her husband was there. She had little pain as the epidural catheter in her back was delivering local anaesthesia to numb the site of the surgical wound. The operation had been to try and remove a deep-seated cancer in her abdomen. The cancer however had been too advanced for us to clear it. I had to explain that it had not been possible to do what we had hoped and that the tumour was still in place. We briefly talked about using chemotherapy and radiotherapy but they both quickly realised that she had passed from having a possible curative operation into a terminal state with advanced cancer.
A little later that day I saw her husband on his own. His first question was,
“How long has she got?”
“No-one can say,” I replied, “It depends upon how the tumour responds to the other treatments we might be able to use.”
Tears filled his eyes. This must have been one of the worst experiences of his life. What comfort could I bring?
“Do you have any faith that helps you at a time like this?” I asked.
The awful reply came back,
“No, I haven’t”.
He then burst out crying – he was facing the horrendous anguish of losing his wife. Life was so vicious, so meaningless.
Yes, it does seem so wrong, it is so hard, when someone close to us is facing death or unexpectedly dies. I remember clearly the last few months of my father’s life. He had been so sprightly, but then his kidneys failed requiring regular renal dialysis. He became short of breath because one of his heart valves was very tight. He knew he didn’t have long to live. His consultant had warned all of us that his heart would suddenly stop at any time. That was exactly what happened. In spite of this knowledge it was still difficult to talk about his coming death - and he was a Christian.
The subject of their immanent death is so easily ‘brushed under the carpet’.It is all too easy for conversations in such situations to become superficial and glib.
“You’ll be alright” or “don’t worry.”
Death is unnatural
In the Bible the death of human beings, with all its horror and mystery, is certainly not considered natural – it is not part of God’s original design. In fact death is seen as a punishment, which has been inflicted on humanity because we have turned from God and disobeyed him. Death came through sin. God gave Adam and Eve a warning when they walked together in the Garden of Eden. He clearly told them not to eat from ‘the tree of knowledge of good and evil’ with the warning,
“. . . for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
They had access to all other trees, including ‘the tree of life’ but they chose to disobey God with all its consequences.
The deep intuition most of us share is that physical death, particularly of the young, is an outrage, an alien interruption into life. This is associated with an inexpressible longing for eternity. Both reflect the original creation order – we were made for more than this. This is why death is described in the Bible as ‘the last enemy’ (1 Cor 15:26). Death is very much a powerful enemy that each one of us will have to face in one form or another. It is a cup we must all drink from. It is a door we must all pass through.
Yet in modern western society ‘death’ is a taboo subject for conversation. Sex is in and death is out.
“Have you thought about your holiday recently?” is acceptable.
“Have you thought about your birthday recently?” is acceptable.
“Have you thought about your death recently?” is certainly not acceptable. Just try it!
Jesus was not so coy. In Matthew’s version of the gospel he frequently talks about his coming death. For instance,
“”From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Matthew 16:21
Peter’s response is typical.
“Never Lord.” As if he were saying, “Don’t talk like that.”
In fact four more times after this Jesus reminds his disciples that he is about to be killed and that he will then be raised from the dead. The Bible is full of talk about death, seeing it as an integral part of life. It is often very frank about it too. The main emblem for Christians represents an agonising, prolonged, tortured death – the cross. The last book of the Bible makes frequent mention of Christians who have been martyred for the faith.
Death Sorts
The main concern of the Bible is not the world we see with its politics and ambition but the spiritual world. It teaches that each person is either in the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, that is God’s kingdom or in the ‘Kingdom of the World’. The disciples were grasping this when they asked Jesus,
“Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-3
This reply is a particularly striking reply because it is given to his disciples. Again and again Jesus taught that even if someone is involved with God’s people this does not guarantee God will accept them. Jesus kept emphasising that success in this world is nothing compared with being a member of the kingdom of God. He said about eternal life,
“It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.” Matthew 18:8
He clarifies the awful penalty in the next verse,
“. . . thrown into hell.”
Note that this passage is again addressed to his disciples. Jesus is warning us that physical death is far more preferable than spiritual death.
The main passage we shall look at is the ‘story of the sheep and goats’. Note that it is not a parable but it is taught as though this is precisely what will be happening in the future.
