We will all come to an end. Every one of us. Death waits for each of us.
Yet death isn’t truly the end. While our bodies may physically end, we intuitively know that life is more than our physical body. There is that person, that being, that is within us that is more than just our body. We are more than just what we can physically touch. I am me. I am not just my body. I am the life that I have been given.
And so we must then ask: If my physical body isn’t all that I am, what happens when the physical body does die? Because it will. But what comes next?
Jesus’s physical body died. He died on the cross after thirty-three years on the earth. He died here on this earth.
But that was not the end. He went on to rise from the grave three days later, defeating death. He overcame death to go on and live forever. Jesus is alive now. He is at the right hand of his Father in heaven. He is there now. And he will live forever.
And this is what he said of himself as he gave John the revelation of the time that would come:
Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1:17-18
John had fallen down before Jesus when he saw him, fearing for himself based on what he had seen. But Jesus told him not to be afraid. He told John that he is the first and the last. The first in that he created the world. The last in that he will judge all things in the end.
Jesus explains that, Yes, he did die, but he is no longer dead. In fact, he is alive and will be alive forever. He will not die. He will go on living and will continue to hold the keys to death and to Hades.
Frequently I have talked about the meaning of following Jesus. As his disciples, we must do what he did. We must do what he has commanded us to do.
However, following Jesus also has additional significance. By following him, we also get to experience what he has experienced. In this case, we can follow Jesus through the process of death into eternal life.
Living forever and ever.
A life that will go on. Without end. A life that will allow us to stay in relationship with God. A life that will bring glory to Jesus forever.
Jesus is the first one to have experienced this life. He is the “firstfruits” of the life that defeats death. We also, though, will experience the fruit of his work. The fruit of his life.
As his followers, as his disciples, we do not just look forward to and end of our physical life. We follow him, looking forward to a life that will continue on forever and ever.