Matt 25:31-46
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
(NIV)
This story is all about the kingdom of heaven again. It starts in verse 31 with the Son of Man coming in ‘his glory and all his angels with him’. This is a very interesting phrase as a little earlier Jesus had used a similar phrase. In Matthew 16:27 Jesus had said,
“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.”
In this earlier passage Jesus is coming ‘in his Father’s glory’ and in Matthew 25 he is coming in his own glory. Jesus is really making it very clear that the Son’s glory is the same as the Father’s glory, with angels worshipping them both. Jesus is again claiming to be equal to God.
The reason that ‘Death sorts’ is that death means judgement.
A short while ago I was on a teaching ward round with the medical staff, students and nurses. We came to a lovely lady who was slowly dying from advanced cancer. She asked if she could have a private word with me so that afternoon I returned alone. As I sat on her bed, holding her hand, she said,
“I am not finding this dying business easy, could you speed it up a bit for me.”
She seemed to be wanting ‘euthanasia’.
I explained that we don’t do that but we started talking about what it was that she was finding particularly stressful and how we could help. I then asked,
“I wonder if there is a reason why God is keeping you alive longer than you want. Have you got everything ready?”
“Yes, I think so,” she replied, “I have tidied all my shelves at home.”
It was impossible not to smile at that.
“No, I mean something much bigger than that – are you sure you are ready to meet God because after death comes judgement?”
At this point in the discussion I wanted her to know that these were not just my opinions but it was what God had taught us. Fortunately the ‘Gideons’ had placed Bibles beside every bed so this was brought out. Deciding that the passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 was too blunt for this situation we looked up Hebrews 9:27,
“Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgement . . .
“Do you think you are prepared for that?” I asked.
“I think so, I’ve never done anyone any harm,” she replied.
She was obviously a lovely lady but this was startling. I had never met someone who thought they were good enough for God. To keep the story short we looked at some passages that show clearly that God sees all humans as ‘falling short of the kingdom of God’. She soon realised that she needed to be forgiven and that afternoon she asked the Lord Jesus to include her when he died to bear ‘the sins of many’ on that cross.
This story in Matthew describes the coming judgement scene.
Who is the Judge?
It will be Jesus. We may trifle with him now. We may even despise or reject him now. But it is to Jesus that the Father has committed all judgement ‘that all may honour the Son as they do the Father’ (John 5:22).
If you are a Christian this is so encouraging. The person we have trusted our lives to will, on that great and dreadful day be our Saviour and friend. There is no cause for alarm for us.
Who will be Judged?
Verse 32 makes it clear that it will be everybody – ‘all the nations’- Jews, Gentiles, atheists and religious, everyone will be there. Those who have rejected God’s authority on earth will be there, no-one will be excused from being at those assizes. Jesus will then enter and will separate us into two groups.
The privileged, the kings, the rich and leaders of society will be treated just the same as the housewives, manual workers and unemployed. One king will go to the left and another to the right. One unemployed will go to the left and another to the right. Housewives will also be separated. There is no ‘Third Way’ here. Imagine the anguish as each person faces his or her judge. Can you see yourself in that crowd? Which way will you be sent? The division will have nothing to do with our worldly status. It is simply that those who belong to Christ will go to the right side and those who do not belong to Christ will go to the left side.
This will certainly be a sinister prospect for many. This word is particularly relevant here. Sinister, according to the dictionary, means ‘a lurking danger’. It comes to us from the Latin word ‘sinister’ meaning ‘left’. For those sent to the left side it will be a really sinister experience.
This is why the subject of death is so important. Some seek immortality in this life. Their ambition is to be rich, famous, or powerful and live for many years. Some will even clutch at straws and pay up to $60,000 to have their bodies preserved in liquid nitrogen in the hope that in years to come medical advances could help them resume life. How foolish. The only way to find immortality is to be in Christ.
Details of the Judgement.
Look at verse 35 and see what evidence will be presented against us. It will be ‘the things we do’. It is not our beliefs or thoughts that count – it will be our actions. It is not our religious profession – but what we have practised. We must be clear on this. Our words will not justify us - that is ‘put us right with God’. That is something only Jesus can do for us. To be adopted into God’s family is God’s choice, we cannot earn this status. All we can do is ask him to forgive us and adopt us into his family. The thrill of the gospel is that any who sincerely come to him he will not reject.
However the validity of our faith will be tested by the effect it has on our lives. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:2). This is how we can know whether we have the Holy Spirit, it is not by outward signs such as tongues or the ability to prophesy, it is because our lives are committed to live for Jesus’ honour and we keep on with this priority. The true believer will passionately care for the glory of the Lord Jesus. It is Him and His purposes that are supreme.
In this story, at first glance, it appears that feeding the hungry and giving drinks to the thirsty, both of which are relatively easy things to do, are tickets into the Kingdom of God. Being hospitable and caring seems to be another road. But Jesus is not saying that doing these things or looking after the sick and prisoners will merit eternal life. Eternal life is not a perk for those working in the N.H.S. or the Prison Service. Look careful at verses 35 to 36 and note the pronouns. Jesus uses the word ‘I’ six times for a special reason. The focus of those who have eternal life is on the Lord Jesus. The evidence we have been adopted into His family and have been given the Spirit of Jesus is that we focus on what Jesus wants. It is his family that becomes our priority.
To make this very clear look at the words said to the sheep on his right hand.
“Come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance – the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Matthew 25:34
Those ‘blessed by my Father’ are those who have been given eternal life. The ‘inheritance’ is the undeserved gift of a father to a son or daughter. You don’t earn this. It is a free gift to those who are adopted members of his family; the inheritance is eternal life.
The judgement will bring real joy to all true believers who live for Christ. Hear again those wonderful words,
“Come, you who are blessed, inherit . . . .”
But for those whose lives are not centred on pleasing the Lord Jesus the last judgement will be horrendous,
“Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire.”
Can you imagine the scene? The weeping and the teeth grinding of those whom the Lord of the Universe disowns will be awful – and all this in front of the assembled world.
Paul illustrates the importance of our preparing for this judgement.
“A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary of doing good.”
Results of that Judgement Day
Jesus could not be clearer; those who don’t serve Jesus will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. We must tell this to people around us.
Death is inevitable. All the evidence has been collected. Judgement inevitably follows death and our eternal destiny will be sealed. There will be no second chance then.
Anne was a young lady who was recovering from a nearly fatal illness. A theological student visited her and she told him about her illness.
“At one time I sent for my parents and brothers and sisters and said, as I thought, my last farewells to them. The doctors had given up on me and my friends didn’t expect to see me again.”
The student was impressed,
“I’ve never met anyone who has been so near death as you were. What were your feelings as you were on the verge of eternity?”
“I was happy” she replied.
“Where did you think you were going to?”
“To heaven of course,” came the retort.
“You had no doubts, no fears?” he asked.
“None.”
The student pondered for a second and then said,
“I suppose most people hope to go to heaven. May I ask what this hope of yours was based on?”
This was such a good question.
“Based on?” she replied, “I have never hurt anyone and I have tried to do all the good I can – isn’t that sufficient?”
“These are lovely thoughts – never hurt anyone and done all the good you can – but that is not a foundation for sinners like us to rely on. Was that really the foundation for your hope of heaven?”
She seemed quite astonished at the question and eagerly enquired,
“Is this not sufficient?”
The student didn’t give a direct answer but said,
“I am glad you didn’t die.”
“Don’t you think I would have gone to heaven?” she enquired.
“Certainly not on the basis of what you’ve said. You were hoping to go to heaven on your own – without Jesus – a thing no one has ever achieved. Be very thankful that you didn’t die, resting on that delusion. As soon as you entered eternity, it would have given way to a bottomless pit. For Jesus said, ‘No-one sees the father but through me.”
God carried this message home, she understood and that day she allowed the Lord Jesus to be central in her life, to be her Saviour. That day she passed from ‘death to life’.
Let all of us apply these lessons to ourselves. A nominal Christian faith, even a church affiliation is not what God wants. He wants an applied faith, a life serving others for Christ, because he died to serve us. Today ‘audits’ are all the rage. Why don’t we audit our time to see how much we live for others? At work are we known as those who live for Jesus? Is our money at Jesus’ disposal? Do we use our homes for Christ? What will he say to us on that great judgement day?
BVP
